Rhapsody in Blue
by Theodur
Summary: A tale of romance between Commander Morgan Shepard and Dr. Liara T'Soni, from the mines of Therum to the streets of London, and beyond. As of Chapter 122, the Reapers have been defeated and this story has moved into post-war territory.
1. First Human Spectre

Just a very short prologue here with the introduction of my Shepard. Her specialization is infiltrator, though that will not be of real importance, this story will be more character/relationship focused with only light action/combat.

I also feel like I should apologize to George Gershwin for the blatant theft of the title. However, it was already used by my favorite sci-fi show, Farscape, so I hope the great man is not doing somersaults in his grave.

The rest of the Normandy cast will be showing up in the next chapter. In the meanwhile, I welcome all feedback - I'm not used to writing in ME-verse, so I tend to worry if it's any good. Please, do let me know your thoughts. :)

**Prologue - First Human Spectre**

_As the first human Spectre, your actions represent and reflect on the whole of humanity. Remember this, Shepard. You are the example by which humanity will be judged. Make us all proud._

The words said by Ambassador Udina and Captain Anderson ring in her ears for days after SSV Normandy has left Citadel space. They have not been said with the intent to put more pressure on her, merely a keen reminder of what is at stake, and serving as a kind of pep-talk. With the logical part of her mind, she understands implicitly what has been asked of her. Emotionally, the stress and the pressure are not as easy to handle, and the effort to always act confident and assured during her public appearances takes its toll. Sleep does not come easy during nights, but as days roll by, she learns to live with the pressure, to accept it.

Often, she finds herself standing at the mirror in the captain's quarters on Normandy, staring at her own reflection and finding it difficult to believe that this young woman before her has already achieved so much. The face looking back at her is reasonably attractive, slightly narrowed eyes that some claim to be green, others swear are of pale grey. An errant lock of red hair escapes the otherwise tidily backwards swept hair, formed into a simple ponytail. Her cheeks are dotted with freckles and the _retrousse_ nose has been described by many as extremely cute, but she dislikes both of these features for they make her appear even younger than the tender age of twenty-nine.

She turns away from the mirror, her eyes fixed on the collection of medals and awards fastened to the wall of her quarters, just above the small writing desk. More than most marines will obtain in their whole career, that is her tally over eleven years of distinguished service. The reason why not only the Alliance High Command, but the very Galactic Council has noticed her, has considered her as a candidate for the prestigious Spectres.

One medal amongst them all shines brighter and makes her heart swell with pride and at the same time, ache in sadness over the loss of life suffered that day. The Star of Terra, awarded for courageous and distinguished service above and beyond the call of duty.

She was praised as a hero of humanity for her actions during the Skyllian Blitz, the raid of batarian slavers on the human colony of Elysium. That was seven years ago, but the memories are still very vivid, and her dreams often take her back to that fateful day. Half of her scars acquired during her career were earned in that attack. Gunshot wounds to the leg, knife in the shoulder, and that was just the start.

Her squad mates died in droves next to her, caught by the surprise attack of the batarians. She remembers using the bodies of the fallen, some of them her friends, as makeshift barricades to hide behind and fire pot-shots at the batarian slavers, spreading throughout the colony and killing anything that moved, civilians included. In the end, she was left all alone when the reinforcements finally came. Barely alive, they pulled her from a pile of bodies, human and batarian alike, at first assuming her to be dead, shocked when she reached out to grab one of the marines by the hand.

What followed was several months of recovery. The physical wounds healed fast. The mental scars took longer, but the Alliance made sure she got the best help available. Then came the awards, the publicity, the recognition of her heroic actions. Now, many years had passed since then, but she never lost the feeling as if that one day, those several hours, had changed something in her forever.

That was seven years ago. And it had been worth it. Her actions had brought her where she stood now, today. In the perfect position to help advance the goals of the human race, and to make a difference for the whole galaxy.

It is year 2183CE.

She is Commander Morgan Shepard and the hopes of humanity rest on her shoulders.

She will not fail.


	2. Therum, First Impressions

**Chapter 1 - Therum, First Impressions**

Choices.

Shepard knows that making choices is what being in command is all about. Every day, every hour, she is expected to make hard choices.

The first choice after taking command of the SSV Normandy is to select their destination. There are rumors of geth sightings on the human colonies on Noveria and Feros. There is also a lead on Matriarch Benezia's daughter somewhere in the Artemis Tau cluster. Benezia is the lieutenant of the turian ex-Spectre Saren Arterius, the one that the Council has sent her to bring to justice. Furthermore, Benezia's daughter is a renowned expert on Protheans, and thus could prove an important asset. Provided, this Doctor T'Soni is not already in league with her mother and Saren, of course.

In the end, the course is plotted for Artemis Tau. The sooner they learn whether they can count on the allegiance of Liara T'Soni, the better. And right now, Shepard is acutely aware that they could use all the help they can get. The imprinted images, left in her mind by the Prothean beacon on Eden Prime, still make no sense. They simply fill her with cold, paralyzing dread, and she hopes that perhaps someone who is an expert on Protheans might be able to help her understand their meaning.

They finally track down signs of Doctor T'Soni on a barren rock overflowing with rivers of molten lava, Therum. Unfortunately, Saren's geth are already there and in great numbers. As Normandy approaches the drop zone to release the Mako fighting vehicle, Shepard is deeply worried. According to their intel, Liara T'Soni is a scientist, with no ties to the military. If these geth were to get to her first, it is unlikely she would be able to protect herself. Their only hope is that Saren would want to capture Benezia's daughter alive.

Halfway to where the Normandy's scans have pinpointed the Prothean dig site, they are forced to abandoned the Mako, the rocky terrain ahead of them can only be navigated on foot. She orders Wrex and Tali to remain with the Mako and stay in touch with the Normandy, making sure their escape is secured. She takes the others with her, hoping it would be enough.

Wrex is displeased at her decision, but the massive krogan obeys all the same. For days he has been talking about nothing else but killing geth, and guarding the Mako does not sit well with him. Shepard reassures him that there will be plenty of geth for him to kill later. Wrex just snorts and tells them to get a move on. It would be so easy to assume Wrex for just another crude and brutish krogan mercenary, but somehow Shepard feels there is more to him, a strange sense of keen worldly wisdom in those small green reptilian eyes, something she has never seen in other krogan.

Shepard also feels sorry to leave Tali behind, not because the young quarian has shown overwhelming desire to slaughter geth, but because she now becomes the unwilling audience to Wrex's crude stories of his glorious and bloody mercenary exploits. Shepard can only try to imagine the disgusted expression on Tali's masked face as she leads the others away and towards the digsite.

They carve through the geth ranks swiftly and decisively. At her side at all times is Gunnery Chief Ashley Williams, the sole survivor of the ground forces on Eden Prime, the site of their first encounter with Saren and his geth. The assault rifle in her arms is steady and the shots miss rarely, her lips are tightly knit as she mows down one geth trooper after another. Shepard appreciates her exemplary skill as a soldier and her professionalism, and even if their views don't always coincide, she knows Ashley will always have her back.

Lieutenant Kaidan Alenko, one of the first human biotics, follows them closely behind, his well placed singularity and warp fields tearing the geth to pieces or sending them floating in the air, helpless to the fire of their rifle shots. He is a pleasant young man, and Shepard always enjoys their talks off the record, when the lieutenant is not plagued by horrible migraines induced by his L2 biotic implants. The process of developing biotic potential in humans is like a dark and unpleasant stain on humanity's record and nobody likes to remember or talk about it. Lieutenant Alenko considers himself lucky for only having to deal with migraines. Most of those with the L2 implants have already passed on in ways too gruesome to describe.

Covering their rear is a former C-Sec agent, young and brash turian by the name of Garrus Vakarian. His his skill with the sniper rifle is considerable, and time from time again Shepard sees him lining up a shot at something faraway in the distance and moments later she hears the sound of a disabled synthetic toppling down from a great height. Disgusted by the bureaucracy and corruption hampering him at C-Sec, Garrus hopes that he will see more freedom while working with a Spectre, agent with license to operate outside any laws, with any means allowed to reach their objective.

Shepard worries that Garrus might be disillusioned when he realizes that she does not intend to simply throw the rulebook outside the port window, her military upbringing would never allow her to do so. She will catch Saren and bring him to justice for his crimes against humanity, but she will not become like Saren in order to do so. And she will not allow Garrus to become like Saren, either.

The battles become more hard fought as they approach the digsite, forcing their way towards what appears like an entrance into a mine shaft, crawling with geth. Shepard wonders why they are still here if they have gotten to Doctor T'Soni first, reluctantly allowing for the possibility that they might actually be protecting young Liara, by now a thrall of Saren. But the truth is quickly discovered when they reach the bottom of the mine, after a ride in a rickety elevator.

The first thing they see is the blue shine of a forcefield that is keeping the geth from entering Doctor T'Soni's shelter. However, the young asari is trapped and in trouble, caught helpless in some sort of a stasis bubble. Her eyes widen in shock, then in relief, as she sees them approach, this rescue completely unexpected. They are still able converse through the forcefield, and Liara's admission that she has trapped herself in this predicament by sheer accident, hitting the wrong button on an ancient Prothean console, makes the corners of Shepard's lips tug upwards in a smile.

Someone behind her even chuckles, but Shepard quickly reminds herself of the seriousness of the situation. Doctor T'Soni might have been trapped there for days, starving and helpless, and if Shepard had not decided to seek her out before heading to Noveria and Feros, the asari would have expired in a slow, lingering death.

Shuddering from the thought, Shepard leads her team to fight through the rest of the mine, eventually freeing the young asari from the ancient Prothean trap. Their reckless use of a mining laser, combined with plenty of firefight, makes the mine dangerously unstable and they hurry to escape, but not before barely managing to defeat a geth squad led by a krogan battlemaster. Garrus and Ashley both suffer wounds, but nothing that can't be quickly fixed by Doctor Chakwas in the Normandy's medbay.

Back on SSV Normandy, the mission debrief is filled with some tension, as not everyone is easily convinced of Liara's loyalty to their cause. Morgan Shepard is usually very slow to trust, but somehow, from the very first look that passed between them in the mines of Therum, she is certain that Liara is not in league with Saren and Benezia. This is not a dangerous asari commando, nor a cunning asari spy, posing as a young and innocent scientist, placed amongst them as Saren's mole. "I am not with my mother! I have not seen her in many years!" Liara exclaims, sensing the suspicious stares of the others. "Please, allow me to earn your trust!"

"You will have that opportunity, Liara," Shepard says. She takes Liara's hand and shakes it, finding herself moved by the earnest and true expression of gratitude in the asari's blue eyes. "Welcome on the team, Doctor T'Soni." She will not tolerate any dissent over this. She is sending a clear message to the others under her command. Liara is one of them now, this will not be questioned, not on her watch.

She tries to gauge reaction of the others. Garrus approves, that much is certain. Tali's face, always masked, does not offer any hints, and she has yet to learn reading the quarian's body language well enough, but at least she does not offer any protests. Wrex is indifferent, as expected. Kaidan is his usual suspicious self, but he says nothing. His eyes are often drawn towards Liara, and Shepard wonders if the stereotype of asari as a highly attractive and promiscuous species is an explanation for the lack of protests. Gunnery Chief Williams disagrees, but as always, falls in line when pressed. Shepard wonders about Ashley's dislike for aliens, hoping it will not cause problems in the long run, praying that actually working alongside Garrus, Tali, Wrex and now Liara, will change Ashley's mind.

Later, after the debrief, Ashley pulls her aside in the mess hall. "I apologize for speaking my mind, skipper," she says. "I had time to think about it, and even if I don't place as much trust in Doctor T'Soni as you do, I must say having her with us might be of advantage if we ever run into her mother. It might give Benezia a pause that we can exploit."

Shepard does not like to think this way, it feels too mercenary. "I hear what you are saying Williams, and it makes sense," she tells Ashley. "But she's one of the team now. I don't _use_ my team mates. If Doctor T'Soni ever encounters her mother in such a situation, I encourage you to think how traumatic it would be. Try to put yourself in her place."

Ashley keeps her stare hard for a while, but then flinches and turns away. "No fair, skipper," she says quietly. "I value my family above everything else."

"Then you best of all should understand," Shepard says. "Our mission is too important, we cannot allow personal feelings to interfere."

"It won't be an issue, Commander," Ashley straightens out and snaps off a military salute. "You tell me to kiss a turian, I ask which cheek."

"Now you're just daring me to order you to kiss Garrus," Shepard says. Ashley looks terrified for a moment, then they both smile and laugh. The tension is lifted.

Later on, Morgan stops at the medbay. She has asked Doctor Chakwas to do a check-up on the asari, just to be certain her ordeal in the Therum mines has not had any lasting ill effects. Shepard is surprised to see that Liara has been busy, part of the medbay has already been converted into makeshift quarters and the young asari is hurriedly working on the computer consoles, probably trying to restore her interrupted research from Therum.

Liara rises as soon as she notices Shepard. She smiles. "Are you coming to check up on me, Commander?"

They end up talking at length, their conversation so engrossing that Shepard does not even notice hours passing by. Asari society, culture, religion, she has little knowledge of it all and Liara seems only too happy to accommodate her interest. Shepard mentions the stereotyped perception of the asari that she has heard of, Liara is both saddened and affronted by it, claiming their fabled promiscuity to be far from the truth.

Shepard is not sure whether to believe her, somehow it feels as if Liara is simply an exception to the general rule, she is quite unlike the few asari Shepard has met before. Liara appears very sheltered and lacking in confidence, especially when dealing with others, probably from spending too much time alone in remote digsites. She confesses being intimidated by humans in particular, not knowing what to expect from the new 'galactic bullies'.

Shepard laughs and assures Liara that it is as silly a stereotype as the ones propagated about the asari. Liara's reply surprises Shepard, considering her own earlier musings. "Or perhaps you are just a very atypical human, Commander. An exception to the general rule," the asari says. "That was why you were able to resist the Prothean beacon on Eden Prime. You must be exceptionally strong-willed, Commander."

Later, while talking about the asari culture, somehow their conversation drifts to asari reproduction and mating habits. Liara's explanations about the mind melding process are very thorough, but Shepard also finds them dry and theoretical, as if spoken by someone with no practical, personal experience. She supposes that it is only understandable, Liara by her own admission is in her very early stages of adulthood. "You're _only_ one hundred and six years of age, huh?" she chuckles. "I can only echo what Ashley said. Damn, I wish I'd look as good at that age."

They speak of Liara's parents, Benezia in particular. Liara's words are full of reserved fondness and deep respect. She is in shock and disbelief, and cannot even think of a single reason why her mother would side with someone like Saren. Shepard shows her the evidence that they brought before the Council, salvaged audio-records with voices of Saren and Benezia, heroically recovered by Tali. "Asari matriarchs are amongst the most influential, powerful and wise individuals in the galaxy," Shepard says. "Why would one of them side with someone like Saren?"

Liara is deeply disturbed by the records of her mother's voice. Shepard quickly switches the recording off, the evidence is irrefutable and there is no need to listen to it any further. "It... doesn't make any sense!" Liara exclaims. "That... is no longer my mother, Shepard! I do... and at the same time, I don't recognize her!"

They start to speak about Liara's interest in Protheans, and it seems the asari could go on and on forever explaining her theories. Shepard listens intently, until she remembers that she should not burden Liara with such lengthy discussions, the young asari needs to rest and recover.

When they part, it feels as if they are fast growing to become close friends and something Liara has said during their conversation about the Prothean knowledge imprinted in Shepard's brain stays with her for a long time after they have finished talking. "That is why I find you so fascinating, Commander," Liara says, her eyes full of curiosity and intrigue.

Shepard believes with reasonable certainty that it is merely the imprint of the beacon that fascinates Liara. The rational part of her mind does its best to convince her of that.

Still... deep down in her heart, a part of her hopes that the rational part of her mind is wrong.


	3. Noveria, Of Mothers

**Chapter 2 - Noveria, Of Mothers**

Asari cry just like humans do.

"Mother! I... don't leave! Fight him!" she cannot erase the sound of Liara's voice from her mind. She cannot erase the images flashing between her eyes, the young asari holding her dying mother in her arms.

"Good night, Little Wing..." Benezia whispers, before her consciousness fades and her spirit drifts away, freed from Saren's grasp, freed from the indoctrination.

To her credit, Liara never falters, never collapses. She mourns with stoic dignity, even if she can't quite force all the tears back. Somehow the very thought that they are not allowed to grieve properly makes it seem all the more tragic.

The mission debrief after their return from Peak 15 is short and subdued. Nobody feels like saying much. They have discovered more about Saren's plans, the revelation of the Mu Relay, but it feels as if they are still missing important pieces of the puzzle. Despite some objections, most notably from Williams, the decision is made. They will go to Feros to investigate the geth sightings there.

The other part of debrief is spent discussing her decision to release the imprisoned rachni queen. Shepard is still not certain of having made the right call, but at that moment, she simply hadn't been able to condemn an entire race to extinction simply for their past sins. Liara and Tali approve of the merciful decision, Kaidan is on the fence, worried about the consequences. The others, Garrus, Ashley, Wrex, they disagree and feel she has made a mistake. Wrex in particular is vehement, he feels as if Shepard has reversed the results of the decisive victory that the krogan scored over the rachni centuries ago. "No matter," Wrex says, having done some thinking. "If those bugs show up later, we'll just clear the galaxy from them again. More killing for us," he adds with a grim chuckle.

Shepard seeks Liara out soon after the debrief, worrying that despite her insistence of being fine, she is deeply hurting. They spend time talking about Benezia, Liara recalling her memories of happier times with her mother. Times before Saren. Shepard urges Liara to remember her mother how she was then, before being twisted and corrupted by their insidious turian foe. "The best of your mother lives on in you," she says. "Her determination, her intelligence, her strength."

"That is... kind of you to say," Liara says, before turning away. They part soon after that, Shepard briefly reaching out to take Liara's hand, gently squeezing it in support.

The activity on the ship has died down to the minimum during their travel towards Feros, when Shepard emerges from the captain's quarters. She quietly sneaks to the upper deck and into the comm room, hoping not to disturb anyone. With trembling fingers she works the console of the FTL comm unit, trying to open a secure channel, breathing out a sigh of relief when she hears the familiar, reassuring, slowly clearing static crackle.

"SSV Kilimanjaro, this is Commander Shepard of SSV Normandy," she speaks quietly. "Do you read me?"

"Copy that, Commander Shepard," male voice responds. "This is SSV Kilimanjaro. What can we do for you?"

"Can you put me on a secure line with XO Hannah Shepard?" she asks.

"Hold on, Commander," the voice says, then falling silent for a minute, two minutes. When she hears something again, it is a voice of a woman, stern, commanding and confident. "This is Hannah Shepard of the SSV Kilimanjaro," the voice says.

"Mother," she speaks, no, more like breathes out the words. "It's me."

"Morgan?" there is surprise in her mother's voice. They don't speak much these days. Military careers are detrimental towards keeping close family relations. "Is something wrong?"

"No, no..." she reassures quickly. "No... and yes. I don't know... I just. Now I'm feeling stupid. I just... needed to hear your voice. Sorry if I'm-"

"Calm down, child," mother admonishes her, as gently as she knows how to. "You are upset, I can hear that. Tell me what's wrong."

"One of my team lost their mother today," she explains slowly. Her mother does not respond, giving her time to finish. "I know, I know, I've seen plenty of death, we both have. But this was different. We were the ones who had to put her down. She was beyond saving."

"You make it sound as if though you had no choice. Is that of any comfort to know?"

"Only a little," she admits. "My mind keeps putting me in Liara's... my friend's place. The very thought of it makes me sick."

"You know that something like that will never occur," mother tries to reassure her.

_Liara also would have never believed that one day she will end up facing her own mother in battle for life or death. And if an asari matriarch could not resist Saren's indoctrination, then..._ Shepard does not allow these thoughts to be spoken, however, hiding them deep down together with her other worries and doubts, right next to the traumatic memories of the Blitz.

"Let's just talk of something else, something trivial for a bit," she urges after a moment of silence. "That is, if you're not very preoccupied."

Shortly after, the comm channel closes and she remains sitting in silence, then suddenly alarmed by the noise of the comm room doors sliding shut. Quickly, she darts towards the exit and opens it to reveal a very startled asari on the other side of the doors.

"I, ah... I'm sorry, Commander," Liara stammers an apology. "I could not sleep and decided to walk about the ship a little. I thought I heard a voice coming from the comm room and decided to investigate. I... didn't mean to overhear..."

"Did you?" Shepard asks, feeling a little amused at her discomfort.

"No, I... well, only the very end..." Liara confesses. "Your mother?" she asks.

"Yes," Shepard nods. They fall silent, looking each other in the eyes. "Do you want to talk?" she asks eventually.

"I would like that, Commander."

"Then come," she takes Liara by the hand, dragging her back to the upper deck. "The captain's quarters are more comfortable than the medbay."

Back in her quarters, Liara ends up sitting on Shepard's bed, watching as the Commander rummages for something in a wall compartment. "So... I heard that asari can safely eat human food..." Shepard says, turning around to reveal two plates with thick slices of cake.

"You've been... researching, Commander?" Liara smiles as she accepts the plate, curiously peering at the cake before trying a small bite. Shepard decides that her hesitant, careful probing efforts are simply adorable. "Oh, this is... this is really good!" Liara swoons, quickly finishing off the slice. "What is it? And more importantly, is there more?"

Shepard laughs. "That was chocolate cake. And there is more, but I'm not sure how to handle an asari with a sugar rush."

"Sugar rush?" Liara peers at her.

"Eh... never mind," Shepard shrugs, cutting off a piece from her slice and then passing the rest over to Liara. "Here, have the other half. Go on, just take it," she insists, sensing Liara's hesitancy. "I'll make sure to pick up some more when we next visit Citadel."

"Please do," Liara agrees. She finally puts the plate aside, almost looking happy. "So, as I said before, Commander... you've been reading up on asari habits? If there's anything I can help to satisfy your curiosity, you need only ask."

"Nothing comes to my mind immediately," Shepard replies, hoping her grin isn't too goofy. "I'll be sure to remember your kind offer."

"Well, I have a confession of my own to make, Commander," Liara says. "I, too, have been doing some research. Trying to find out more about the woman who was able to resist the Prothean beacon. Do you remember that I told you must be remarkably strong-willed, Commander?" Shepard nods silently. "It seems it was more than just a lucky guess on my part." She turns towards the wall which houses all of Shepard's medals. Liara points at the Star of Terra. "That's the one, isn't it?"

"Yes," Shepard grinds out the words. "That's the one."

"The hero of the Skyllian Blitz," Liara continues. "Single-handedly repelled batarian slavers outnumbering the Alliance forces twenty to one."

"I... don't like the memories of that day," Shepard says quietly. "I am proud of what I did, but... I rarely speak of it. It was... well, I just hope I never have to go through something like that again. But this mission makes me feel like I just might have to."

"I'm sorry, I did not wish to remind you of the pain," Liara is genuinely apologetic. "I merely brought it up to illustrate my point, the reason why I feel there is something incredibly compelling about you, Shepard."

Morgan's eyes immediately lock with Liara's. For a moment she wonders if she has heard the asari correctly. "I believed it was the imprint of Prothean knowledge in me that you find compelling," she says carefully. "And nothing more than that."

Liara holds her stare as she replies. "I admit, at first I believed so as well," she says. "But... I fear it is more than that. I am... sorry if this is disturbing to you, Commander, I do not wish to burden you with such things and I understand that you might not even be interested to hear of it, after all, I heard some of the crew speak that you and Lieutenant Alenko..."

"...are just friends," Shepard finishes, decisively and angrily. _I need to address that quickly before it gets out of hand,_ she promises to herself. _I was afraid that Kaidan might misunderstand our off the record talks for something more._ "Who told you that, was it the Lieutenant himself?"

"No, no, Lieutenant Alenko has been most kind and cordial with me!" Liara exclaims, shaking her head. "It is not important who said that, Commander."

"Alright," Shepard nods, before facing Liara again. "Doctor T'Soni... I would be a complete and utter liar if I were to tell you that I do not find you equally compelling and fascinating," she eventually admits. Liara's face betrays no emotion, however.

"I had hoped to hear this. But even if your words are welcome, they bring little relief." Shepard faces her with questioning stare and Liara moves to elaborate. "I told you that I have very limited experience dealing with your people, Shepard. I must confess, I find humans... intimidating. Besides, the timing of it all... our mission must come first, stopping Saren and finding the Conduit before he does."

"Yeah. The timing could be better," Shepard remarks, a little bitterly. "So... does that mean you find me intimidating as well?" she asks.

"Well... only a little bit. Not when you offer me such delicious treats," Liara smiles. "I think it is because you are so... so driven, so intense... with a flair for danger." Shepard feels herself blushing from Liara's frank description. Briefly, she wonders if asari blush the way humans do, she has not seen any evidence of it in Liara's face.

"Where do we go from here, Liara?" she asks. "How do you want to handle this?"

The asari thinks for a while before replying, rubbing her chin thoughtfully. "More time would be good, Commander. For both of us. Just to make sure we are absolutely certain of..."

"Agreed," she nods. "And let's continue to talk. Get to know each other better."

"I'd like that, Shepard," Liara smiles. "I'd like that very much." She suddenly looks around, troubled. "By the Goddess, I have taken so much of your time, I'm so sorry. You need rest, and so do I." She rises from Shepard's bed and heads for the exit. "Thank you," she stops briefly at the doors. "Thank you for everything."

"You're welcome, Liara," Shepard replies as the asari leaves. There is a muted noise coming from outside her quarters, and she can hear Liara offering hasty apology to someone, having bumped into them. _Wonderful. That'll feed the gossip train just right,_ she realizes, groaning inwardly. _Morgan Shepard, your timing absolutely sucks. With the fate of galaxy at stake, this is no time for romantic entanglements!_

Commander Morgan Shepard always has great success when ordering her troops into battle to face the enemy. But Commander Morgan Shepard cannot order her heart to behave rationally and stop having feelings. That is one battle she is losing rapidly...


	4. Feros, Prothean Cipher

_Author's Note: I'm very grateful for the amount of hits, favs and alerts this story is getting (hurrah, guys!), and I wanted to thank all those reading and enjoying. I also wanted to take the opportunity to say that it is OK to review as well! I don't hate reviews! Quite the opposite! (helpful hint of the day: to review, click the big blue button at the bottom of the page. The one that says Review on it. Yup, that one!) _

**Chapter 3 - Feros, Prothean Cipher**

Feros is a complete and utter mess of a planet.

A massive geth invasion force, a heartless interstellar corporation for planetary exploration and colonization, conducting inhuman experiments on its own people, and an ancient and powerful plant-based life form, able to take control and dominate other organic beings.

That is pretty much the summary of what makes Feros such a complete and utter mess.

Still, it has not been all for naught. The geth invasion force has been repelled. The mind controlling plant, the Thorian, has been destroyed, freeing the colonists of Zhu's Hope from its insidious influence. And the reasons why Saren sought out the Thorian have been revealed. He was after the same knowledge that now rests in Shepard's mind, courtesy of an asari commando freed from Thorian's grasp. The Cipher is a collection of the entire cultural knowledge of the Protheans, assembled by the Thorian when Protheans were still alive and busy colonizing Feros. It is the very essence of understanding what makes one a Prothean.

Saren has used this knowledge to comprehend the visions of the beacon from Eden Prime. Now, Shepard will have to do the same, but with time running out for them, she still can't make any sense of the images. They seem to be a little clearer, but still, there is nothing definitive.

During the mission debrief back on SSV Normandy, Liara offers her help. "Perhaps my knowledge of the Protheans can help you understand those visions," she says. "If you will allow me to join my consciousness with yours, perhaps together we can decipher the message."

"Is it something similar to what Shiala did to me when passing on the Cipher?" Shepard asks, remembering the asari commando they had freed from the Thorian.

"Yes and no," Liara explains. "She merely passed information between you. To help you understand its meaning, I will have to go deeper."

"Alright, if you're certain you know what you're doing," Shepard nods, standing in front of Liara, the asari placing her hands on her shoulders and leaning closer, almost brow against brow. "Remember that I trust you, Liara."

"Close your eyes and relax," she hears Liara's voice. She tries to calm down, freeing herself of all thoughts, clearing her mind completely. Slowly and inescapably, she can feel a growing presence inside her very being, reaching closer and deeper into her thoughts, gently trying to sort through layers of her mind in search of hidden knowledge. Reflexively, she fights the alien presence, trying to guard her secrets.

"Do not struggle, Commander," Liara speaks softly. Shepard looks at her briefly, only to see that the asari's blue eyes have gone completely pitch black. "Embrace eternity," she says, and Shepard obeys, stopping her struggles, feeling the probing essence of Liara flowing past her mental defenses. The intimacy of the act is overwhelming, but she is no longer afraid. Just as Liara has free access to her thoughts, her consciousness, Shepard can explore the asari in turn. With enough concentration and effort, she can feel Liara's entire being, wrapped and intertwined with hers. She senses trust. Respect. Loyalty. And the presence of feelings more tender and intimate, that she decides against exploring, until the time is right.

Shortly after, she can feel their merged consciousness unwrapping, Liara is sliding away, out of her grasp, and with great reluctance she releases herself from the intertwining union. With their squadmates looking on in concern, they both fall down heavily in their respective seats, exhausted from the effort.

"Did that help any?" Ashley asks, looking suspicious, perhaps believing that Liara has exercised some kind of mind-control over Shepard.

"I don't know... I'm a bit too winded to make sense of anything right now," Shepard confesses.

"Yes, I think I need to go lie down in the medbay for a while," Liara agrees, struggling to her feet, Kaidan quick to help steady her.

As Liara leaves, Shepard rises too. "I know that time grows short and Saren is still a few steps ahead of us," she says, to Williams in particular. "But I am doing all I can to track him down. We know about the Mu Relay, but not much beyond that. If this... Cipher does not give us any new leads in two days, we will head for the relay and go from there. Clear?" Everyone nods in approval, even Chief Williams looks satisfied with the plan.

Shepard gets to her quarters and then collapses on the bed, for once being able to enjoy long and uninterrupted sleep. She wakes feeling fresh and rejuvenated and the first thing she does is to try and access those visions locked in her mind one more time. They seem... different, somehow. What were brief flashes of split images before, now feel more like several seconds long recordings. She sees an ancient race of organics, the Protheans, ruthlessly wiped out by deadly machines, the fabled and mythical Reapers. The visions together convey only one thing, a dire warning. But there still isn't anything tangible, like a set of coordinates or something like that.

Frustrated, she decides to get off the ship, hoping that spending some time back on Feros might help focus her thoughts. As she is about to get into the Mako, she feels a hand on her shoulder, stopping her. It is Liara, asking whether she can join her. Shepard smiles and nods, and together they set out on a drive on the ancient Prothean skyway. This planet is a miserable deathtrap with nothing worth salvaging left on it, but the sights of the crumbling Prothean architecture surrounding them are still amazing and breathtaking. They stop at the side of the skyway and climb out of the Mako, sitting with their legs dangling across the edge of the miles high skyway, trying to imagine what the planet would have looked in its glory days, a busy Prothean metropolis, civilization likely far more advanced than theirs, even if it had thrived fifty thousand years ago.

"I've been meaning to ask you something, Liara," Shepard says thoughtfully. The asari turns to face her, eager to hear the question. "This Prothean knowledge I carry with me. First the imprint of the beacon, now the Cipher. Does that... not bother you?"

"What do you mean?" Liara seems confused.

Shepard hesitates. "Well... I'll try to explain with an example. Imagine if I had served the Alliance loyally for twenty years and were considered for a promotion. And then, a complete newcomer to the military comes along and somehow, due to a lucky break gets picked for a position in High Command ahead of me."

"Oh, you mean if I thought that because of the time I spent studying the Protheans, I was the one more deserving to find the beacon and the Cipher?" Liara asks. Shepard nods. "I... truly hadn't thought that way. Perhaps because you have never denied me the opportunity to study the knowledge within you. You... would not do that, would you, Commander?"

"I would never deny you that, Liara," she answers. "Well, as long as you promise not to dissect me in some lab, of course."

"What? I would never!" Liara is shocked, but then notices Shepard's grin. "Oh... you were joking! Goddess, I am so dense," she puts a palm to her face, shaking her head. "Besides, Commander, there are no guarantees that I would have been able to withstand the energies stored in the beacon. There is a good chance I would have been evaporated on the spot."

"And that would be a great shame," Shepard agrees. They fall in silence for a while again, just looking in the distance, at the Prothean skyscrapers, rising high above the clouds, still standing tall and proud in the bluish light of the Theseus star. "So... that joining of our consciousness we did during the debrief," she starts talking a while later. "It was certainly... intense. Is it anything like the mind-melding part of asari mating practices?"

"Shepard, this was nowhere near as intense as a true union," Liara explains, shaking her head.

"You're kidding, right?" Shepard blinks, unable to at first imagine anything even more draining.

"Think about it, Shepard. Our... uh, well, the nervous systems of those involved become like one. It is like essentially becoming one being," Liara explains. "What we did now was nothing like it. We both retained a degree of control. You were able to block me quite effectively, until I told you to stop fighting. During union, there would be no barriers between us, or well, I mean the partners involved."

"Or so you have heard," Shepard adds with a wicked grin.

"Or so I have heard, yes," Liara nods. "I suppose I am not doing a good job at hiding my lack of experience." Silence sets in briefly, before Liara speaks again. "Shepard... does that still feel like something you might consider? When the time is right, I mean?"

Their eyes remain locked. "Yes, Liara. Without a doubt," she says, feeling her heartbeat increase. "I want to embrace eternity with you. When the time is right."

Shortly after, they set on the road back to Zhu's Hope and Normandy. On the way back, Liara mentions having heard more gossip amongst the crew about what has happened during the mission debrief, whispers blowing through the ship about Liara's mind control abilities holding the Commander on a leash. Shepard decides that it's about time she cleared the air with both Kaidan and Ashley.

She runs into Lieutenant Alenko first, pulling him aside for a quick private chat in a quiet corner near the forward batteries. "Lieutenant, I feel that I owe you an apology," she starts. Kaidan looks at her, a little surprised. "I fear that during our previous talks I might have conducted myself with deplorable lack of professionalism."

"I must confess not remembering any such behavior, Commander," Kaidan offers supportively.

"Do not mistake me, Lieutenant, I enjoy talking with you off the record, but..." she hesitates. "I do not wish to convey the wrong signal. I worry that I might have done so, causing some... tension."

"Is this about Doctor T'Soni?" Kaidan asks, unexpectedly direct.

"The nature of my relationship with Doctor T'Soni is off limits for discussion," she snaps defensively. "Discussion with me, with Doctor T'Soni, or amongst the crew. Is that clear?"

"Aye aye, m'am," Kaidan salutes. "Commander, I want you to know that even if I have heard the rumor, I had nothing to do with it. I have only the greatest respect for you and for Doctor T'Soni. Beyond that, it is not my business." He looks slightly disappointed as he talks, but it passes quickly. Above all, his words are earnest.

"I believe you, Kaidan," she replies. "I respect you as a person and always value your input. That's why I brought this up, I thought we needed to clear the air, I do not want anything to linger between us that might distract us from the goals of the mission."

"I appreciate that, Commander," Kaidan smiles. "I'm one hundred percent behind you and completely focused on the mission. You needn't worry about me, Shepard."

"Good," she nods, satisfied. "You're a valued part of the team, and in time, I hope we will become good-" she hesitates, hoping that she doesn't sound too corny.

"Commander, unless the word you were planning to say was 'friends', I will be very insulted," Kaidan says, his eyes shining with amusement.

"I planned to say exactly that, Lieutenant," she smiles. "I should let you go now. Pleasure talking to you, Lieutenant, as always."

Kaidan nods as she slips by him, towards the elevator down to the armory, where Gunnery Chief Ashley Williams is busy cleaning the rifles for what is probably the fifth time today. "Got a minute, Williams?" she says, startling the Chief slightly.

"Sure, skipper," she turns around to face Shepard. "What's on your mind?"

"I'm more interested in what's on your mind, Ashley," Shepard replies. "I know you're not happy and frustrated about some things that have happened. I'm giving you the opportunity to lay it on me right here and now, so that it doesn't get in our way moving forward."

Ashley takes a deep breath. "Alright, Commander. If that's what you want."

Her grievances are many. Garrus and Wrex having access to Normandy's weapons. Tali poking around Normandy's engines. Liara doing strange things to Shepard's mind, perhaps manipulating the Commander somehow. One way or another, it is always about aliens.

Shepard feels irritated when faced with such paranoia and distrust, but at the same time, she realizes there has to be more about it. Ashley is not stupid or close-minded, she is a reasonably intelligent and well-educated young woman. Slowly and carefully, Shepard pulls at the threads of their conversation, until the full truth finally comes out.

She had thought the name of Williams sounded familiar when they first met. Ashley's grandfather is the infamous General Williams, the first human to surrender to an alien force, when he allowed the turians to capture Shanxi in order to limit civilian losses. Dishonorable discharge and blacklisting of the entire family name was the legacy of an act of mercy. Struggling against impossible odds, her transfer requests always denied without explanation, in spite of perfect technical scores, it all reveals a side of Ashley's character that Shepard can sympathize with.

"I can see where you're coming from, Ash," she says, having considered everything said between them. "I see your point. But we can't let it get in our way. Things are slowly coming to conclusion, we are in the home stretch now. We've got Saren on the run, we can't allow any distractions."

"Understood, Commander," Ashley salutes. "I have never questioned a single order, despite my feelings. That will not change."

"I know that, Williams. But I still hope that you will change your mind about working with aliens," Shepard says. "I'm not holding your grandfather's legacy against you. Do not hold their origins against them. They have already spilled their blood for us many times. Ashley, at some point, you have to let go."

Gunnery Chief Williams hangs her head, looking a little ashamed. "I... will try, Commander. Thanks for not making me pack my bags. Anyone else would have done that just as soon as they learned about my grandfather. Much appreciated, skipper."

"You're very welcome, Ash," Shepard nods, feeling pleased. One conversation cannot completely change a deeply ingrained outlook, but somehow she feels Ashley has already been well on her way.

She is about to excuse herself and leave, when suddenly the pilot's voice startles her over the comms. "Commander? The Council want to see you in the briefing room. Seems like they have a lead on Saren."

"Thanks Joker, I'm on my way," she replies, exchanging looks with Ashley, both of them sporting predatory grins.

"Well, it's about time we caught a lucky break, Commander," Chief Williams says. "Let's find that turian son-of-a-bitch and kick him hard in the nuts."

"You got it, Chief," Shepard agrees emphatically. "It's high past time we ended this..."


	5. Tales of Sacrifice and Loss

_Author's Note: I really hate Virmire and the choice it forces you to make. From the very beginning, I intended to settle this with a coin toss, but as I was writing this, I suddenly thought of a very touching way to honor the deceased teammate (you will have to read this to the very epilogue to find out how!), that would have only worked for one of them. Then I went ahead and did the coin toss anyway: it confirmed my earlier decision. _

**Chapter 4 - Tales of Sacrifice and Loss**

The beautiful, lush, almost tropical looking world of Virmire at the first glance appears like a veritable paradise with its vast seas, snaking wide rivers and cascading waterfalls. But that first glance is very misleading. Commander Morgan Shepard sincerely hopes that true paradise contains considerably fewer platoons of angry geth.

There are some good news, too. For once, they will not be tackling impossible odds all on their own. A salarian Special Task Forces group is also taking action against Saren's operations on Virmire. Having fought through legions of geth, they arrive at the salarian base camp to receive situation update from the leader of the salarian STG, Captain Kirrahe.

Their plan is beautiful in its simplicity. Infiltrate Saren's research facility, employ a goddamn effing nuke and then get the hell out of there. It sounds straightforward... until the revelation is made about what exactly Saren is researching here on Virmire. The turian bastard has discovered a cure for genophage and is busy breeding an army of obedient, loyal krogan. Suddenly the idea of blowing up the facility and all its records faces a tough opponent. Wrex.

The large krogan is pacing angrily around the beach, shotgun in his hands as he occasionally launches a few slugs into the water to shatter an innocent cephalopod. The salarians wisely stay out of his way, as do all the others, except Shepard. Ignoring Ashley's warning, she approaches her squad mate. No, Wrex has become more than that, they have this... awkward sort of bonding, friendship between them.

She does her best to reason with him, trying to avoid violence. "Think about it, Wrex," she says. "This cure won't free your people. It just creates more slaves for Saren. I agree that the genophage is wrong, but this... this isn't the way."

Weapons are still drawn, tense looks exchanged. Finally the tip of Wrex's shotgun slowly lowers. "I don't like this, Shepard. It doesn't feel right," he growls. "You better be making the right call here."

"Trust me, Wrex, one day we'll take care of the genophage," Shepard promises, even if she has no idea how to fulfill such an oath. It is just a gut feeling. "And we'll do it in the right way, too."

Wrex nods before leaving, still upset, but visually calmer. As he retreats, Ashley is revealed behind his broad back, her hand still twitching on the holstered pistol. "I was ready to shoot him if necessary, Commander," she says quietly, looking at Shepard.

"I'm glad you didn't have to," Shepard replies, feeling exhausted, knowing how difficult this decision was for Wrex. If the fate of humanity was at stake in a similar situation, she is unsure of her own reaction. "Chief, there's been so much death and destruction already. If there is a way to avoid contributing more to it, we must always strive to do so."

"A noble ideal, Commander," Ashley nods. "Let's hope we can all continue to live by it." In silence they both return to the camp to finalize their attack plans with Captain Kirrahe.

The salarian forces are to be split into three groups to provide distraction, while Shepard leads her team inside to secure the facility. Kaidan goes with Kirrahe to provide communications between the squads, Joker and Normandy stand ready to quickly deliver the ordnance once the ground teams have disabled the AA guns.

Resistance is heavy. It is not just the geth and the krogan, there are also plenty of captured and indoctrinated salarians, Kirrahe's men they thought killed in action. Pulling the trigger on their friends is sapping the morale of the salarian support forces, but slowly and surely they advance, pushing inside the facility and starting to clear it from its defenses.

It does not take long for Shepard's team to make a shocking discovery. They have been fools to assume that it is Saren who has been indoctrinating the minds of everyone. Shepard finally makes the connection between her visions and the ship she has seen over Eden Prime. Sovereign is not simply Saren's flagship of mysterious origins, constructed by someone with access to more advanced tech than anyone in the galaxy.

Saren has merely been a tool all this time. Sovereign is the true mastermind behind these plots. Sovereign... is a Reaper.

The revelations they make are difficult to truly fathom and accept immediately, while in the middle of a dangerous, suicidal mission. So much of what the galactic civilization believes in, turns out to be complete and utter falsehood. The Citadel has not been built by Protheans, the mass relays have not been built by Protheans, these have always been facts beyond questioning. These mega-structures are in fact, legacy of the Reapers, left to be discovered by the space-faring civilizations of the galaxy. "By using our technology, your society develops along the paths we desire," Sovereign intones during their brief exchange. "We are the vanguard of your destruction," it warns, before terminating the communication.

There is little time to take in this information, however, as Joker interrupts them with a hasty warning. Sovereign is closing in on the base. They need to move fast, and quickly they resume clearing the path towards the breeding facility at the back of the complex. Their efforts meet with success and Normandy can finally land in the middle of the breeding facility. The nuke is carefully brought off board and prepped for use, when a disaster strikes.

Kaidan reports that his group is getting overrun by the geth forces, being hopelessly surrounded in one of the AA towers. His message is clear, they will not be making the rendezvous point in time before the bomb goes off. Unless someone can find a way to help him.

Ashley briefly stops tinkering with the bomb and looks up at Shepard. "I'll need a few more minutes to arm the nuke," she says. "Go, Commander, get the Lieutenant out of there."

Shepard nods and leads her team through the water filled trenches, walls lined with krogan breeding pods, towards the AA tower and Lieutenant Alenko. A geth dropship flies above their heads, ignoring them, and Shepard looks behind with worry, fearing the geth might be attempting to ambush Ashley and her support crew.

"Chief, there are some geth reinforcements heading your way," Shepard's fears become real as she hears Alenko on the comms, warning Ashley. "Be careful."

For a while there is no answer, only muffled noises. "Getting swarmed here-" finally comes the reply, through a lot of gunfire and static.

"Can you hold on?" Shepard finds herself shouting in the comm link, desperate to hear an acknowledgment. The reply isn't one she had hoped to hear.

"Negative," Ashley speaks, desperation seeping into her voice. "There are too many of them! I'm arming the bomb!"

"Shit! Don't do it Ash! That's an order!" Shepard swears, stopping on the path towards the AA tower. _Continue or turn back. Continue or turn back._ "Don't you effing dare to arm that nuke, Ashley!"

"I'm going to make sure this bomb goes off no matter what, Commander. It's the only way," Ashley speaks resolutely. There is a brief moment of silence. "There," the comm reopens. "It is done. Grab the Lieutenant and get out of here."

Kaidan's voice is clearly distraught over the comms. "Belay that, Commander! We can hold on here, go back and get Williams!"

_Choices. Screw these choices. Damn them to the deepest pits of the Abyss._

"Alenko, radio Joker and tell him to meet us at the AA tower," she speaks slowly, hating every damning word.

_I just signed a friend's death warrant. I decided who lives and who dies._

"It's the right thing to do, Lieutenant," Ashley says over the comms, silencing Kaidan's protests. "Commander..." her voice cracks slightly. "I don't regret a thing. It was a pleasure to serve."

"I'll make sure your sacrifice is not forgotten, Ashley," Shepard promises, crouching low and taking aim at one of Saren's krogan slaves, unleashing an incendiary round right through its reptilian head. She then whirls around swiftly, angrily punching an approaching geth hunter with the butt of her rifle, sending the surprised foe flying. "The family name of Williams has been redeemed by your heroism, Chief. Goodbye, and forgive me, my fr-"

Ashley interrupts her on the comms, but they can hardly hear anything through the fierce firefight. "Thank y-… Com-" the jumbled words are finally cut off with a grunt of pain and one final sigh, as the combined assault of the geth fire finally rips through Ashley's shields, bullets piercing armor one after another. The comm line falls silent and for a moment Shepard simply stands frozen in shock, before shaking herself back into the fight, remembering that their escape still must be secured.

Later, Shepard barely remembers the short confrontation with Saren, indoctrinated past the point of himself being able to recognize that he is utterly in Sovereign's grasp, after which SSV Normandy makes a break to escape the blast radius of the nuke. The blindingly white explosion almost catches them, violently shaking Normandy about. The blast takes with it the breeding facility and Saren's plans of raising his own private krogan army.

The goals of the mission have been fulfilled with aplomb, but the cost is such that nobody would dare to call this a victory. Not when the price to pay is the life of their friend, Gunnery Chief Ashley Williams.

Back on board of Normandy, Lieutenant Alenko is not handling the harsh reality well. "How could we just leave Ash behind?" he asks, wracked with survivor's guilt.

"My call," Shepard replies quickly. "I don't want you to even think of blaming yourself, Lieutenant."

"But if I had done my part, you would never have had to make that decision-" Kaidan protests, but Shepard cuts him off abruptly.

"What? You were somehow responsible for the geth suddenly directing large part of reinforcements towards your position?" Shepard's voice is angry and Kaidan shrinks back, a little surprised at her ferocity. "It was my decision, do you understand? Mine alone!" She takes a deep breath to calm down. "If that won't satisfy, then assume that I simply followed the military protocol. In cases like this, I am supposed to first lend my support to superior officer." From the faces of the others, it is clear that nobody believes her decision has been as simple as that, but they all remain silent.

_Why did I really choose Kaidan over Ashley? What was the real truth behind the decision? Wasn't it because on some level I appreciate Kaidan more as a person, a friend?_ she continues to mentally whip herself, before finally becoming aware of a hand on her shoulder, gently shaking her.

"Commander?" Liara asks. "I have been thinking. Perhaps the beacon we found on Virmire might fill in some empty spaces in your visions? If you are willing to try?"

Shepard is not truly willing to try, not now. In truth, she has almost forgotten the partially destroyed beacon that Saren had locked away safely in his base on Virmire. But there is no real choice in the matter. If there is a chance to discover the location of the Conduit, they need to try. "You want to join minds again?" she asks. "Very well."

Hoping that Liara would not be able to sense the amount of guilt lashing her to pieces, they lock their foreheads again, Liara's hands on her shoulders. "Embrace eternity," they speak as one, bracing themselves for the joining of minds. This time it feels less taxing, she already knows what to expect, guiding Liara's probing presence to the newly deposited knowledge of the beacon.

In the end, they are both exhausted like before, but Shepard is acutely aware of the visions in her mind becoming clearer, starting to sort themselves into identifiable patterns. "By the Goddess, I think I have it," Liara says, having rested in her seat for a brief while. She closes her eyes and tries to concentrate. "It's like... a space chart, do you see it? If I cross-reference it with the systems beyond the Mu Relay, make adjustments for time period of fifty thousand years... just give me an hour or two, Commander," she rises, then stumbles and sits back down. "Or maybe a little bit more than that..."

"Don't overextend yourself, Liara," Shepard warns, feeling exhausted herself, both physically and mentally. "Everyone, dismissed," she adds, bringing the somber debrief to a close.


	6. The Path to Ilos

_A/N: Thanks to everyone reading and adding this to fav/alerts, your support means more than you realize! This chapter features a certain fairly adult scene, though it's not particularly graphical. I don't have much experience with smutty stuff, so I'm interested to know how it worked, was it alright or did it suck completely. Don't be shy about letting me know. :)_

**Chapter 5 - The Path to Ilos**

The Conduit is on Ilos.

It does not take long for Liara to figure it out, but before they rush through the Mu Relay, Shepard makes her report to the Council. They are pleased to hear of the successful blow against Saren's operations and promise to mobilize their fleets to protect Citadel space against the inevitable geth attacks. Before Shepard can decide whether to head to Ilos straight away or wait for reinforcements, Normandy receives another comm transmission, this time from Ambassador Donnell Udina, requesting them to return to Citadel for debrief and rendezvous with the Council fleets.

Even if time is of issue, the order cannot be ignored. They are several more hours of journey away from the Citadel, and Shepard makes yet another short walk down to the armory. She stands in front of Ashley's locker, looking at the remains of burned candles on the floor, nobody has had the heart to remove them. The candles lay extinguished, just like Ash's life.

They all knew the dangers of the mission on Virmire. Hell, it was a small wonder they suffered as few losses as they did. The salarian distraction teams had been ready to sacrifice themselves so that Shepard's team and Normandy could deploy the bomb. And still, the reality of loss, when it actually happens, it is so stinging and brutal that it brings back all the suppressed memories of the Blitz.

"I knew I would find you down here," she hears Liara's voice, soft steps approaching her from behind. "We all miss her, Commander. But it wasn't your fault."

"Knowing that doesn't make it much easier," Shepard replies. "I'm no stranger to loss, many times I have given commands to soldiers knowing that I am sending them to their deaths. It was necessary so that many others could live. But I have never had to do it to someone I knew closely, like Ash."

They stand side by side in silence. "You know," Liara starts. "I'm actually feeling a little sorry for Saren, too."

"You feel... what?" Shepard swirls around, incredulous, the ferocity in her voice prompting Liara to back off. Shepard stops before saying anything else, thinking, then shaking her head. She remembers Benezia, realizing Liara has been thinking of her mother. "No, I... I'm sorry. I understand what you mean. Indoctrination... it is a gruesome fate."

Liara nods. "He is trapped within his own mind, barely aware that Sovereign is trying to manipulate him, clinging on to a shred of hope that he might be able to resist. His words, they were so full of denial... I don't think he even believes anymore that he can shield his mind from the Reapers."

"For a moment, I thought I could get through to him, appeal to what little shred of decency was still within him," Shepard says bitterly.

"I have been wondering what made him seek out Sovereign in the first place," Liara ponders. "Was it simply lust for power? Or did he genuinely believe that he would be saving all organic life from extinction?"

"Well, whatever it was, it doesn't matter now," Shepard says resolutely. "He's a threat to everyone in the galaxy. And we will stop him."

Soon after, they arrive at the Citadel. Commander Shepard and Lieutenant Alenko meet with Udina and are taken before the Council to discuss further plans of action. The ugly truth emerges quickly. Not only the Council will not be sending their fleets after Saren, they will make certain that nobody tries anything that would risk them getting involved in a war with the Terminus Systems. Ambassador Udina senses his opportunity to make friends with the Council. He agrees that Shepard should not be allowed to go to Ilos. The SSV Normandy is grounded, her crew literally becoming hostages on the Citadel.

Shepard no longer even mentions the Reapers in her conversations with the Council or Udina. It is pointless to warn them of this threat, she has realized that it merely destroys her own credibility in the eyes of the Council. They have brushed her warnings off once, twice, dismissing them as simple fairy tales that Saren has conjured to hide his true motivations. She will no longer provide Council with an opportunity to further humiliate her, she will no longer speak of the Reapers until she has a solid, tangible evidence of their existence. If only she could get to Ilos... then, Shepard is certain that she could obtain more than enough proof.

As she sits on the floor back in the captain's quarters of Normandy, at a loss of what to do, she realizes that it is the betrayal of Udina that irritates her the most. _He and the others who would accuse me of not always having humanity's interests close to heart, of making too nice with the aliens... and then he sells me out at the first opportunity, maybe for a promised seat on the Council?_ she thinks angrily. _He's not doing much to convince me that I should always put humanity's interests first. There are plenty of ungrateful bastards amongst every species in the galaxy, it would seem. Most of them politicians._

"I can't believe they would do this to you," the door to her quarters slides open quietly, Liara entering without much warning, too upset to announce her arrival. "After all we've done to stop Saren, this is how they repay us? I already gave a piece of my mind to the asari councilor... much good that it did."

"Well, thanks for trying at least," Shepard attempts a smile. "It's more than I could come up with."

"Yes, I was getting to that, Commander. What are our plans? Don't tell me you will simply accept them stripping you of command?" Liara asks. "After all this, we just can't... walk away! We can't let them doom the entire galaxy to extinction!"

"I don't intend to let them, Liara. I've been sitting here and trying to figure out how to get Normandy back in the air," she looks up at Liara. "Give me a bit more time."

"Of course. Know that I believe in you, Shepard. I'm with you every step of the way," Liara says quietly, reaching out with her hand, urging Shepard to get back up to her feet, back into the fight. She takes Liara's hand and swiftly rises, coming to stand face to face with the asari. Her other hand on Liara's shoulder, the emotion in Liara's blue eyes mesmerizes her. Without thinking, reflexively, she leans closer. Her throat feels dry and her heart is skipping when she sees Liara moving towards her in turn, eyes semi-closed, lips parting in anticipation of their first kiss...

"Sorry to interrupt, Commander," the voice comes over the comms, crisp and clear. It is Joker. "Got a message from Captain Anderson."

_You have got to be kidding me,_ Shepard swears mentally, briefly envisioning strangling Joker. The spell is broken, Liara pulls away, looking both amused and embarrassed. "Are you spying on me, Joker?" she says over the comms. "If I find out about any hidden surveillance cams in my quarters..."

"Just knew you were on the ship, ma'am, and thought I'd pass the message on," Joker explains, sounding genuinely surprised at her accusation. "Though... of course, now I am curious to find out why you thought you were being spied on..."

"Never mind that, Joker," she shuts him down sternly. "You mentioned a message from Anderson? Give me the details."

It turns out to be the big break they have been waiting for. Anderson is the only one on the Citadel who is aware of the stakes in this game and is willing to trust them, as far as putting his own career at risk. He offers to hack into Udina's computer to cancel Normandy's lockdown, allowing them to escape. As the SSV Normandy makes haste to the Mu Relay, Shepard hopes that Anderson at least drew an amount of satisfaction from punching Udina in the face.

On the way to Ilos, Shepard addresses the crew, but there isn't much she can say, they are all acutely aware of what is at stake. They had all hoped to have the Council fleets backing them, knowing that Ilos will be swarming with Saren's geth. This will be yet another near-suicidal stealth mission, and they all know and accept it, ready to lay down their lives for the sake of the galaxy.

While the goal of preventing the extinction of all organic life in the galaxy is all the motivation they need, it does help to have other, more personal reasons to want Saren dead. For Garrus it is basically Saren being a 'pathetic disgrace of a fellow turian'. For Wrex it is Virmire, and the false promise of genophage cure. For Tali, it is the lengths to which Saren went in order to silence her and prevent her from disclosing the evidence of his plot. For Liara, it is all about her mother. As for Shepard and Kaidan, they need to do this for Ashley.

Finally, everything has been said, and they all retreat to their private quarters on the ship, mentally preparing themselves for this one final assault. Joker warns her over the comms that it will be four hours before they reach the Mu Relay. Shepard thanks him before closing the comms and sitting down at her desk to write some final reports. To Admiral Hackett, Shepard reports everything she has learned about the activities of the former Alliance Black Ops group, Cerberus, their sickening experiments with rachni, husks, mind-controlling properties of the Thorian, all in the name of advancing humanity's best interests. And of course, their involvement in the death of Rear Admiral Kahoku, who had come too close to revealing the disturbing truth about the shadowy organization.

To Captain Anderson, Shepard leaves a report describing everything she has learned about the Reapers, their plans, their motivations. He is the only one who would take her word simply on faith. Shepard only hopes that he will be in position to do something with this information, as the consequences of knocking out Udina and letting them escape Citadel could be severe. Then, she sets to write one last message, this one to her mother, the hardest one of them all. Words don't flow and she grows frustrated, and the unexpected knock on the doors of her quarters comes as a welcome distraction.

It is Liara, looking thoughtful and resolute. "I have done all I can to prepare myself for what is to come," she says, approaching Shepard. "Then I realized that... I do not want to spend these last hours on my own. Say if you wish to be left alone."

"I'm glad you came," Shepard replies. She reaches out and takes Liara's hands in hers. "I've been thinking about you. A lot."

"I can't put you off my mind, either," Liara confesses. "I think it is time."

"Are you sure?" their eyes lock, but Liara looks determined like never before.

"I think we could both do with another reason to fight for," the asari replies, pulling her up from her seat.

"One more thing to come back for?" Shepard asks, smiling softly. "Liara, for you I would crawl back from the world of dead. But hopefully... such drastic measures won't be necessary." She reaches out and traces Liara's cheek with her fingers, slipping down under her chin and bringing it forward, into a kiss. Her lips are soft and yielding, and she melts into Shepard's embrace, with their lips locked and tongues dancing, they stumble towards the bed, eventually falling down with Liara on top of her.

They undress each other slowly, teasingly, taking the time to explore. Shepard decides that she has never seen anything more beautiful than the body of her asari lover, and Liara's gratifying sighs of contentment are like the sweetest music to her ears. Finally, the last remnants of their clothing give way and they embrace, heated skin against skin with no obstructions in the way. Shepard rolls on top of Liara, her hands moving across her partner's body, from her supple breasts towards the crest of her legs, moaning softly at being explored in turn.

Liara stops her, pressing her brow against Shepard's. Her breathing is rapid and unsteady, as she struggles to regain composure, but then her eyes cloud, slowly growing dark, then completely pitch black. "Embrace eternity," they both whisper in unison. As Shepard moves to caress Liara's skin again, it now feels as if the touch goes deeper, under the very skin. She releases all control, opening herself completely to the joining, now only vaguely aware of their bodies, like frozen in a never ending caress. Their shells feel like something alien, belonging to the outside world, there is no Commander Shepard nor Doctor T'Soni any longer, they are one, something new, a union of the very essence of their beings.

At some point, the world around them slowly starts shifting back into focus, they become aware of their physical bodies, still moving against each other feverishly. The gradual way they regain control of their consciousness, the unified nervous system detaching, it is a feeling Shepard cannot put into words. It is almost like swimming underwater, then having the liquid surrounding her drained, feeling it flowing out from all around her, leaving her dry and somehow diminished, exhausted to the point of being unable to move.

As Liara's eyes slowly return to their normal blue, Shepard knows it is all over. Still shaking slightly from the sensory overload, she slides off her partner, Liara turning on her side to face Morgan, wrapping her slender blue legs around Shepard's. "By the Goddess... no, descriptions in the books don't really do justice to a true union," she sighs, looking happy beyond measure. "That was fantastic, Morgan."

Shepard smiles, realizing this is the first time Liara has actually used her name. "No," she leans closer and kisses Liara on the brow. "You were fantastic, Liara."

"I wish we would have more time," Liara says. "But then, I guess that was the point."

"Yeah," Shepard nods. "Now I know we won't fail. I'm absolutely coming back for more of this."

Liara laughs. "You're incorrigible, you know that?"

Shepard is about to reply, but there is noise on the blasted comms again. "Commander?" It is Joker, of course. "ETA to Mu Relay fifteen minutes, get yourselves ready."

"Wonderful," Shepard sighs. "We should go. Duty calls and all that. Damned Joker and his lousy timing!"

"Interesting timing, indeed... how did he know that you still needed to get ready?" Liara wonders, rearing her head and starting to look around. "Now I am very curious about those surveillance cameras..."


	7. Sovereign's Fall

_A/N: First of all, let me start this note with a sincere apology about this chapter. My dear and valued readers, there is no way you are deserving of this subpar quality of writing. This is a horrible and rushed chapter, and if I was not hurrying to be done with the ME1 part of this story and get on to the juicy ME2 plot, I would have probably split this into three longer chapters and given it the dialogue and characterization that it deserves. I promise that things will improve noticeably starting with the next chapter! Please don't give up on me yet, I can do much better than this. :( _

_Secondly, I wish to thank all those still reading and adding this story to favs, but especially to those reviewing. You guys absolutely rock. :) I also want to explain my personal take on reviewing. If someone reviews me, I will absolutely make an effort to review their stories in turn. With 50+ new stories posted here every day, there is no way to read and review all of them (all though I try to read and review at least some everyday), so I need to prioritize. Obviously, I will give priority to those who have shown kindness and effort in reviewing my stuff. :) _

**Chapter 6 - Sovereign's Fall**

The situation around Ilos is much like they expected it to be. The geth flagships are there in force, but Normandy's stealth drive proves invaluable, and considering geth ships do not have windows that could provide for visual identification, they are able to slip past the defenses, approaching an unusual energy signature on the surface of Ilos. It can only be Saren with his ground forces, and Joker pulls off an ill-advised maneuver with Normandy, dropping the Mako almost on top of unpleasantly surprised Saren.

Still, the former Spectre manages to give them the slip, and they are forced to chase after him through the labyrinths of Prothean ruins, that are a powerful distraction for the Prothean expert in their midst. And when they discover the still active Prothean VI, Vigil, Liara is practically ecstatic, Shepard and Garrus are almost forced to drag her away forcefully, the asari eventually remembering their purpose for being here in the first place.

Not that Shepard cannot understand the temptation. Vigil reveals things that nobody has ever suspected, and the truth is not easy to accept on the spot. The cycle of elimination of all organic life has been ongoing for millions of years, repeating itself every fifty thousand years.

Citadel is revealed to be a trap, enormous mass relay that links to the dark space beyond the edge of the galaxy, where the armies of Reapers await patiently, ready to pour through. The role of the keepers of the Citadel is revealed as well. These quiet, unnoticeable servants have over the history of million years, held the task of masking the true nature of the Citadel, with the sole purpose of activating the relay when prompted to do so by their Reaper masters.

"That's why they have proven almost impossible to scan," Tali realizes, shaking her head.

But the ancient Protheans have managed to spoil the plans of the Reapers, even as they watched their cities burn, their civilization fall. The Conduit is the result of the work on a science facility here on Ilos. It is a small-scale mass relay, leading directly through to the Citadel. In the last act of defiance, the Prothean scientists went through the Conduit and made alterations in the signal that would be received by the keepers.

"I get it," Garrus nods. "When Sovereign sent the signal, the keepers didn't understand it. That's why the relay wasn't activated."

"And that's why Saren is seeking the Conduit!" Kaidan exclaims. "He's planning to enter the Citadel through the backdoor, take them by surprise and activate the relay himself! We need to hurry!"

And making haste is exactly what they do, Garrus driving the Mako through the trenches of Ilos like a turian obsessed, until they reach the Conduit. "It looks exactly like that small statue outside the Presidium Tower," Tali remarks with some surprise. The geth protect the Conduit ferociously and Mako is starting to catch flames under heavy fire, when they finally reach the conduit and instantly trigger the relay jump.

Moments later, Mako appears on the Citadel, emerging from what Tali had just described as a 'statue' of mass relay and then rolling over a pair of very surprised geth. They hastily abandon the damaged vehicle that soon becomes overtaken by flames and is destroyed in a violent explosion.

"Look!" Tali exclaims, pointing upwards. "They are already here!"

Indeed, above them the battle rages hard. The geth fleets have arrived, seemingly having taken the Council forces by surprise. The turian flotilla and the Council's flagship, Destiny's Ascension, try to rally, but they are slowly getting outmatched. And amidst it all, they can see that the arms of the great space station are slowly closing, about to seal the Citadel off. Only one ship makes it through inside the Citadel before its arms close completely. It slowly drifts towards the center of the station, starting to attach itself, like some sort of gigantic blood-sucking insect.

"By the Goddess, Sovereign is here," Liara shouts, wringing her hands. "Are we too late?"

"We must find Saren," Shepard says resolutely. "If we can stop him from opening the relay, perhaps all is not yet lost. Only one question remains. Where to look for him?"

Gripping his shotgun tightly, Wrex nods towards the elevator to the Presidium. "I'd wager he's up there," he says, grinning from the thought of upcoming carnage.

Smooth travel to the top of the tower is interrupted at about halfway, the geth becoming aware of their intentions and sabotaging the elevator. Shepard leads her team through maintenance shafts, across rooftops, losing precious time, but finally arriving at the top of the Presidium. Saren is there, still hurriedly working on the consoles, a few dozens of geth protecting him. A krogan airdrop takes care of a good chunk of them, Tali sabotages another few, turning them on their fellow synthetics, Liara and Kaidan's biotics and Shepard and Garrus' sniper rifles take care of the remaining stragglers.

Then it is Saren's turn, but still trying to punch in the last of his commands into the consoles, he cannot provide match to their skill and determination. As Wrex and Garrus drag Saren away, Shepard completely ignores his mad ramblings. The turian ex-Spectre is by now completely indoctrinated by Sovereign, not a single thought of his own remaining. She hurriedly starts to work on the consoles, following the steps that Vigil has provided for her back on Ilos.

As Shepard manipulates the station to slowly reopen its arms, with the corner of her eye she observes the brutal execution of Saren. Roaring in anger, Wrex tears off Saren's mandibles in a spray of dark-blue blood and gore, while Garrus unloads one shot after another into the still struggling body that soon stops moving. Liara and Tali turn away, disgusted, while Kaidan watches grimly. "I will not deny them their revenge," Shepard says, feeling Liara's questioning stare. "Saren could not be saved or redeemed, you know that. The turian inside that shell is long gone, erased by indoctrination."

"The Commander is right," Tali says, looking at the consoles. She reaches out and presses one of the buttons. "This should bring the communications back up."

The quarian is correct, the comm line immediately jumps to life and reports are flowing in. The Destiny's Ascension is in trouble, their kinetic barriers are down to forty percent and the geth are about to bring down the pride of the asari fleets with the Council aboard. Then there is also Joker's voice, filled with worry, asking them to respond. He reports that SSV Normandy is on standby together with the whole Arcturus Fleet under Admiral Hackett. They await orders, whether to move in immediately and save the Council, or wait for the station's arms to open and then hit Sovereign with all the firepower they have.

Once again, it comes down to choices. Choices that determine who lives and who dies.

"Don't throw away human lives for those ungrateful bastards," Garrus says, fuming in anger at the memory of Council's betrayal. "They stripped you of command, impounded your ship, and now they expect that you will sacrifice your own people for them?" Wrex nods in agreement, and she notices Kaidan nodding too.

"Don't do it, Commander," Liara shakes her head. "This is bigger than just humanity, you know that."

_She is right, it is bigger than just protecting humanity's interests. And I have been betrayed by Udina just as much as I was betrayed by the Council,_ Shepard thinks. "If I sacrifice the Destiny's Ascension, yes, humanity might be running the next Council. But we would be lonely upon our throne, as the rest of the galaxy looks upon us as ruthless monsters, willing to sacrifice our friends, our allies, as long as it advances our own selfish goals. No, if I wish to serve the best interests of humanity, I must show mercy to the Council."

"Sure hope you know what you're doing, Commander," Garrus grumbles as she opens the comm line and passes her orders to Joker and the Fifth Fleet. As they watch the battle above the Citadel, human fleets quickly overpowering the surprised geth and allowing Destiny's Ascension to retreat to safety, she catches the warm smile Liara gives her, just one more thing that reassures her that she has made the right decision.

_Besides, maybe the Council will be grateful and a bit more considerate when dealing with me in the future,_ she thinks, before mentally shaking her head. _No, they probably won't, they're all politicians. Their gratitude comes with an exceptionally short warranty._

The Fifth Fleet is getting decimated by the solitary Reaper. Debris from the destroyed human ships rain down all over the Citadel, but Sovereign is also starting to feel the heat. It detaches from the Citadel and attempts to position itself so that it can fire on the Alliance vessels more effectively. In doing so, when turning, it briefly exposes its less armored parts, and Admiral Hackett employs a brilliant maneuver, sending in a part of his fleet that had been withheld this far, waiting for this very opportunity. To wild cheers of Shepard and her friends, Sovereign is wracked by explosions all across its kilometers long frame, and then it shatters, separating in thousands and thousands of pieces.

"You know, we might want to..." Shepard starts to speak, as she sees a particularly large piece of debris getting launched in the direction of the Presidium Tower.

"Move!" Kaidan yells, pulling Tali away to get her moving. The others react as well, trying to run as fast as they can, but then there is a loud crash as a part of Sovereign's carcass crashes through the windows of the Presidium level. The force of the blast wave knocks them all off their feet, rain of debris falling down and swallowing them.

As the dust clears, for a while there is no movement in the rubble. After several minutes, as the first C-Sec officers arrive on the scene together with Captain Anderson, a heavy piece of metal plating is lifted and thrown aside, as Wrex emerges from the wreckage. His armor is dented and there is blood seeping through its cracks, but the krogan seems pleased nonetheless. "This fight is worth a scar to remember it by," he says by a way of greeting Anderson, then turning around and starting to sort the wreckage, hoping to find more survivors.

Garrus crawls out next, limping, carrying Tali in his arms. The quarian is unconscious, but alive, and Garrus explains that he has been trying to seal a part of her ripped armor to try and isolate infection.

Kaidan and Liara are trapped under the rubble, but they are both very much alive and well, protected by a safe pocket created by metal constructions, creating a durable tent-like structure. Lieutenant Alenko is bleeding from a deep gash in his brow, and Doctor T'Soni does not seem to notice her severe bloody bruises as she rushes back into the pile of debris, trying to find Shepard amongst the wreckage.

They search for a good while, but with no results. Anderson's face has become very grim as he looks at Liara, but the asari is not about to give up. "Wait, be quiet please!" she suddenly exclaims, and the others obey all as one. There is a steady metallic noise, somewhere in the rubble, close to the point of impact. They rush towards it, but manage to get only halfway there when they see a large piece of Sovereign's hull suddenly separating from the rest of the remains and Shepard pulls herself free of the wreckage. Limping, armor torn above the knee, her left hand hanging limply at her side, her blood and dirt stained face beams in a smile. She knows they have won this battle... and even if the true war is yet to come, they will savor this victory.

Several days later, once out of the hospital, she is brought before the Council again, together with her squad. The Council members appear humble and thankful, for once not dismissing her claims about the Reapers. There seems to be no end to the praise for Shepard and her comrades, and inwardly the cynical part of her mind already wonders how long the Council will remember her actions.

There is something tangible for humanity on the whole, as well. A seat on the Council, and Udina's eyes light up in anticipation at the prospect of being humanity's first councilor. The other councilors turn to Shepard, asking if she has a recommendation for humanity's candidate. Shepard declines to answer. She dislikes Udina too much on personal level to recommend him, and she cannot bear to do this to Anderson, even though in her eyes he would be the perfect candidate. However, putting a fellow marine behind a politician's desk is absolutely the worst thing one can do to another soldier, so she stays silent. "Let the politicians decide," her words come swift and she turns away, not wishing to be involved in this decision.

There is only one thing Shepard asks of the Council, and they happily grant her request. She asks for one week of shore leave before she resumes her work as a Spectre. After all this, Shepard feels they have all earned a moment of respite, before getting thrown back into action. "Everyone, make your way down to the Flux," she tells her crew, faced with smiles and nods. "Tonight, the drinks are on me!"


	8. Vacations and Routine Missions

_A/N: I wonder if it's the habit of all writers to be overly critical and generally disliking their own efforts. I can't help but feel 'this is just so meh' about most of my stuff, even if the logical part of my mind tells me it's actually quite decent! Ah well. I wonder if it's a good sign that I don't actively dislike this chapter. I actually feel it's somewhat decent, though of course, there's nothing that couldn't be improved on. _

_As always, big thanks to all those still reading and adding this story to favs, but especially to those reviewing. If people are too shy to review, but still add the story alert, I generally view that as a 'Cool story bro' kind of review, anyway. ;) _

**Chapter 7 - Vacations and Routine Missions**

In the quiet of the captain's quarters on Normandy, tightly embraced, they hold each other and hatch grand plans. Liara speaks of showing her the sights of Thessia. Shepard wants nothing else but to show her the wonders of Earth. They finally agree on a compromise, for now it will be Earth, as long as Shepard promises to spend her next, longer vacation on Thessia.

Before they leave for Earth, however, there are farewells to say.

Shepard has hoped to retain her entire crew, even though she realizes that at least a few of them will be moving on. Tali stops by her quarters first, embracing her fiercely. She is returning to the flotilla with a collection of useful insights about the geth, knowledge of paramount importance to her people. Her Pilgrimage is now complete, and she must return to the Migrant Fleet.

"I hope you understand, Shepard," she says, and there is both joy and sadness in her voice. Joy from finally returning to her people, her family. Sadness to be parted from friends with whom they have went through so much together. "Perhaps one day our paths will cross again, Shepard."

"I would like that, Tali," Shepard replies. "Don't be a stranger and stay in touch." The quarian nods and leaves, allowing Wrex to step up to the doors of her cabin. "You're not leaving too, are you Wrex?" she asks, her heart sinking a little. She has become genuinely fond of the gruff krogan.

"Fraid so, Shepard," Wrex nods. "Got some business on Tuchanka I need to attend to."

"Tuchanka? You're going back to your people?" Shepard is surprised.

"Perhaps it was a mistake to give up on them as quickly as I did," Wrex admits after a brief pause. "Maybe it's just me growing old. Or maybe my travels with you have thought me something, Shepard."

She swallows heavily before replying. "Then I wish you the best of luck, Wrex." They shake hands, Wrex leaves. The doors to her cabin close, she turns around, slumping back against the metal panel, overcome by sadness. "Everyone's leaving," she speaks to Liara, resting on her bed and also looking pensive.

"Garrus will stay, I don't think he really has anything to return to," the asari replies, trying to sound encouraging. "And Kaidan will continue to serve on Normandy, of course."

"You're not going to abandon me for some Prothean digsite, are you?" Shepard asks, a little teasingly, as she walks over to the bed.

Liara rises up in the bed and pulls Shepard down to rest alongside her, wrapping her arms around Morgan's waist. "You carry around more knowledge about the Protheans than any old digsite," Liara says softly, leaning closer to kiss her on the cheek. "And you are far more interesting to explore..."

* * *

Even though she has been looking forward to showing Earth to Liara, it takes her some effort to actually choose a destination. Considering that the asari are deeply interested in art and culture of other species, in the end she chooses to first visit the cradle of the Renaissance.

Shepard herself has never been well educated in all things art and culture, heck, for a while she had thought that baroque and rococo were brands of ice-cream. She is a soldier, she shoots things. She has no need to know whether the building she just blew up with well placed explosive charge was built in this or that style of architecture. And yet, since this would be such a perfect opportunity to play a guide for Liara, she feels deeply disappointed that her explanations are lousy and likely foolishly inaccurate. In the end she guiltily confesses her lack of knowledge, but Liara merely smiles and offers words of encouragement. They continue to explore the great museums and galleries of Rome and Florence together, aided by the available VI guides and Shepard soon finds herself genuinely interested in the subject, Liara's enthusiasm downright contagious.

After a few days in the sunny Italy, they travel to Paris. In the Louvre, Shepard ends up paying handsomely to the security for their aid in staging a false fire alarm, which ends in her bravely _evacuating_ Liara from the premises. That is the only way to get the asari peeled away from the treasure troves of the grand museum.

They visit a theater play, fortunately this time Shakespeare's Hamlet is not performed by an all elcor cast, Morgan managing to convince Liara that fourteen hours of torture would not give an accurate impression of Earth's culture. The next evening, sitting through La Traviata in the famous Palais Garnier, cringing all the time, Shepard worries that the dreadful screeching of the 'singers' might cause damage to the asari's sensitive eardrums. Strangely enough, Liara appears to greatly enjoy the experience. Shepard gives up, admitting complete defeat in face of this culture and art bollocks.

Later on, they dress up and hit the nightclubs of Paris. They both wear tight leather pants and matching jackets, Shepard for once unties her ponytail and lets her red hair flow loose, hardly able to recognize herself in the mirror, too used at seeing herself only in her military uniform. That is also why nobody has recognized her during this better part of the week spent on Earth. She is the Alliance poster girl, her image on most of Alliance recruitment vids, but now in her casual clothes, sometimes wearing a dress, dark sunglasses covering her eyes, nobody knows who she is. She is just a girl named Morgan.

If there is any attention drawn to them, it is because of Liara. Even if alien tourists are not rare on Earth, it is still considered a backward, somewhat hostile and xenophobic, out of the way planet that nobody really wants to visit unless they absolutely have to. To see an asari walking around, hand in hand with her human lover, it raises a few eyebrows, but mostly smiles and curious stares from the population of younger males.

And in the nightclubs, there is nobody that dances the way Liara does. By her own admissions, she is rather shy and inexperienced, but Shepard strongly believes this is something that comes as natural to all the asari, their shapes simply move in ways that are so fluid and attractive that it is hard to tear your eyes away.

Later on, in their hotel room, they make love, again and again, until the first rays of sunlight outside the window. Exhausted and happy, wrapped in blankets they sit on the balcony, side by side, drawing body heat from each other as they watch the sun slowly rise above the horizon.

"I'm glad we decided to come here, Morgan. Earth is truly beautiful," Liara says, pressing closer. "Or at least, you make it appear so."

"I'm glad you think so," Shepard replies. "I will love Thessia as well, I'm sure."

"Do you have any family back on Earth?" Liara asks.

"No," Shepard shakes her head. "My mother is with the Alliance and currently on mission somewhere in the Traverse. It's all classified, as you can imagine."

"I wonder what would she think of me," Liara muses thoughtfully. "Have you told her anything? About us, I mean."

"Not yet. We don't really speak that often during missions. As for what she would think of you," Shepard says, affectionately squeezing her lover's shoulder. "I imagine she would be a little surprised at first. But then she would grow to like you a great deal, I'm sure."

Liara smiles back at her, silent before asking. "You never mention your father, what about him?"

"Killed in action," Shepard replies. "I was very young and barely remember him." There is a moment of silence, before she speaks again. "I've been meaning to ask. After what happened with your mother... have you put any thought into finding out more about your father?"

She can feel Liara tensing next to her. "I... don't know. Maybe. It's all a little bit too fresh still." There is another pause, interrupted only by Shepard's yawn a while later. "Perhaps we should go to bed?" Liara asks. "To sleep, this time."

Shepard looks at her fondly, chuckling. "I don't think I'm in a condition for anything else but sleep." They rise and head back inside. "There are still some places I want to visit and show you..." she says, falling face first into the pillow. "But first, sleep..."

Two days later, they stand at a grave in the New Kensington Cemetery, Gunnersbury Park. Black trenchcoats and umbrellas shield them from the welcoming rain of the Isles. They place red roses at the feet of the monument, final resting place of Rear Admiral Kahoku.

"I would have wanted to do the same for Ash," Shepard says heavily. "Her family put up a plaque to honor her memory back on Sirona. The colony world she was born on."

"We have honored her in every possible way, already," Liara says, touching her hand. "And we made Saren pay for what he did."

Shepard nods. "I feel as if we did not do enough to Cerberus for murdering another great man," she says angrily, looking at the roses on Kahoku's grave. "If our paths ever cross again... I now have a clear shoot first, ask questions later policy regarding those scum."

"Their experiments were sick and twisted, yes," Liara agrees. "And their actions can reflect very badly on the whole of humanity. If we had not contained the release of out of control rachni... it could have ended very badly for your people."

"I don't like Black Ops," Shepard says, as they turn to leave. "Never have, never will. Not having to answer to anybody means they will go bad, sooner or later."

"I have heard the claim that Spectres are much the same," Liara says. "But I disagree with it. Spectres have a lot of freedom, but they still answer to the Council. And Spectres that go bad are still being chased down and eliminated, we proved that with Saren."

"Exactly so," Shepard says, nodding. "And speaking of Council..." she sighs, realizing that their vacation is slowly drawing to the inescapable close. "I believe it's past time we checked in with them..."

* * *

"So, Commander..." Kaidan is the first to welcome them back on Normandy. "You were wondering how long it will take for the Council to change their tune? It's been hardly over a week, they have exceeded even my cynical predictions!"

Shepard just groans, before Garrus appears to add with a knowing grin. "Good to see you again Shepard. You too, Liara," he says. "Looks like you two have had a good vacation." Shepard declines from a comment on that, and Liara stays silent as well.

Yes, the Council has changed their tune quickly indeed. A week after Sovereign's attack on the Citadel, the Reapers have once again become a mere figment of imagination, a child's fantasy. In order to avoid a wide-spread panic if the knowledge of coming Reaper invasion became common, the blame for the attack has been shifted solely to Saren and the geth. The large pieces of debris including unexplainably advanced tech are simply just some surprising upgrades of the geth.

"I might be okay with this hushing down the truth," Shepard tells Anderson aboard the Normandy, as they prepare to leave the Citadel space. "But only if I had reason to believe that the Council actually takes these warnings seriously, silently preparing for the Reaper invasion, without alerting the civilian masses. What are the chances they will be doing that?"

"Slim to none," Anderson shakes his head. "Your warnings have found some support amongst the Alliance Command, Hackett's word alone carries much weight. He will continue building the fleets, even as he fights the detractors, claiming your theories are simply sensationalist fiction, aimed to secure personal fame and glory."

"They say that?" Shepard grinds out angrily, clenching her fists.

Anderson nods, looking disgusted. "It's disgraceful. Look, Shepard, I know this mission the Council is sending you on is mostly to just get you out of the way. But maybe we can use that to our advantage. Look out for anything that would lend proof to your theories about the Reapers. There's got to be something out there in the Traverse that we can use."

Shepard agrees and they part, wishing each other well. The Council wants to get her out of the way, indeed, with her wild theories and penchant for stirring up trouble, her presence is likely undesirable for the politicians. So, they are sending her back out into the Traverse to clear out the last remnants of Saren's geth, a mission unbecoming of a Spectre.

For three weeks they chase shadows, now and then finding some geth stragglers, batarian slavers or pirates, who are then promptly and efficiently eliminated. The lack of ground action is starting to wear down on them, Garrus in particular seems frustrated and angry, now and then musing of perhaps leaving Normandy to engage in something more satisfying than playing a tourist. Kaidan complains less, he is one of the few who is generally happy when he does not have to shoot someone or destroy them with his biotics. But Shepard knows things are bad when even Liara is starting to make remarks about how their abilities are grossly misused by sending them on what is just another routine mission.

And then, this placid boredom is crudely interrupted by a shocking surprise attack. Loud noises of explosions and hull breaches suddenly awaken Shepard, resting in her quarters. She quickly shakes Liara awake, the asari lying with her head on Shepard's shoulder. "Suit up fast, we're under attack," she utters quickly, Liara understanding immediately, and they escape their cabin to find Normandy up in flames around them, bodies of scorched crewmates lying here and there.

Shepard throws a fire extinguisher to Liara and grabs another one herself. "Move down to the escape shuttles and help the survivors off the ship," she orders Liara, hearing Joker reporting on the comms about multiple hull breaches, seeing the alarms blinking for immediate evacuation.

"What about you?" Liara demands.

"I'm going to check the bridge for survivors. Joker is still up there, I need to get him to safety. Knowing him, he will not want to evacuate," Shepard insists, growing impatient when seeing that Liara is about to protest. "I'll be right behind you, Liara, don't worry! Just go!" The asari turns around and quickly hurries off, stopping only to free an injured engineer, pinned down by a piece of falling metal construction.

Shepard rushes to the bridge, past the ruined CIC. "We've suffered heavy damage from an unknown enemy," she hears Joker's desperate report over the comms, her helmsman probably realizing that by now the ship is ultimately lost. _Who could have done this,_ Shepard thinks frantically, fighting through the quickly spreading fires. _The stealth drives would have been engaged, was someone close enough for a visual scan?_

Normandy is a wreck, barely holding itself together by the time she reaches Joker. As she had thought, Joker refuses to abandon ship and she pulls him out of the chair forcefully, dragging him to the nearest escape pod and throwing him inside, probably breaking some of his brittle bones in this less than gentle process of extraction. _He will thank me later,_ she tells herself, about to follow Joker back inside the pod, but just then, their unknown assailants come back for another round of attack.

The energy beam of their main cannon just misses her and their escape pod, but the resulting wave of the force shakes her around like a rag doll, forcing her to let go off the handle. She tries to grasp at the broken, bent pieces of the carcass, but the force throws her through the large hull breaches in the bridge. Bouncing against the pieces of metal, rupturing her suit, she is thrown outside the ship and into the open space, as Joker watches after her with mouth agape in shock, before with trembling hands he closes the escape pod and launches himself to safety.

She floats in the vacuum, helpless, watching the myriad of escape shuttles on their way down to the planet's surface. Air quickly escapes through her punctured suit, as she spends her last moments of consciousness praying that Liara made it to the shuttle safely. There is a ringing sensation in her ears, and she realizes that her eardrums are about to explode, and she feels her limbs quickly starting to swell as all water quickly evaporates from her body.

_Not fair,_ she thinks, last few coherent thoughts before her brain shuts itself off from the asphyxiation. _So much left unfinished. I had to stop the Reapers. I wanted more time with you, Liara..._

She looks after the shuttles again, but now there is only darkness around her, and she wonders whether they have already landed on the planet safely, or whether it is the moisture in her eyes boiling away, making her blind. Moments later, she thinks no more, as her brain gives up the fight. Death comes, swift and merciful.


	9. To Wake in the Arms of an Enemy

_A/N: I've been reading a lot of stories on this site over the past month, and I often see Shepard coming to trust Cerberus quite quickly in ME2. Not that there's something inherently wrong with that, all our characters are different, some are more trusting, some less. I want to say this upfront, however: Morgan is definitely not going to trust Cerberus, ever. So, prepare to see a very frustrated TIM and equally frustrated Operative Lawson. The chances of Morgan and Miranda becoming best friends are... slim, but perhaps eventually there is hope for something like grudging respect. _

_As always, big thanks to all those reading and reviewing! Your feedback is like a cup of hot, black coffee to a tired mind inspiring and motivating! _

**Chapter 8 To Wake in the Arms of an Enemy**

The first thing she hears is the loud screeching of the alarms, at first distant and dull as if her ears were stuffed full with cotton. Then they grow louder and louder, together with a woman's voice, urgent over the comms. She feels as if she has heard the voice before, but she does not know from when. _What is happening? Where am I? I... thought I was dead, wasn't I?_ more important questions race through her mind, brain working overtime and trying to comprehend the situation surrounding her.

_Aww, damn it, don't tell me that this is the sodding afterlife and Ash was right all along,_ she curses mentally, forcing her eyes open. The room she is in looks more like a cross between a science lab and a medbay, and less of something one would expect to wake up to in afterlife. _Shit, how is it that I'm alive? What madness is this?_ she feels at a loss, almost close to panic.

"Commander Shepard," the woman's voice is loud over the comms. It really does seem familiar, somehow. "Commander Shepard, the facility in under attack. I need you to get up, arm yourself and make your way to the shuttle bay. Commander Shepard, you must get up!"

"Alright, alright..." she croaks, then trying to rise, but slumping back immediately. The sensation is like being stabbed with thousand needles all at once and her insides are twisting, it seems as if every piece of her body is aching as she tries to move. She slowly brings her hands up to her face, tracing her cheeks, finding deep marks, almost as if her face has been ravaged by some sort of garden implement. But there is little time to spend lamenting her new scars. If the woman on the comms is to be trusted and this is not some kind of sick experiment, she needs to force herself up and moving.

Screaming from pain, she rises in one swift motion, jumping off what seems to be an operating table. _If these sickos have been experimenting on me..._ she thinks, grinding her teeth as her body slowly adjusts, the pain starting to ebb away. She shakes her head before grabbing a pistol from a nearby table compartment and rushes towards the nearest exit, deciding to for now trust the voice on the comms. _I don't think she wants to get me killed. She would have had ample opportunities for it as I lay there unconscious._

The halls outside are littered with corpses of the personnel, all as one gunned down by what seems like hacked security mechs. In another room, separated from the hallway by bulletproof glass, she can see several people in lab coats desperately banging on the windows, looking at her pleadingly. A heavy YMIR mech appears behind them, unleashing a barrage of heavy slugs. Morgan instinctively ducks even if the bullets cannot harm her, then turns away from the disturbing sight of the glass covered in blood and minced internal organs of the hapless scientists.

The voice on the comms is starting to break up due to some kind of interference, before disappearing for good and she is left to seek a path through the facility on her own. Now and then some of the lighter LOKI mechs try to shoot her, but even with her body feeling slow and unresponsive, she dispatches them with relative ease, silently hoping none of the heavy mechs would get in her way. She stumbles upon some logs describing the incredibly expensive project undertaken by this facility, slowly beginning to understand that its focus has been her recovery and 'restoration'. _But I was dead, wasn't I?_ she thinks, confused even more. _You just can't bring someone back from the dead. That's... magic, not science!_

Little further up ahead, she runs into a survivor, shocked to see her running around and shooting mechs. He introduces himself as Jacob Taylor and confirms what she has suspected ever since waking up in the lab. Her memories of Normandy's destruction, of her own death, they are not mere fiction. Those events were real, and according to Jacob's words, scientists have been working for the past two years to put her back together. "Welcome to your life," he says, watching as the truth slowly sinks into Shepard's mind. _Two years,_ she repeats mentally, feeling devastated.

"The Alliance has officially declared you killed in action," Jacob explains. "The whole galaxy thinks you're dead." _Gods. My friends... my mother... they have grieved and dealt with my death already,_ she realizes, her arms shaking as she struggles to take it all in.

As they proceed deeper into the facility, trying to clear their way to the shuttles, Shepard continues to grill Taylor with more and more questions. He claims that this Project Lazarus was trying to bring Shepard back just the way she was, she is not a clone or some sort of unshackled AI that is running around, convinced she is Commander Shepard. Morgan feels a little more reassured, despite the stinging pain of her recreated body protesting about all this running, ducking and shooting, she feels like... well, herself.

Taylor tells her a bit more about himself and the woman that has been speaking to her over the comms. She is Miranda Lawson, top ranking officer of the station and in charge of Project Lazarus. Jacob is her top lieutenant and in charge of the station's security. Even though Morgan finds the man rather likable, she declines to comment on his success as security chief, considering the hacking of the mechs is more than likely an inside job.

Lastly, she asks about the Normandy and her crew. Jacob's reply makes her breathe out a large sigh of relief. Almost everyone has made it off the Normandy, save for Navigator Pressly and some of the ensigns on the lower decks. He mentions that the alien members of the crew also escaped safely, meaning Liara and Garrus, but he has no idea where they would be now. Shepard doesn't care about details, right now it is enough to know her friends are safe. She only needs to get off this facility, then the first thing to do will be to get in contact with her old crew, write a message to her mother.

Another voice pokes them through the comms a while later, asking whether someone is still alive on this frequency. The man's name is Wilson, and Shepard thinks she has heard his voice before too, then mentally remarking that the man sounded more shocked than relieved to find fellow survivors. Together with Taylor they formulate the safest escape path, while Shepard wonders if the fact that this Wilson was serving as the chief medical tech on the station is of any significance.

Morgan readies her pistol, fearing that this 'safe passage' might lead into another squad of hacked mechs. Her suspicions prove correct very quickly, but she makes swift work of the opposition, as Jacob is already launching an angry tirade at Wilson. Shortly after that, Wilson starts yelling that the mechs have found him, reporting on being shot in the leg. _There's no more doubt in my mind now,_ Morgan decides as they rush to aid Wilson. _The others were executed cleanly by the mechs, shooting to kill and then several control bullets for good measure. They don't just shoot someone in the leg, leave them alive and then move on._

As they fix Wilson's injuries, it appears that Jacob also has his own suspicions, as he wonders how come Wilson even has the clearance to the security mech wing. Wilson angrily defends himself, trying to convince them that Miranda is the traitor. Shepard tells them to settle down and work together at least until they have escaped the station.

"Well said, Commander," Jacob agrees. "But before we move on, I think you should know the truth. The Lazarus Project, devoted to bringing you back, it is funded by Cerberus."

Shepard blinks, standing like frozen. "Why would Cerberus want to bring me back?" she asks slowly, glaring at Jacob. "Two years ago, I put several of their sick projects to permanent rest. I figured that would put me on top of their bounty list." _At least it really does feel as if they have rebuilt me the way I was,_ she thinks, remembering Jacob's words. _All my hatred for Cerberus... it is still there, with me, they have not made me an obedient, brainwashed little puppet._

"I can't answer that, Shepard," Jacob shrugs. "Basically, things change. Besides, Alliance declared you dead. Cerberus were the only ones willing to bring you back."

"Well, of course they declared me dead. I **was** dead! That's what you do when someone dies," Morgan snaps angrily. _This is... all wrong. No one else has earned this sort of second chance ever again. Who am I to be given such dubious honor of breaking the cycle of life and death?_

Jacob promises to take her to someone called The Illusive Man once they get off the station, man who would be able to answer all her questions. The name indicates someone high in the ranks of Cerberus, and Shepard quietly nods her agreement, deciding that it might be beneficial for her to play along for now and perhaps find out more about this despicable cabal of terrorists she has sworn to dismantle.

They finally reach the shuttle bay. As the door slides open, a tall, dark-haired woman steps up and without hesitation raises her pistol, lips tightly knit as the shot at close range takes off half of Wilson's face. Jacob is deeply upset, protesting, but Morgan nods approvingly. "Well deduced," she says. "I was wondering if I would have to do something similar myself." _Not to mention the only good Cerberus operative is a dead Cerberus operative._

The impossibly perfect looking woman introduces herself as Miranda Lawson, leader of Project Lazarus. She is cold, professional and ruthless, everything that Shepard would expect from someone high in command at Cerberus. She is displeased with Jacob's honesty in revealing who they work for, and Shepard makes a note that Jacob does not appear to be as fanatically devoted to the terrorist ideals as most of the Cerberus operatives she has met before.

Lawson then demonstrates her heartlessness by refusing to look for any more survivors, claiming that Shepard is the only one who matters, but when pressed with questions why exactly does Shepard's life matters so much, she is evasive, claiming that her boss, The Illusive Man, will explain everything at length.

Seeing that there is nothing else to be gained by remaining on the station, they finally board the last shuttle and take off. During the journey to another facility where The Illusive Man is waiting for them, Miranda decides that it would be jolly good fun to run some tests, just to make sure Shepard's mental faculties are intact. She orders Jacob to pepper Morgan with a pile of questions about her past, her military career and so on.

Shepard answers a few questions before getting annoyed. When they start to probe about her memories of the Skyllian Blitz and Virmire, Morgan feels her insides twisting with rage, mental images of slowly strangling Lawson flashing before her eyes, and finally she ends up telling the Cerberus cheerleader to piss off.

In another anonymous, secret Cerberus facility, she is brought before The Illusive Man. Well, merely a projection of him, the leader of the terrorist organization is understandably cautious when dealing with the woman who neutralized so many of his expensive projects couple of years ago. Shepard listens to his words, scowling as he tries to make nice, trying to brush off the past, claiming they have common goals going forward.

She decides to listen for now, allowing him to explain. And the news, if accurate, are troubling. The Illusive Man speaks of grave threats to entire human race, and Morgan is surprised by his deep knowledge of the Reapers and their intentions. Her host tells Morgan that over the past year, entire human colonies have been disappearing, and he believes it is the work of someone serving the Reapers, just like Saren and the geth worked for Sovereign.

"Nobody wants to admit it, but humanity is under attack and Cerberus is the only group willing to do something about it. We're not as evil as you think, Shepard," The Illusive Man says amiably, lighting up another cigarette and bringing it to his lips. "Our goals are similar, we merely have different methods."

Shepard laughs at the absurdity of the statement. "Using amoral and detestable methods can alone condemn you as evil," she shakes her head. No, if these people want her to believe that Cerberus has changed for better, they will need to try harder. Much damn harder.

Still, hundreds of thousands of humans have been abducted from the colony worlds, in seemingly random strikes, and according to The Illusive Man, the politicians and the Alliance have merely blamed it all on slavers and pirates. He offers Shepard a chance to see for herself before she decides whether to work with Cerberus or not. The colony of Freedom's Progress has recently gone silent, and the Illusive Man provides her with a shuttle, asking that she takes Miranda and Jacob with her and investigates the colony.

_Fine, I'll play along for now,_ Shepard decides as she leaves the briefing room. _I'll use your people and your resources, at least until I can get in touch with Hackett and Anderson... I can't believe they would just sit idly on the sidelines, as thousands and thousands of humans are abducted by unknown enemy. Something in all this... just isn't right._


	10. Taking Charge

_A/N: So yeah, Freedom's Progress... talk about pulling teeth with this chapter. Ugh. I hope it's bearable. Just this bit, then quick run through Omega, and I will finally have a ship full of crazies to spin some banter with. Yayness. _

_It also occurs to me that today is my birthday. Woot. All of you reading, please accept this virtual slice of cake together with a virtual beverage of your choice. Those reviewing are entitled to an extra slice. :)  
_

**Chapter 9 - Taking Charge**

A shuttle quickly takes them to Freedom's Progress, a small human colony deep in the Terminus Systems. On the way, there is little else to do than strike up a conversation with Taylor and Lawson, the first by far the more responsive. It turns out that Jacob has a checkered past with the Alliance, having faithfully served for five years before getting fed up with the bureaucratic bullshit and endless red tape.

"When there's a real problem, at least Cerberus gets things done," he says, even if he himself admits having issues with some of the actions Cerberus have taken in the past.

"I only have experience with real problems **created** by Cerberus," Morgan shrugs her shoulders.

"I know where you're coming from, Shepard," Jacob nods. "But maybe if we manage to stop the abductions of our colonists, people will start looking at us differently," he adds hopefully.

Shepard nods, even if she doesn't truly believe that. One act of heroism does not excuse dozen deeds of monstrosity... though, she admits, it would at least be a start.

Lawson has grown even colder to her after the long discussion Shepard has had with The Illusive Man. Combining that with the fact that it is Morgan in charge of the mission and not Miranda, Shepard believes Lawson is feeling as if she is no longer The Illusive Man's favorite operative.

They discuss Project Lazarus for a bit, and Miranda confesses that she would have done a few things differently from what The Illusive Man ordered, for instance implanting Shepard with some sort of control chip to ensure her loyalty.

"Charming," Morgan scowls. "In that case, I'm rather grateful you did not have full autonomy over the project."

Soon enough they reach the colony, sinking in darkness. The landing pad is deserted and so are the first few buildings around the pad. Inside one of the houses, they can see half-eaten meals still on the table, as if people have simply risen and left during dinner. The entire colony is like a deserted ghost town, not a single soul has remained behind.

Moving forward, however, they encounter resistance in the form of hacked LOKI and Fenris mechs. "Not this again," Shepard curses, putting a heavy slug through the charging doglike Fenris mech, severing all vital circuits with one precise rifle shot. "It's like Wilson coming back from the grave to haunt us. You sure you shot him, Lawson?" Jacob laughs as he launches a wave of biotics at another LOKI mech, but Miranda simply knits her lips even tighter, making Shepard worry that she might split her own head in two.

The next block of buildings holds a surprise that nobody could have expected. They run into a group of quarians, huddled together, reading and comparing their omni-tool data. To an untrained eye the masked quarians all look alike, but not to Shepard. There is one figure who is instantly recognizable, the squad leader of the quarians. She steps forth, her hands almost shaking from shock. "Shepard... is that you?" Tali, it really is her. "But... you were dead? How is this possible?"

The other quarians do not even want to give Shepard time to explain, recognizing both Lawson and Taylor as Cerberus agents. "And you're... with Cerberus now?" Tali asks, now stepping back a little. "No, that can't be you, you would not be working for Cerberus!"

"It's me alright, Tali. The one who got you the data on geth from the Armstrong Nebula. The data that helped you complete your Pilgrimage," Shepard says. Tali immediately nods and relaxes, before shouting to her people to lower their guns. "And I don't work for Cerberus. It seems that they brought me back from the dead, hoping that I would help them investigate the disappearances of human colonies... like this one."

"Perhaps your friend could explain her reasons for being here," Miranda steps in, and Shepard can mentally picture the angry glare Tali is currently sending Lawson's way, before she starts speaking.

From Tali's story, it appears that the quarians have come to collect some youth named Veetor, stuck here on his Pilgrimage. The young quarian is likely to blame for the reprogrammed mechs, panicking, possibly delirious due to damage to his enviro-suit. Shepard suggests that they work together in order to reach Veetor, however everyone but Tali opposes that idea, prompting Shepard to ask if there is a particular reason for them to hate Cerberus so passionately.

It seems there is some very recent history indeed, with Cerberus infiltrating the Migrant Fleet, killing several quarians and attempting to blow up one of their ships. "You just make friends wherever you go, don't you?" Shepard tells Miranda, relishing the opportunity to ruffle Lawson's feathers some more.

Miranda shakes her head curtly. "That's not how I would have explained it," she says. "It was nothing personal."

"A drug addict stabbing you in the back while you're crossing a dark alley and then taking your credit chit for another dose of red sand also thinks it's nothing personal," Shepard says, much to Miranda's annoyance and Tali's amusement.

After some more squabbling, they eventually agree to work together, but the alliance only lasts for a few minutes as the quarians rush ahead blindly, trying to reach Veetor first. They pay for their actions dearly, running into a reprogrammed YMIR mech that makes short work of most of them, and as they are mercilessly torn to shreds by heavy weapons fire their screams can be heard across the whole colony. Shepard and her small crew manage to sneak up on the YMIR mech while it is still busy reducing a pinned down quarian to a wet spot on the ground and they quickly disable its shields and armor, making it explode in a spectacular shower of metal parts.

As Tali sees to injuries of the very few alive quarians, Shepard leads her team to Veetor's hiding place, a small communications bunker at the far side of the colony. The quarian is quite insane from delirium and it is difficult to get any information out of him, but when they finally break through, the discoveries are startling.

Veetor rambles of monsters and swarms that have taken everyone, but he also has evidence to back up his wild claims. He provides pieced together vids that reveal odd looking species, human-sized bipeds who look very insect-like with their four glowing eyes. Their heads are large and bulbous and it seems as if they also have some kind of rudimentary wings on their backs, though at least in the vids not one of them can be seen flying, instead they are busy carrying out containers with trapped humans inside them.

"My god, I think those are the Collectors," Miranda exclaims, recognizing the mysterious attackers. She explains that Collectors rarely show themselves outside their home system. "If they are in league with the Reapers..." she concludes thoughtfully.

Shepard is confused about the motives of these Collectors. "Why are they loading these colonists onto their ship instead of killing them?" she wonders. "What are they really after?"

Veetor rambles on, about seeker swarms, some sort of advanced tech that the Collectors have used to disable the entire colony. He has valuable data on this tech recorded with his omni-tool, and Miranda suggests they grab Veetor and his omni-tool, stuff him into their shuttle and take him to Cerberus facilities for further 'questioning'. At that moment, Tali storms in, having overheard Lawson's suggestion and being none too impressed by it.

Before Tali and Miranda can draw weapons on each other, however, Shepard quickly comes up with a suggestion. "Tali, why don't you come along with Veetor and us?" she asks, hoping for a positive answer. _I need at least one friend back. I need someone with me I can rely on._ "Then we could both make sure he is treated well."

But to her disappointment, Tali shakes her head. "I'm sorry Shepard, but I have my own mission now, and I cannot abandon it," she says. "And I won't let you take Veetor. Copies of his omni-tool data will have to do."

"Are you sure I can't make you reconsider?" Shepard asks, feeling desperate. "I... really need someone like you."

"I'm sorry, Shepard," Tali sounds a little dejected too. "I wish I could give you a different answer, but I can't. Please... for old time's sake, don't push this."

"Alright, we'll make do with the omni-tool data," Shepard agrees. Miranda looks as if she is about to protest, but says nothing, remembering the chain of command. Morgan leans closer to Tali, aware that the others can still overhear her, but she does not give a damn. "A shame, I could have used someone with me that I can trust... but I understand."

"You'll be fine, Shepard, as long as you remember that you can't believe anything these people tell you," Tali points at Miranda and Jacob. "Also, this time I will make sure to stay in touch," she promises as they shake hands. "May we meet in better times, Commander..."

As Tali leads the delirious Veetor away to their shuttles, Morgan sighs, feeling rather depressed as she gives an annoyed stare to Miranda and Jacob. "Hanging out with you people is just like having garlic breath, nobody wants to come too close," she says angrily. "Geez, it's repelling even my oldest and closest friends."

Later, it is time for mission debrief with Shepard's new 'boss'. "The Illusive Man just seems like such a chore to say every time I want to address you," she speaks, watching as the ever-gallant, ever-smoking elegant gentleman reads over her mission report. "Can I just call you Tim, instead? Or Timmy? No? Okay, Tim it is."

The Illusive Man just ignores her jibes, commending her on a job well done, confirming that the Collectors are behind the abductions. He reveals a little more about the enigmatic species who now and then show up in the Terminus Systems, looking for trade of sapient beings, usually with some kind of unseen genetic mutations and anomalies, then disappearing through the unmapped Omega-4 relay back to wherever they came from.

The sudden interest in humans is something that The Illusive Man cannot explain, though he speculates that if Collectors are really working for the Reapers, then it might be due to the Reapers having developed a sudden interest in humanity, after a certain human had been so instrumental in defeating Sovereign and ruining its plots.

Morgan listens to all this, eventually forced to admit that the threat appears genuine enough. _Very well, you slippery bastard. We'll keep dancing until I find out what the Alliance and the Council plan to do about this._ The Illusive Man tells her that this mission will require a solid team and provides her with several dossiers on individuals he believes would be of huge assistance. Shepard shakes her head in refusal. "No deal, Tim," she snaps. "I had a team I trust fully. I want them. Make it happen."

The Illusive Man sighs and goes over each and every one of her old team, explaining why they are not available. Garrus has dropped off the grid a few months after the disaster over Alchera. Kaidan is promoted with the Alliance, his file well-classified, meaning he is engaged in something so secret even Tim has not been able to find out about it. Wrex is back on Tuchanka, uniting the krogan clans. He admits that Tali is a possibility, but claims he needs more intel on what it would take to recruit her.

Finally, Shepard braces herself for the news she has been dreading to hear. "Liara T'Soni is working for the Shadow Broker," The Illusive Man says. "She can't be trusted."

Morgan blinks, before a hollow, disbelieving laugh escapes her throat. "You are... so full of shit, Tim," she says. "Liara working for the Shadow Broker? That's insane. She would never do that. Never!"

"My intel is never wrong, Shepard," The Illusive Man says, a little apologetically. "But I will let you discover the truth for yourself, in time. Meanwhile, I recommend you stick with the dossiers I have forwarded to you. I strongly advise to start with recruiting Doctor Mordin Solus on Omega. He is our best bet to develop a countermeasure for the seeker swarms that the Collectors are employing. If we cannot neutralize that, this mission is doomed."

Shepard nods, conceding this particular point, even if her thoughts are still on Liara. _If he wanted to lie, he could have come up with something more believable than that,_ she realizes. _Something isn't right here, and I intend to find out what it is._

"And another thing, Shepard," the Illusive Man says, bringing the debrief to a close. "I found a pilot you can trust. I think you're going to like him."

The comm line is closed and Shepard feels someone slowly walking up to her from behind. She swirls around, only to come face to face with the smiling Jeff 'Joker' Moreau. "Hey, Commander," he grins broadly. "Just like old times, huh?"


	11. Omega, Of Archangels and Afterlife

_A/N: I think this should be the last of the chapters where I must apologize about it being too rushed. Think I've played through Omega a dozen times at least, so I really didn't want to linger there for too long. Next chapter will make up for this, I hope, it's purely banter-y goodness. _

_And of course, we're picking up two of my favorite characters, Garrus and Mordin. You'll see a lot more of them in the upcoming chapters, especially Garrus. Oh, I suppose we pick up Zaeed as well, but... ugh, Zaeed. He's like the side-dish that nobody cares for. The broccoli in my salad, so to speak. _

_As always, thank you for reading and reviewing. :)_

**Chapter 10 - Omega, Of Archangels and Afterlife**

And just like that, Morgan Shepard has a ship of her own to command. The amount of resources that Cerberus must have poured into building the SR-2 Normandy is likely staggering, and Morgan is overwhelmed and impressed with all the upgrades installed on board. _No wonder Joker feels like a five-year old in a candy store,_ she thinks, making an inspection of the ship, getting acquainted with the crew.

They have talked at length with Joker about what happened after the destruction of SR-1. After recovering from his injuries, Joker had been temporarily grounded by the Alliance, so when the offer from the Cerberus eventually came, he had been more than happy to switch sides. Especially after they had shown him the new Normandy. _It is a beautiful ship indeed. Sleek, silent, comfortable, powerful, lightning fast,_ Morgan thinks. _But unlike Joker, I need more than this. I need more than a ship to buy my loyalty._

"Genuine leather," Joker comments, lazily stretching out in the chair as she steps onto the bridge. "Gotta love the civilian comforts of breathing seats on a military ship, huh, Commander?"

"Leather seats don't actually breathe," Shepard says. "They're really rather unhealthy in that regard. You're going to end up with one seriously sweaty ass."

"Gah, you're such a downer," Joker groans, as at the same moment the virtual AI of the ship announces her holographic presence nearby, confirming that the Commander's assessment is essentially correct. "Ugh, and there's the big drawback," Joker grumbles about EDI, the artificial intelligence. "It's like a ship's cancer."

Shepard isn't exactly thrilled with an AI either. There is a reason they are outlawed in Council space. And having spent months after months of seeing geth flashlights in the scope of her sniper rifle, she is more than wary of anything resembling artificial intelligence. Still, The Illusive Man probably would not approve of her spacing EDI's hardware, so Morgan has to settle with simply being cautious of the AI, who admittedly quickly proves to be very efficient and helpful.

At the CIC, Shepard meets a young brunette who introduces herself as Yeoman Kelly Chambers, her new administrative assistant. Her duties are to oversee Shepard's incoming, and likely outgoing messages, meaning subtle spy work, acting as counselor in monitoring the mental shape of the crew. She also considers it mandatory to from time to time remind Shepard that Cerberus is not only 'not as evil as you think', but even going as far to claim that 'the goals of Cerberus are noble at heart, even if our methods can be harsh'.

Shepard remarks that it seems like a weird scale of morality for someone with a degree in psychology, but Chambers deflects it with more propaganda. "Looking out for human interests, advancing human technologies, saving human lives, those are all noble ideals, Commander," she says, smiling earnestly. "Yes, Cerberus is pro-humanity, but that doesn't mean we must hate aliens. I love all asari, turians, salarians, krogan..."

"That's very nice, Chambers," Shepard says, feeling a little annoyed by the sickeningly sweet facade that Cerberus are trying to enforce. "Just tell me, why do all aliens we come across feel threatened by Cerberus if you are all so loving?"

Chambers does not reply, and Shepard moves on with her inspection. There are happy, smiling faces of the crew everywhere she turns, trying to convince her that serving Cerberus and Shepard is the best thing that has ever happened to them. At least the two engineers on the lower deck, Ken Donnelly and Gabby Daniels, don't pretend to even know anything about Cerberus. They are simply irritated with the Alliance for dismissing the Reaper threat, and they have chosen to be on the Normandy because it means an opportunity to serve Shepard, not interested in the policies of Cerberus in the slightest.

And finally she manages to find at least one person who hates Cerberus almost as much as she does. In the medbay, she is stunned to run into Dr. Chakwas, also here only because of her and the necessity to stop the potentially greatest threat to humankind in its history. As they speak, Chakwas is busy examining her poorly healed scars, promising to try and find some solution so that Shepard's chin doesn't appear cracked and stitched together from tiny pieces.

Lastly, Morgan decides to step into Miranda's office, mentally bracing herself for another dosage of Cerberus propaganda. And indeed, it is being laid on very thick. "Cerberus is necessary for humanity's advancement," Miranda claims. "It is our answer to salarian STG, asari commandos, units that are essentially the same as Cerberus."

"Except they are not dangerous vigilantes who don't answer to anybody," Shepard remarks.

Lawson is undeterred. Her trust in Tim is so complete it is reminiscent of mind-control. "We at Cerberus answer to The Illusive Man. Humanity could not ask for a better advocate of its interests, Shepard," she insists.

_Yeah. A real devil's advocate, indeed,_ Morgan thinks. When Lawson starts to talk about her extensive genetic modification and how it makes her better than any average human in every possible way, Shepard just nods politely and eventually leaves Miranda alone, finally seeking refuge in her personal quarters.

And the captain's quarters on SR-2 are certainly something completely different from the old Normandy. Her cabin is gorgeous and huge, it comes equipped with a private shower and toilet, comfy bed, sofa with cushy chairs, a modern sound system with large collection of tracks, an intercom and even a large aquarium filled with koi fishes.

There is also a bottle of 47' Thessia Red that waits on the table, with compliments from Tim. She opens the bottle and pours in a glass, then another one, then another, desperately trying not to think of Liara, but instead concentrating on the dossiers before her. At some point, she has fallen asleep in the chair, there is an empty glass lying on the ground with a dark stain of spilled drink around it, and she literally jumps when Joker calls out to her over the comms to inform her that they have reached their destination.

Omega, a space station built inside a mined out shell of an asteroid, is a safe haven for criminals, mercenaries and terrorists unwelcome in the Council space, and also location of three of the potential recruits identified by The Illusive Man. They include the salarian doctor Mordin Solus, a mysterious vigilante who goes by the poetic name of Archangel and a rugged merc named Zaeed Massani.

Taylor and Lawson accompany Morgan off the ship, unwilling to let her out of their sights, at least for now. They quickly make contact with Zaeed, a glorified thug who The Illusive Man has hired with exorbitant sum of credits, believing he will be a valuable asset to the team. Shepard and her Cerberus watchdogs catch up with Zaeed as he is beating the living daylights out of a hapless batarian. They exchange a few pleasantries, and Shepard has difficulties hiding her distaste for Zaeed's ruthlessness and brutality. "You remind me a little of my old krogan friend, Urdnot Wrex," she says. "Though in comparison, I find you insultingly lacking in personality."

To Zaeed's credit, he merely laughs before replying that he hadn't expected the famous Shepard to be such a 'smart-mouthed' followed by a word that rhymes perfectly with 'runt' and 'blunt'.

Afterwards, to gather leads on both Dr. Solus and Archangel, their path takes them to the heart of Omega, the vibrant, pulsating and deadly dangerous locale called Afterlife. The irony of the name is not lost on Shepard, considering her own recent return from the world of dead. As she approaches, the elcor and batarian guards at the front entrance move aside, letting them in. She walks through the dance floor, members of all species wildly moving to the sharp techno beats, and she stops as she sees a young asari dancer that painfully reminds her of Liara. Lawson pushes her in the back, breaking her memories, directing her towards the private booth of the Queen of Omega, Aria T'Loak.

By all accounts, Shepard should hate someone like their hostess, the so called Pirate Queen. Aria T'Loak is a crime lord with near infinite resources at her disposal, her practices are likely deplorable and breaking at least hundred different Council laws that Morgan Shepard has sworn to uphold. Still, Omega is outside the Council's jurisdiction and if not for Aria T'Loak ruling it with iron fist, Omega would likely be an even more dangerous and brutal place, destroying itself in never-ending mercenary band wars.

After the initial suspicion of Shepard's true identity and several scans to prove she truly is who she claims to be, Aria ends up talking with her for a good while. Her information on both Solus and Archangel is solid and helpful, and in an odd way, Shepard ends up feeling a grudging sense of respect for the Queen of Omega. In her mind, she briefly wonders whether her liaison with Liara has not made her irrationally and positively pre-disposed towards all asari, especially ones as attractive and charismatic as Aria T'Loak. _Beautiful she may be, but her name is not Liara T'Soni, _Shepard thinks to herself.

Both missions to acquire the Professor and Archangel appear time critical. Mordin Solus has been locked up in a residential slums district, overrun by a mysterious deadly plague from which only humans and vorcha are safe. Not wanting to risk the plague decimating her mostly alien armies and perhaps endangering her own life, Aria's solution has been to cordon off the entire area, allow the plague to wipe out everyone inside and then later move in and purge the place. Considering Shepard needs Mordin alive, she will have to brave the plague and the desperate remnants of the merc groups shooting everything that moves within that district.

As for Archangel, he has somehow managed to tick off all the most influential merc groups of Omega, the Blue Suns, the Blood Pack and Eclipse, and they have united with a common goal to take out the annoying and disruptive vigilante. At first Shepard considers splitting her group in two and tackling both missions at once, but then she decides against it, the only one she remotely trusts is Taylor, at least he has some semblance of honor as a former Alliance soldier. Lawson is cold and enigmatic, and Zaeed is simply on a lookout for good opportunities for violence, caring little what he is shooting at.

In the end, rescuing Mordin Solus is more critical in the greater scheme of things, for without the countermeasure against the seeker swarms, their entire mission is doomed. Praying that this Archangel is crafty enough to hold out for a while longer, Morgan Shepard leads her motley crew into the quarantined sublevels of Omega, the scenery around them like after a massive riot, looters roaming the fire engulfed streets. Bits and pieces of information extracted from the very few survivors paint a grisly picture about the plague and provide horror stories about this infamous Dr. Solus. Brilliant and dangerous, as likely to shoot you as he is to heal you, some speculate he has spent time with the salarian STG. He has opened a clinic to help the plague victims in the middle of the district, and that is where Shepard leads her team to, mindful of the warnings that the last few armed groups approaching the clinic have been gunned down by Mordin, their bodies then left on display as a warning.

_I kind of like the style of this Mordin,_ Morgan thinks to herself as they enter the clinic. _Still, if I needed treatment, I'd still prefer Dr. Chakwas to tend to me, not a hyperactive mad salarian scientist._

Having spent several minutes conversing with Dr. Solus, or rather patiently waiting for him to stop talking, Shepard agrees with Aria's assessment that Mordin simply doesn't know when to shut up. Finally she manages to get in a few words to explain that she needs his help against the Collectors, kidnapping human colonists. Mordin seems intrigued by the proposition, even if he appears slightly suspicious of Cerberus involvement. On top of all that, he also refuses to abandon the clinic before the threat of the plague has been removed.

The salarian has his own speculations on the origins of the plague, and they surprise Shepard as well as reveal Mordin's interest in joining up after the plague has been taken care of. "Plague of advanced design. Suspected Collector involvement from the start," he speaks rapidly in his slightly high pitched voice. "Using vorcha to distribute it. Collecting data. No proof, but evidence fits theory."

As they talk, the vorcha suddenly decide that they are bored and this plague takes too long to kill its victims, so they shut down the environmental controls, meaning that the whole district will suffocate unless the system is re-enabled quickly. Mordin pushes a canister of what he claims to be the plague cure in Shepard's hands, telling her to hurry and do what she can to save the district.

Half an hour later, Shepard is busy punching in the activation commands to the last of the reclaimed ventilation systems. "Damn those vorcha, if I never see one of them again it will be too soon," she swears angrily. "Sodding galactic kobolds of the 22nd century, my ass."

"It is easy to dismiss them as harmless opponents, but their regenerative abilities can make them dangerous foes," Miranda says, idly inspecting whether her extremely form fitting light combat suit has sustained any damage in the wild firefight.

Zaeed walks up to one of the dead vorcha and with a wicked grin points his shotgun at the head, pulling the trigger. "Let's see him regenerate from that," he laughs, ignoring the glare Miranda sends his way as bits of vorcha brains land on her black boots.

"Jacob?" Shepard has finally finished tinkering with the ventilation system, and it appears to be fixed and working to its full capacity. "Double time back to Mordin and let him know that the plague has been taken care of."

"Of course, Commander," Jacob snaps off a crisp salute. "And afterwards you want us to join you?"

"Just take him to Normandy and help him get settled," Morgan shrugs. "I'm sure the three of us can handle the mercs and get Archangel out of there safely."

Jacob nods and rushes off, as Morgan and the others proceed back to Afterlife, hoping not to see Archangel's flayed corpse hanging above the main entrance as a pointed warning not to disrupt the delicate 'ecosystem' of Omega.

Fortunately, the news are good, Archangel is not simply just holding on, he is driving the merc groups to extreme lengths of frustration, forcing them to outsource cheep cannon fodder from the more desperate elements of Omega to work as distraction task force. This is a way in for Shepard and her group, hoping to use this opportunity in order to reach Archangel and then do all they can to protect the suicidal vigilante.

They spend some time around the merc base of operations, grilling them for information about the plan of attack, as well as more personal details on this mysterious Archangel. Nobody really knows much about him, he is an evasive as a ghost, but someone in the Blood Pack claims he is an 'uptight turian with a pole stuck up his ass'. Shepard laughs, remembering Joker's very similar description of her old friend Garrus Vakarian. Another merc in the Blue Suns base claims that Archangel is a 'turian vigilante who thinks killing mercs is a fun way to pass time'.

Suddenly, Shepard is no longer laughing. _Surely it can't be Garrus, can it? _she wonders, trying to convince herself that such coincidence would be impossible and that Archangel is probably some other uptight turian, after all there are no shortage of those to choose from. _Still, I ran into Tali already. Damn, this galaxy can feel like a goddamn small place._

The plan of attack isn't very attractive to the freelancer forces. Their fate is pretty much to get horribly slaughtered on a very exposed bridge so that the true infiltration team can charge through and reach Archangel's compound. Shepard does what she can to decrease the merc chances of success, such as hacking a heavy YMIR mech and making sure it will turn on the Eclipse soldiers activating it. Zaeed uses an opportunity to ruthlessly electrocute one of the Blue Suns engineer's, working to fix a gunship intended to blast Archangel together with his hideout to tiny chunks.

After that, they launch themselves over the barricades together with a dozen or so other freelancers and charge in the direction of Archangel's building. As soon as they have made a few steps on the bridge, Shepard tells her team to open fire on her fellow freelancers, an order that leaves a bitter taste in her mouth. As the distraction team is quickly decimated between Archangel's bullets and their cowardly attack from behind, Shepard tries to reassure herself that this action was necessary, first of all, to protect Archangel, and secondly, to make sure the turian vigilante understands that they are on his side and does not snipe them together with the rest of the freelancers.

Their plan appears to have worked and as they quickly rush to Archangel's location, no more shots are being fired. They hurry up the stairs and enter the turian's hideout. The stance of the sniper in his dark blue heavy armor, the way he grips his sniper rifle, narrowed eyes behind the visor... there is no doubt in Shepard's mind any more.

"Garrus!" she exclaims, unable to contain her joy at seeing him. "What the hell are you doing here, trying to piss off everyone on Omega?"

The turian steps away from the window and lowers the sniper rifle. He sits back heavily on a table, carefully removing his helmet and revealing his face. It really is Garrus, though he looks like he's been through hell, starved and exhausted. "Shepard," he says quietly, as if still unable to believe it is her. "I... I saw you die, Shepard. How can you be here?"

Shepard doesn't care about acting with great dignity or control. She quickly charges a rather surprised Garrus and embraces him, desperately happy to have finally regained one of her old friends. "I was dead, Garrus, and then I was brought back... yeah, I know, this is the kind of story that sounds better when you're completely wasted..."

"Uh-huh," Garrus gives her a dubious stare, before nodding at her companions, Miranda in particular. "What's with the charming Cerberus bodyguard, Shepard?"

"Believe it or not, it was Cerberus who brought me back," Shepard quickly explains. "It's a long and confusing story, and one that will be best explained back on the Normandy. As soon as we get out of this mess you've started, Garrus."

"What can I say?" Garrus shrugs. "I was bored and decided to see if I can manage to make them all pissed off at the same time." Miranda unhappily mutters something about 'doing a too good job at it', making a twisted grin appear on Garrus' face. "What say you, Commander, shall we shoot a few mercs? If you can top my score, I'll know it's really you, Shepard."

Morgan's grin is equally wicked as she readies her sniper rifle. "Bring it on... Archangel!"


	12. Exercises in Team Building

_A/N: These boards certainly look a lot different than a few days back, suddenly there's a large bear sitting next to my story. But do not alarmed, he is old, bored and more interested in chewing on his water pipe than human flesh. :) _

_Also, a warning: Shepard's talks with Garrus are definitely not a prelude to kinky comfort sex! Sorry! No depressing and angst ridden love triangles in here. Morgan is just so terribly old-fashioned and thinks it's cool to remain faithful to someone she claims to love, that silly woman. Honestly, who wants to read about that? _

_As always, your reviews are much appreciated. Keep them coming, awesome people! _

**Chapter 11 - Exercises in Team Building**

The galaxy does not only seem like a small place, it often also seems unbelievably cruel.

Shepard's joy from being reunited with an old friend had quickly turned into horror and fear as the Blue Suns gunship suddenly appeared out of nowhere, unleashing a barrage of missiles at unsuspecting Garrus. There had been so much blue-violet blood everywhere that Morgan had feared that Garrus would never survive his wounds, leaving her all alone on a ship with strangers and tentative allies.

But now, several hours later, Garrus lies in the medbay with Dr. Chakwas and Shepard standing at the foot of his bed, Morgan barely allowing herself to believe the marvels of modern medicine. The turian looks a little bit worse for wear, some of the shots have grazed the side of his face and those scars will never go away, but somehow they make Garrus look even more rugged and dangerous. "You two are worrying over nothing," he grumbles about Dr. Chakwas' orders confining him to bed rest for at least twenty-four hours.

"You nearly died, Garrus," Shepard reminds him. "I'm going to be really displeased if you disobey the doctor's orders and get some infection set in or something. No way I'm going to lose a friend to something stupid like his own goddamned impatience!"

Shepard is so vehement about this that Garrus gives up almost disappointingly quickly. Chakwas conducts a few more tests to make sure her patient is stable and recovering before she exits the medbay, allowing Shepard some privacy with her friend. Garrus immediately peppers her with questions about her resurrection, and Shepard quickly fills him in on the whole story and describes the mission they are on.

"I don't believe I'm saying this, Shepard, but it looks like you made the right call to join Cerberus for this task," Garrus nods, having listened to her tale.

"I haven't joined them," Morgan reminds him. "I still don't trust them, and you shouldn't either. We're just using their resources to stop the Collectors."

"Yeah, that's what I meant," Garrus says, tentatively poking the side of his scarred face. "Listen, Shepard... could you get me a mirror?"

"Sure thing, Garrus," Shepard jumps off the seat and starts looking around the medbay for a mirror, quickly finding one. "Don't worry, I can't even tell which side of your face took the rocket and which was just ugly to begin with."

Garrus laughs, then wincing and touching his cheek, feeling the injuries despite the painkillers. He quickly examines his face in the mirror, remaining rather pleased. "That's not as bad as I imagined," he remarks thoughtfully. "I will probably become an even bigger hit with the ladies. You'll have to ward them off me, Shepard."

"But what if your new scars will drive me so wild I decide to jump you myself?" Shepard laughs. Garrus looks a little worried before he realizes she is merely messing with him. "Sorry, Garrus, those are probably all krogan women who find scars attractive."

"I don't think the same can be said about women with scars, though," Garrus points out, looking at her badly healed side of the chin. "You might want to do something about that, because I don't think Liara has a drop of krogan blood in her."

"Yes, Chakwas is working on patching me up," Morgan nods. "Speaking of Liara... you have not heard anything from her during these years?" Garrus shakes his head, looking at her with sympathy. "The Illusive Man said she's working for the Shadow Broker now."

"What? That's a load of crock, Shepard," Garrus is bristling with disbelief. "Not the Liara we know. That said... things could change in two years, who knows what she has been doing all this time. When I last saw her, she was..." he turns away awkwardly. "She wasn't dealing with it well, Shepard. I guess none of us really were."

"It must have been tough," Shepard nods, falling silent. "I've been thinking about the old crew ever since I got back on my feet again. Seems like Wrex is back on Tuchanka and Kaidan is doing some classified work with the Alliance. And you would not believe this, but during our mission on Freedom's Progress, we actually ran into Tali!"

Garrus perks up immediately. "You met Tali? Why didn't you bring her with you?" Shepard explains the circumstances and Garrus nods, appearing a little disappointed. "Well, perhaps we will run into her again," he adds, a little hopefully.

Later on, Shepard prompts him to tell her about his adventures on Omega. It is not a happy tale. His team, put together with the sole reason to disrupt and annoy the mercenary packs running Omega were eventually betrayed from the inside by a fellow turian named Sidonis. Shepard promises Garrus to help him bring this traitor to justice, should they ever run across him.

"I think we've talked more than enough for now," Shepard finally realizes that she should allow Garrus to rest and recover his strength. "I'll let you get some sleep... oh, Archangel," she adds, chuckling at the way Garrus winces when he realizes his new nickname is not about to just go away.

Before retiring to her cabin, Shepard makes sure to speak with her crew, just to gauge their reaction to the way she runs things. Surprisingly enough, Lawson seems to approve of how things have gone so far. "As Cerberus operations go, this is by far one of the smoothest," she informs Shepard.

"That's because it's not a Cerberus operation," Shepard simply replies. Despite their barely disguised dislike for each other, they manage to speak civilly for a few minutes, Shepard trying to understand exactly how someone who claims to be so genetically superior to every other human can become so blindly devoted to a shady character like The Illusive Man, to the point of nearly idolizing him.

Miranda tells her more about herself. Her level of genetic modification is indeed far more extensive than in any other human. She has been virtually created in a tube using nothing but her father's DNA. Her father is an extremely wealthy and powerful businessman back on Earth, interested in using her to maintain his dynasty, arrogant control freak who has made Miranda feel like a glorified slave. She mentions escaping as soon as she has been able, seeking protection with Cerberus. When she also mentions that her father believed greatly in Cerberus' pro-human agenda and donated generously to them over the years, Shepard finds herself blinking in surprise.

"So... weren't you a little concerned that Cerberus might find your father's funding more important than whatever a sixteen year old with extensive genetic alterations could provide?" Morgan asks.

Miranda shakes her head, replying in her usual polite brainwashed tones. "The Illusive Man immediately recognized the biotic potential in me," she explains. "He promised to protect me from my father and he has been keeping his word for many years. That is why I have complete trust in everything he does."

"So you don't think that there's even a remote possibility that your father is actually still keeping tabs on you, only through Cerberus and The Illusive Man?" Shepard asks.

Miranda's face is briefly contorted by a flash of anger, but she regains control of her emotions very quickly. "I see what you are trying to do Shepard, but your efforts to erode my loyalty in Cerberus are doomed," she replies, then shaking her head sadly. "I don't know what needs to happen for you to give us a second chance. But I truly wish you would do so."

"We'll see about that," Morgan says, then excusing herself. _For someone genetically perfect she has some frightening blind spots,_ Shepard thinks, heading to the elevator and then up to the CIC. _Or maybe I'm just paranoid and see evil and betrayal everywhere. Kind of hard not to, when there really IS evil and betrayal lurking around every corner._

Jacob is a significantly more pleasant conversationalist, and she spends a good quarter of an hour chatting with him in the armory. Even though she does not ask directly, with some gentle prying Morgan gets the impression that there is more than simply working relationship between him and Miranda, or at least there have been some romantic ties there in the past.

When they talk about their old times with the Alliance, Taylor is quick to air his grievances. Apparently some of his more impressive and successful missions in the past have been hushed down the same way as Morgan's defeat of the Sovereign. "To maintain the illusion of peace to the general public and prevent widespread panic," Jacob says dismissively.

Morgan does not entirely appreciate this way of thinking. "I got frustrated about the treatment of the Reapers too, Jacob," she says. "But a part of me realizes that the Council is right, and that there was a selfish side of me that wanted the recognition and the accolades. But that's not what serving the Alliance has ever been for me, Jacob. That's not what it should be for anyone. This is not about our personal glory. This is doing what is best for humanity and the galaxy on the whole, without expecting anything for it."

Jacob looks thoughtful, then shrugging his shoulders. "Maybe I just wasn't cut out for the Alliance then. You're of a different stock, Shepard," he says. "Still, I can't believe you can forgive them for the way they treated you. Few months after your death, and it's like you had never existed, they took you off all posters, all vids, erased all existence of you."

Morgan laughs, much to Jacob's confusion. "My dear Mr. Taylor, I would certainly expect them to take my face off their recruitment vids," she chuckles. "I'm not sure how seeing my face would send an inspiring message to the potential recruits, considering that I was... you know, dead? That's a rather unappealing future prospect for a recruit, as I'm sure you'll agree."

Lastly, she visits Mordin in the ship's lab. Watching the hyperactive salarian work is almost mesmerizing, and he has this strange habit to speak out his every thought that passes through his brain, constantly talking with himself without even recognizing it. It seems Mordin has already made some small breakthroughs with the Collector intel, and he notes with some satisfaction that the facilities on the ship are very impressive, finding EDI highly helpful in particular.

Mordin confirms what several sources have already told her, he has past with the salarian STG. He reminisces slightly about his last mission before retiring from the special tasks forces. "Studied krogan genophage," he says. "Took water, tissue samples from krogan colonies. Did recon together with young Captain Kirrahe."

Shepard immediately snaps her fingers, the memory coming back to her. "Oh yes, I worked with him on Virmire!" she says. "I have only good things to say about him, he seemed highly professional and skilled."

Mordin nods enthusiastically. "Good captain. Bit of a cloaca, though. Always loved his speeches. Hold the line, and all that. Personally prefer to just do the job and go home. Maybe a military thing. All that chest pounding." He suddenly falls silent as he catches himself and looks at Shepard worriedly. "Err, no offense." Shepard merely laughs.

He explains a little bit more about the salarian interest in observing the genophage and whether the krogan are not slowly adapting to it. There are a lot of cold numbers to explain why even a slight increase in the krogan population could threaten the galactic peace, and Mordin recounts them with such confidence and assuredness, that Shepard cannot find a single weak point in his impersonal and brutal arithmetic. Every fiber of her being believes that the genophage is morally abhorrent, but... what if these projections of top STG scientists are correct? What if curing genophage would really bring about another Krogan Rebellion? With the Reapers threatening galaxy, Shepard realizes that they do not need another war that once already almost ended with krogan bringing the rest of the galactic races to their knees.

These questions are complicated and difficult, and not meant for a tired mind and body, so she quickly retires to her quarters and falls down on the cushy bed, being awoken exactly six hours later by Joker, informing her that considering their mission on Omega is complete, Operative Lawson has given him the order to begin preparing the ship for leaving the system. Morgan's swearing over the comms can probably be heard through all of CIC, but she cares little, there is still business she needs to attend to here on Omega, and Lawson be damned if she is thinking about getting in her way.

She quickly washes the last remnants of sleep from her eyes, before reaching out to Garrus on the intercom. "Oh Archangel, how is your gentle face today?" she jokes, earning a string of curses from Garrus. "Can you come up to my cabin?" Shepard asks then. "Quickly, if you may."

Garrus arrives almost immediately, and Shepard turns the stereo system in her quarters to the maximum, as she sees the turian entering through the doors. Garrus faces her with a surprised stare, as if wondering if she's truly interested in a wild session of dancing in front of the large aquarium filled with koi fishes. But Shepard clearly has other ideas, pointing to one of the seats at the nearby table, telling Garrus to sit down. She quickly moves the other seat so that she can sit right next to Garrus.

"Every place of this new Normandy is probably bugged," she leans closer to whisper in her friend's ear. "I'm not sure this will help, but I'm willing to take the chance."

Garrus nods, understanding. "If you distrust Cerberus so much, perhaps it's worth looking out for someone else willing to do something about the Collectors? Like the Alliance?" he asks.

"Cerberus maintain they are the only ones willing to tackle this," Shepard says. "If that is so, then I think we should stay on board. Use their crew, their ship, their resources, beat the Collectors without sacrificing a single Alliance marine or turian operative. In the meanwhile, we work to learn as much as we can about The Illusive Man and Cerberus and leave information drops for Hackett and Anderson to pick up. No matter how much of a 'nice' front these people put up, they are still ruthless, xenophobic hate mongers."

"I have no sympathy for them," Garrus shrugs. "If you want to expose them, go right ahead, you'll have my support."

"I'll need your support, Garrus," Shepard admits. "The Cheerleader is watching me day and night like a hawk, insisting I take her along on every mission outside Normandy. For now I can't pass a message with sensitive information to the Alliance… but you could. You are not watched as severely. You could make up a lot of reasons why you need to get off the ship."

"Sure thing, Commander," Garrus nods. "Nice to know we'll be taking down the Collectors while enjoying the comforting atmosphere of trust between us and our Cerberus teammates. Or… well, not."

"Yeah, it doesn't sound good, whichever way you twist it," Shepard winces. "But I need to make contact with the Alliance first, before they have learned of my resurrection from other sources. That would not look good." She passes a small OSD over to Garrus. "The messages to Hackett and Anderson are encrypted, to the best of my ability. There's a third, unencrypted message, that one is to my mother. Just send that to the Alliance command, they will pass it on."

Garrus accepts the OSD, looking grim. "It will be taken care of, Shepard."

"We'll be disembarking soon, with the pretext of delivering this," she points to a small datapad resting on her bed, "to Aria T'Loak. I found it on a corpse of one of the merc leaders during our fiery little encounter. Looks like those mercenaries were going to take Aria down after they had dealt with you."

"I think Aria will be very thankful to learn this," Garrus says. "Even more so because we already took care of these pretenders."

"Exactly," Shepard nods. "I figure having someone like Aria on my side can only be a good thing. And while I take Lawson and Taylor with me to visit Aria, you can slip off the Normandy and pass on the messages I gave you."

"Got it," Garrus nods, impressed. "Good thinking, Commander."

Shepard reaches out to shake his hand, then walking over to the sound system to turn down the volume of music. "You have no idea how much it means having you back on this ship, one person I can really trust," she says then.

"I think I have an idea how that feels, Commander," Garrus says, smiling thinly as he leaves. "In fact, I can relate very well…"


	13. From Graveyard to Purgatory

_A/N: I find that I must make an apology at the beginning of this chapter. Dear Legion, I am so very sorry I stole your damn best line in the entire game and gave it to Miranda of all people! Can you ever find it in your synthetic equivalent of a heart to forgive me? :( _

_Also, I must turn your attention to the fact that this is actually going to be a REAL chapter of a story, and not a petition of some sort. Hah! Go me. _

_As always, thank you for the favs/alerts and especially reviews! _

**Chapter 12 - From Graveyard to Purgatory**

The thick clouds of methane and ammonia over the frozen crust of Alchera feel unwelcoming, angry at being disturbed in their attempts to hide and preserve the last remains of SSV Normandy. Their heavy boots make scratching noises against the crystallized surface, as they circle around Normandy's wreckage.

Shepard and Garrus walk closely up front, Taylor and Lawson remaining behind at the shuttle, displaying much appreciated decency by not intruding in the memories that surface from seeing the ship that for a few months had been their home. This also gives Morgan and Garrus an opportunity to converse without the fear of being overheard.

"That was a very prompt reply by Hackett," she says, dropping down on one knee to pick up another shiny dog tag, half-buried in the snow. "And a good suggestion to come here. Perhaps we can pick up a few more personal items like this, help give some of those families proper closure."

Garrus nods, also rummaging in the rubble. "Takes you all the way back, doesn't it Shepard?" he says. "I don't know about you, but these memories beat anything I can recall from my days at C-Sec. Damn it, Shepard, I even miss Wrex."

"I miss them all," Shepard replies as they move on, the stash of recovered items slowly growing larger. "So, he's approving of my plan? We have green light to proceed?"

"Yeah," Garrus nods. "Anything we learn about Cerberus operations, location of another cell, we drop the intel to Alliance and Hackett will send in a squad to wipe them out. But those bastards are crafty, Shepard. I hear the different cells are very isolated and we might not learn much. Besides, they might have a mole close to Hackett. We could be just getting more of your marines killed without putting a dent into Cerberus."

Shepard quietly curses at herself, acknowledging the truth behind Garrus' words. "Did he at least say something about what the Alliance is doing to take on the Collectors?" she asks, desperately wanting to hear something positive, hoping that The Illusive Man has been lying to her about Cerberus being the only ones who care about the colonists.

"He was very evasive," Garrus shrugs. "You can't blame him for being careful, Shepard. He's probably working frantically to confirm your identity right now." Shepard nods at that. "But yeah, he didn't deny having a plan, either. I think they have something in mind, he just wasn't willing to give more details at this point."

"Hopefully communication will be easier once we get back to the Council space," Shepard mutters, walking through the nearly collapsed carcass of the old Normandy. "Anderson probably thought someone was pulling a prank on him when he got the message. At some point we'll need to make a stop at the Citadel, then I can get in touch with him, too. Cerberus," she points back to where Miranda and Jacob are waiting, "can't really keep tabs on me on the Citadel. Besides, we need to go back there soon, one of the specialists we're picking up is stationed there."

"After we're done here?" Garrus asks.

Shepard shrugs. "I haven't really looked closely at where the other leads take us," she confesses. "I'm sure that EDI can calculate the most optimal course of travel once we return to the ship."

"No news from your mother yet?" Garrus speaks, pulling back a fallen metal crossbeam so that Shepard can squeeze through.

"She'll probably place a direct comm call to the Normandy soon enough," Morgan replies, sounding hopeful. "The message to her was not encrypted, we never discuss anything work related anyway." She looks at the debris filled room they have ended in, recognizing the mess hall and the corridor behind it, leading to the captain's quarters. "Let's see if some of my stuff is still here," she says hurriedly, rushing forward, then nimbly jumping aside as a falling metal plate nearly crushes her. Behind her, she can hear Garrus quietly admonishing her.

There are a few sizeable holes in the hull, through which snow and ice has been blown in, filling the once comfortable, small cabin. There is nothing to salvage, the wall compartments are empty and whatever little personal memorabilia she had hoped to collect is all gone. "Damn, even my medals have gone missing," she laments, searching along the wall, where they had been prominently and securely fastened.

"Hackett can probably pull the strings and get them remade for you," Garrus suggests helpfully.

"Eh, it's not worth the bother," Shepard replies, trying to sound cheerful, but feeling anything but. Screw the rest of the medals, but the Star of Terra, the most important of them, handed to the lone survivor of the Skyllian Blitz... she really had wanted to have that one back.

"Feels odd to just be... standing here, doesn't it?" Garrus asks quietly.

"Yeah. Tell me about it," she replies, deep in thought, looking at the snowed in remains of her bed. _Where it all started for us, that one night before Ilos. Stolen moments became stolen hours of joy untold,_ she thinks, feeling her chest becoming tight from the memories. _I said I would crawl back from the world of the dead to be with you, Liara. Turns out I didn't lie about that. Now I just need to find you again..._

"Let's just get back to the shuttle," she says eventually. "Miranda and Jacob are probably starting to get restless."

Back on Normandy, Yeoman Chambers informs Shepard that a private message is waiting for her. She decides to read it back at her quarters, realizing it's from her mother, but before she does so, a new course is plotted for the Normandy. A relay jump to the relatively nearby Hourglass Nebula, housing the gigantic prison ship Purgatory, where undesirables of all species are locked away safely by their respective leaders and governments. Tim has secured the release of one of these undesirables, a powerful human biotic, believing them to be of great asset for the upcoming mission. Shepard wishes Tim had spent more time tracking down Kaidan Alenko, if a powerful **and** trusted biotic was required.

The message from her mother is full with relief and the expected admonishment. Morgan has failed to mention the whole being dead for two years part, instead choosing to lie that her Spectre work has forced her to go underground for so long, causing even the Alliance to declare her dead. "Just stay safe out there, and keep doing your mom proud," her mother writes. They have always had a very... proper, formal relationship, both of them feeling awkward at displays of emotion. But beneath that all, there is a great bond, a strong bond of love and trust that they are both aware of, something that does not need daily reminders in a way of tacky sweetness and virtual hugs.

There is time for only a brief nap before they arrive at the Purgatory. Little is known about the convict that they will be recruiting, only his name, Jack. The prison ship is run by the turian Blue Suns mercenary organization, and things become heated from the very moment Shepard leads her team off the Normandy and onto the Purgatory's docking bay. The turians demand that they surrender their weapons, Shepard refuses to do so. In the end, they strike a compromise. They will be allowed to retain their weapons, but Shepard will be able to take only two teammates with her. Garrus is an easy choice, and she chooses Lawson as second, partly because of her obvious skill with biotics, partly to make Miranda believe she is slowly coming to trust Cerberus and their motives.

The reason for wanting them relinquish their weapons becomes apparent very quickly, as the Blue Suns decide that Shepard would be more valuable to them as prisoner than a customer. "Why do they always insist on doing it the hard way?" Shepard grumbles, slipping the rifle off her back and melding into cover, getting ready to annihilate the security forces heading their way.

"They just don't know you very well, Commander," Garrus quips, looking as if he's rather pleased for the opportunity for more violence, as if he hadn't slaughtered enough of the Blue Suns back on Omega.

"Something tells me they're about to realize they've made a big mistake," Miranda agrees, before ducking out from the cover to quickly overload the Fenris mechs, charging their way.

They fight their way to the ship's security consoles, where a new problem presents itself. To release Jack from the cryogenic imprisonment, they will have to open every cell block on the Purgatory, which means that the entire ship will be overrun by dangerous and unstable prisoners, killing everything in their way. "That seems like a really crappy idea," Shepard ponders, her hand resting on the console button.

"So, of course we'll do it," Garrus adds with a chuckle.

"Of course!" Shepard agrees, pushing the button. In a matter of seconds, all hell breaks loose around them. They watch the cryo chamber holding Jack slowly opening, surprised at who or what emerges from the cell. Jack is actually a she, bald, slim and of small stature, her entire body covered with tattoos and scars, as well as tiny strings of leather that could hardly be described as clothing. Three mechs guarding her chamber immediately turn on her, but she tosses them aside like broken toys with a massive shockwave before blowing away a piece of the wall with a warp field and then disappearing from their view.

"Quickly!" Miranda urges. "We must hurry after her!"

"Suddenly, that seems like an even crappier idea," Morgan shakes her head, but for once listening to Miranda. They've come too far to give up on Jack now, no matter how insane she might be.

As the fighting grows fiercer, entire sectors of the ship are taken over by flames, some sections losing life support killing every guard and prisoner inside, but they stubbornly pursue Jack, following the path of death and destruction left in her wake. When the firefight ahead appears particularly deadly, Shepard slows her squad down, allowing the Blue Suns and the imprisoned maniacs to soften each other up before moving in and picking off the weakened survivors. The tactic might be somewhat underhanded, but her overall goal is still to defeat the Collectors, not to get herself stupidly killed in crossfire between two equally despicable factions.

When they finally track down Jack, she is near the Normandy's docking bay, screaming obscenities at their ship. "You're Cerberus," she looks threateningly at Shepard, her hands starting to glow blue as she charges up another biotic attack.

"Hey, would you look at that, more people who hate Cerberus. Who'd have thought that?" Shepard laughs, amused at the absurdity of the situation. "Look, girl, that might be a Cerberus ship, but I'm not with Cerberus. Nor is he," she points at Garrus. "They're kind of big on the 'No Aliens Allowed' policy."

"She's with Cerberus, though," Garrus helpfully nods at Miranda. "You can be mad at her if you want."

"What do you want with me?" Jack spits, but at least she does not attack. "You show up in a Cerberus frigate and expect me to... what, go with you?"

"Yeah, I do," Shepard says simply, tired after all this chasing around. "I just released every prisoner on this ship just to get to you, and most of them and the guards are now likely dead. That's a few hundred dead bastards. So, I'll be damned if I just let you walk away after all that. You could try to run, but there is a high statistical probability of death by gunshot."

"A punch to the face is also likely," Miranda comments, making Shepard stare at her with incredulity. _Did the Ice Queen just crack a joke?_

"You want something from me? Well, my help will have a price tag attached to it," Jack still stares them down threateningly. It's probably the only way she can stare, anyway.

"What do you want?" Shepard sighs.

"I want to see the Cerberus databases," Jack says. "I want full access. I want to see what those bastards have on me."

Shepard suddenly feels intrigued at the chance of getting closer to some of the Cerberus secrets. "Miranda?" she turns to look at Lawson. "Can you guarantee that?"

Miranda looks displeased, but also helpless to refuse. "I will... see what I can do. As long as Jack's interest is confined to the information related only to her, I think we can work something out."

After a moment of thought, Jack nods, satisfied. They quickly escape the burning ship and Normandy breaks off from the docking bay, as Shepard wonders if anyone else might manage to get off the burning wreck before the entire vessel loses life support.

Back on Normandy, Jack settles into a distant hidey-hole below the ship's engines, place where nobody except the engineers have a reason to visit. While Yeoman Chambers is having a field day exploring Jack's psych profile, Shepard stops by the lab to confer with Mordin, checking up on the progress of the seeker swarm countermeasure. Mordin claims he's well on the way to the big breakthrough, but still appreciates the distraction that the conversation with Shepard provides.

"About my time with the STG. Wasn't entirely honest with you earlier, Commander," he says. "Lie of omission. Need to clear the air. This mission too big to have personal issues as distraction. Work on genophage more than just study."

Shepard motions him to explain further. "Studied genophage at first. Discovered surprising data. Krogan adapting to the genophage! Reproduction rates exceeding the calculated parameters."

"That's... good, right?" Shepard tries to make a guess. "Ninety-nine percent stillborn is a... fate too dreadful to inflict on entire species."

Mordin becomes animated, defensive. "Naive viewpoint," he exclaims. "Would eventually lead to another Krogan Rebellion. Personally lead a science team to prevent this. Created new version of genophage. Released it on Tuchanka. Re-stabilized krogan population." Seeing Shepard shaking her head in disbelief, he hastily adds. "Considered multiple different choices, Shepard! Modified genophage offered best outcome for the whole galaxy! Good for us, good for the krogan!"

Shepard can't agree with Mordin's cold arithmetic, but she knows that the salarian won't be swayed by any emotional, ethical arguments that she might provide. Instead, she spends some time telling Mordin about Virmire, Saren's development of the genophage cure and the actions of Urdnot Wrex. "A krogan who agreed to destroy the genophage cure?" Mordin blinks. He is clearly surprised, even stunned. "An... unexpected viewpoint to consider."

"They're not all the same, Mordin," Shepard says quietly. "They don't all want to conquer the whole galaxy."

"Aware of that, Shepard," Mordin replies. He still sounds confident, but more thoughtful. "Still, thank you for the story, Commander. Always appreciate our talks."

Shepard leaves the salarian scientist to continue on his work, feeling pleased. Despite having major issues with some of the things Mordin has confessed of doing, she cannot help but liking the mad scientist. There is a shred of decency and goodness deep within him, buried deep under layers of science and mathematics, and she likes to hope she has managed to get some seeds of doubt past the cold logic.

There are some disagreements when Shepard decides to plot course towards the Citadel, instead of the relatively nearby Eagle Nebula, residence of the krogan warlord Okeer, their next targeted recruit. Miranda argues Morgan's reasoning of needing to restock, claiming that the ship's inventories are in perfect shape, but Shepard deflects all her arguments.

Commander Morgan Shepard has had enough skulking around these backwater systems of the Traverse. It's about time she truly returned to the world of the living, announcing her return in the heart of the galactic civilization.


	14. All Paths Lead to the Citadel

**Chapter 13 - All Paths Lead to the Citadel**

During their journey to the Citadel, Shepard finally decides to pay a visit to Jack, hiding somewhere in the bowels of the ship, hastily studying the Cerberus files Miranda has reluctantly provided for her. At first Jack views Shepard's interest in the files with deep mistrust, unwilling to share. "I hate Cerberus as much as you do," Shepard says, trying to appeal to having a common enemy. "If you let me take a look at that data, I'll make sure they end up taking a few more kicks in the balls."

"Hate them as much as I do?" Jack snorts. "Did they raise you in one of their experimental facilities too, putting you through some sick tests, messing with your mind, turning you into a psychotic little bitch?" Shepard's blank stare is the only answer she can muster. "Thought so. But whatever," Jack finally shrugs. "Go, look at the data, don't care what you do with it. Only care about what I will do when I finally find the names and the places I'm looking for. I swear the galaxy will be left a lot emptier after I'm done with them."

"Just remember our mission is against the Collectors," Shepard reminds her, starting to browse through the files on the datapad.

"Yeah, whatever. But after that..." Jack grins. "All bets are off. Maybe I'll start with the Cheerleader here. It would be delightful to see that perfect visage of hers twisted in pain, listening to her beg for mercy."

_Well, that's certainly... a balanced attitude. Not._ Shepard sighs mentally, as she looks over the data. "This is useless crap to me," she says shortly after, passing the datapad back to an indifferent Jack. The intel is on experiments performed decades ago, facilities long abandoned, cells no longer functional.

She is about to leave, before turning back to face Jack. "By the way," she says. "Turns out quite a few convicts managed to get off the Purgatory. One of them sent me a message to thank me. He's already going around carving my name into his innocent victims as a signature."

Jack laughs whole-heartedly. "That's priceless. Are you telling me because I should care or what?"

"I'm telling you because I want you to know that the price for your release is a steadily rising pile of corpses of innocent people," Shepard snaps angrily. "I'm telling you to make the best of your newly gained freedom so that I don't end up regretting my decision."

"Poor naive Shepard. There is no such thing as 'innocent' people," Jack says mockingly. "And what will you do if I end up blowing up some space station with a few hundred civilians inside?"

"I'm going to chase you down, put bullets through your kneecaps and elbows, and then I'm going to let you crawl around writhing in pain, begging for mercy before I put a bullet through your brain," Shepard snaps, surprised and disgusted by her own cruel words.

Jack seems appreciative, though. "And now you're learning, Shepard," she says approvingly. "There might still be hope for you. And at least you're not attempting to make nice or pretending to be my 'friend'."

Slightly disturbed at the entire discussion, still wondering if stooping to Jack's level just to earn her respect was the right thing to do, Shepard walks back up to the elevator, thinking that the unfinished bottle of Thessia Red back in her quarters is starting to feel rather appealing about now. Then she remembers that Dr. Chakwas has offered to share some Serrice ice brandy with her, and instead she decides to head to the medbay.

"Ah, Shepard," Chakwas rises from her seat as she sees her entering the medbay. "I was about to leave a message on your terminal, it is impossible to track you down."

"I was down in the deepest pits of human depravity and insanity with my host, the ever lovely Jack," Shepard answers, shaking her head. "Say, about that offer-... wait, message for me, what about?"

"I think I've found a way to deal with those scars of yours," Chakwas says, telling her to lie down in one of the beds in medbay. "They seem to be caused by a partly rejection of some of the cybernetic implants that Cerberus have used. It would appear that in the latter stages of their... project, they got a little sloppy and hurried."

"Probably that bastard Wilson was pushing to put his plan in action," Shepard says, just before Chakwas administers her with a dose of the anesthetic. The world around her quickly becomes a blur and she falls into a deep slumber, unaware of the doctor quickly working to do some adjustments to the implants. She wakes to Karin Chakwas holding a mirror up to her face. Shepard smiles, unable to believe her eyes. The facial scars are all gone, the skin on her cheeks and chin is smooth and healthy looking.

She brings up her hand to touch the healed skin, but Chakwas stops her. "Careful, Commander," she warns. "No touching, at least for a day. Let the skin and the tissue heal properly."

"Thanks, Doc," Morgan says, feeling eternally grateful. "You're a real miracle worker. And to think I only came here with the sole intention to work myself to your brandy reserves."

Dr. Chakwas laughs. "We can still do that, though with the anesthetic in your system, the results should be... interesting to observe," she says, eyes full of mirth. "Shall I get a bottle and some glasses, if you care to risk it?"

"Anything for a giggle," Shepard grins, rising gingerly and managing to seat herself at the table. Soon enough, they are both happily drunk, talking about all sorts of silly gossip and sharing various embarrassing stories of the past.

"It will be good to be back on the Citadel," Karin Chakwas says, pouring in the last few drops of the Serrice ice brandy in Morgan's glass. "Not that the medbay is in dire need of resupply, but it will simply be good to see the place again. And I imagine there will be a lot of people you will want to speak about."

"Yeah," Shepard says, then yawning deeply, the brandy starting to get to her. "Anderson, Udina, Council, probably some other people from the Alliance command, that thief we're supposed to recruit..."

"I meant people you will **want** to talk with, not the ones you **need** to speak to," Chakwas says. Shepard looks at her, curiously. "You will be asking around for Liara's whereabouts, I imagine. There are a lot of people on the Citadel who should know."

"That was on my 'things-to-do' list, yes," Shepard finally admits after a small pause.

"You miss her," it is a statement of an obvious fact. "Ever since Cerberus have brought you back, Commander, I can see you are still... you, but somehow... also not the same person you were when Liara was with us."

"I did not realize it had become this bad," Morgan says quietly, lowering her eyes. "Sometimes I feel so lost without her."

"Then let's raise our glasses for one final toast," Dr. Chakwas says. "To happy endings."

"To happy endings," Shepard numbly repeats before gulping down the remains of the brandy in one shot. Shortly after, the mix of alcohol and anesthetic starts to spin the table, the floor and the whole Normandy so badly that the only thing she is able to do is to crawl towards the nearest bed and plop down face first in the pillow. The room slowly stops spinning as sleep quickly overpowers her.

Dr. Chakwas wakes her up only after they have docked on the Citadel and part of the crew have disembarked already. Cursing herself for the booze induced sleep that has made her miss the spectacular approach to the giant space station, pulsating heart of the civilized galactic life, Shepard quickly dashes up to her own quarters to take a shower and make herself presentable before the Council and Alliance dignitaries that she intends to meet as soon as possible.

Garrus has been patiently waiting for her to get ready and step off the ship, and Lawson is still onboard as well, but Morgan quickly brushes her off. "I don't think I'll want a high ranking Cerberus officer standing beside me today, considering all the people I plan to speak with," she explains to Miranda. "Sorry, this time it's really nothing personal."

Jacob is already on the Citadel, running some errands of his own and also working on procuring items on a list passed down by Mordin, the salarian himself unwilling to get distracted by anything before the Collector countermeasure has been fully developed. Zaeed is gone as well, probably to some seedy place in the Lower Wards like Chora's Den, looking for some entertainment that his complete collection of Fornax magazines can't provide.

That leaves Shepard alone with Garrus, an arrangement that suits her only too well. Together they observe the current state of the Citadel and to Shepard it seems as if all the damage from their battle with Sovereign has been cleared up by the industrious keepers. Garrus remembers parts of the Lower Wards still having been in a sad state more than a year ago, when he quit C-Sec for the second time, leaving the Citadel for Omega.

Security has increased tenfold since Sovereign's attack, and Shepard is forced to deal with the inevitable issue of the security scanners identifying her as dead. She meets with a grizzled, aging C-Sec captain by the name of Bailey, who considers the possibility of cutting more than a few corners and quickly reinstating her back in the system. "Didn't you hear the news, Captain Bailey?" she says, flashing a few smiles, testing the old Shepard charm. "The extranet is making a big fuss about me being sighted on Omega. It's the real me, alright!"

"Yeah, I know who you are, Shepard. Alright, you're all sorted now. Just remember that I just saved you nine days of running around and dealing with all sorts of bureaucratic shit," Bailey shrugs, shaking her hand as she thanks him again and again.

"Not big on formalities, this guy," Garrus remarks as they head towards the Presidium shuttles. "If they had captains like him in the C-Sec while I was still there, maybe I wouldn't have had to leave."

After a short shuttle ride, they reach the Presidium. Shepard feels a little relieved not to find Councilor Udina present, not keen to meet the slippery bastard who had double-crossed her once before. Instead, she enters the human embassies to find Captain Anderson, deep in a vid conference with all three of her alien 'friends' on the Council. They greet her politely enough, but appear understandably cautious, the news of her flying a Cerberus ship have reached their ears, and they demand an explanation from Shepard.

She tells the Council about the Collectors abducting human colonists in the Terminus Systems, but declines to mention that the Collectors might be working for the Reapers, fearing further ridicule from the Council. During her brief time on the Citadel, she has already seen how thoroughly the signs of Sovereign's true nature have been disguised and swept under the rug.

The Council chide her for the ties with Cerberus, Sparatus going as far as even labeling her a traitor for stooping to work with terrorists. Morgan decides to let it slide over her head and not delve into her arrangement with Cerberus. She merely states that she is using Cerberus to deal with this Collector threat and their relationship will be terminated with all haste once the mission has been completed. The Council appear rather pleased at her explanation, and in the end they strike a quick bargain. Shepard agrees to restrict her operations to the Terminus Systems in exchange for her reinstatement as a Spectre.

As the Council all as one wish her luck and leave the vid conference, Shepard feels a little relieved. She hadn't for a moment expected that the Council would decide to get involved in something outside their jurisdiction, and their fear of Cerberus is well grounded. In light of all that, having the Spectre resources once again available to her is a definite bonus.

"That went a lot better than I expected," Anderson agrees, as together with Garrus they step out on the balcony, overlooking the glorious spectacle of the Presidium below, with its green parks and lakes, connected by dozens of small channels.

"Yeah, I expected more in terms of getting chewed out. But what about you, David? What's your official position here like? Something like the Alliance's advisor to Udina?" Shepard asks, having talked with her old friend for a while. "Damn, talk about being stuck between a rock and a hard place."

"Yes, after his promotion to a Councilor, Udina has become an even bigger ass, if that is even humanly possible," Anderson laments. "There are days when I really hate my job. Then I remind myself that I'm actually doing some good here."

"What about your ties with the Alliance?" Shepard asks, a little hopefully. "Have you been in contact with Admiral Hackett?"

"I have," Anderson nods. "He mentioned you will be keeping a close eye on Cerberus, Shepard. I don't envy you, Commander. While you still work with Cerberus, most of the humanity will view you as a traitor. That's a heavy price that you have decided to pay."

Morgan takes a deep sigh. "Yeah, I don't suppose reinstatement in the Alliance ranks is on the cards right now?" Anderson simply shakes his head, smiling sadly. "Still, it's a price worth paying. You know it's not truly the Collectors behind the attacks. This is all still about the Reapers. They have their eyes set on us now."

"I figured as much," Anderson nods. Shepard asks more about what the Alliance themselves are doing about their missing colonists, but Anderson cannot reveal classified information. She then inquires about Kaidan, expecting the same response, but something in the way Anderson deflects her question tells Shepard that both Kaidan's classified mission and Alliance's investigation in the colonist disappearances are linked.

There is not much to say after that. Anderson warns her that Udina might be returning to the office soon, and not willing to look the new human Councilor in the eyes, Shepard quickly heads for the exit, Anderson's warning not to trust Cerberus the last thing she hears before leaving.

* * *

"Our sources report having seen Shepard docking on the Citadel," the gentle voice of a fellow asari pulls Liara out of her reverie.

"I have seen the reports, thank you Nyxeris," she replies emotionlessly. Her assistant apologizes, bows her head and then retreats.

_So, Cerberus have actually succeeded at bringing her back. And now they are throwing her at the Collector threat,_ she thinks, reaching for the glass of elassa in a compartment under the table. It would not do well to show Nyxeris how ruffled she is by the news. _Two years. I had almost given up. I thought that Cerberus have long since given up._

Liara takes a large swig of the drink and it goes straight to her head, like she was getting punched. She is so unused to drinking. _Did I make the right choice in helping to bring her back?_

She locks the doors to her office and switches off all comms, before dimming the lights, the neon advertisements of Nos Astra reflecting around her office in a wild light show. _Sooner or later she will find her way here, to see me,_ Liara thinks, reaching out for the bottle and refilling the glass. Her hands are shaking so badly that most of the precious elassa is spilled on the table. _How do I steel myself for that inevitable meeting? How do I tell her to forget what we once shared?_


	15. To Steal a Memory

**Chapter 14 - To Steal a Memory**

The master thief they are supposed to recruit on the Citadel turns out to be a small, spunky Japanese girl by the name of Kasumi Goto. But there is a catch that Cerberus have kindly forgotten to mention, before she is to join them, they must help her recover the stolen belongings of her recently killed partner, Keiji Okuda. The man in possession of Keiji's greybox, a neural implant holding some of his most private memories, is Donovan Hock, a wealthy tycoon who calls a nearby planet of Bekenstein his home.

Kasumi explains that this is one mission that Shepard won't be able to simply handle by going in guns blazing. No, for this occasion, some covert work will be necessary. A false identity of Alison Gunn, leader of a small mercenary force somewhere out in the Terminus Systems is established, and an invitation to a cocktail party thrown by Mr. Hock is secured. All that is left, is to secure some presentable evening wear for Morgan and make sure that she looks comfortable and convincing in her role.

Shepard grudgingly admits that Miranda likely possesses the most fashion sense on Normandy, and ends up enlisting her aid in selecting the appropriate clothing. A simple, yet elegant black sleeveless dress is chosen, with moderately distracting cleavage and covering her legs far enough to be able to conceal a pistol strapped to a thigh. Of course, she will not attempt to get something like that past Hock's security, it would be too risky, but she counts on Kasumi having a plan to somehow smuggle their weapons inside. As Miranda is selecting a matching pearl jewelry for the dress, Shepard is practicing pacing around in high heels, and having reasonable if limited success at managing to appear somewhat graceful.

"I think this will work," she tells Miranda, satisfied. "You know, I was browsing those advertisement stands before, and the only thing they recommended me was an asari burial robe, on the account of me being dead."

Miranda laughs at that, a strange sound to hear from her lips. "You're looking very fetching, Commander. I think you won't look too much out of place in a fancy party."

"Let's hope so," Shepard says, stretching left and right. "The best thing about this dress is, it's not all that restrictive. I bet I could quickly lay out some security guard without raising an alarm."

"I don't think you want things to come to that," Miranda shakes her head, while Shepard already suspects that no matter what she wants, this mission will probably end up involving guns and a lot of shooting.

During their trip to Bekenstein, the others are staying behind on the Citadel. Garrus is busy catching up with some of his old C-Sec colleagues, the very few that he actually respects. When the turian returns to the Normandy carrying a pink heart-shaped box of chocolates, a gift from Dr. Michel, he becomes completely embarrassed when Jacob explains him the intentions behind such a gift.

Meanwhile, Jacob is busy installing new bodybuilding rig in the armory and Mordin is hurrying around the lab with the frantic determination of a feral space hamster who has caught the scent of blood, or in Mordin's case, scent for a scientific breakthrough. Miranda sneaks out late in the evening to go on a blind date, hoping nobody would notice, but then ends up shocked and disappointed as her escort is revealed to be an amorous hanar, posing as a wealthy human businessman on the extranet. Zaeed spends his time in the Dark Star lounge, stuffing up credit chits in the asari dancer's cleavages, while Jack is slumming on the Lower Wards, doing her best to incite street fights and starting a riot.

"Looking good, Ms. Alison Gunn," Kasumi says, looking her over appreciatively while on their way to Bekenstein. "Hock won't be able to keep his eyes off you."

"Do we actually want that?" Shepard asks.

"Why not?" Kasumi shrugs. "It means my hands will be free."

"It's just not fair that you don't have to wear a fancy outfit like this," Shepard complains, seeing that Kasumi is still wearing her light infiltration and combat suit.

"I'll manage not to be crushed by the disappointment," Kasumi chuckles. "And I'm sure we will meet with more success if I stay behind and operate guiding you from the shadows."

"What about my weapons and armor?" Shepard asks.

"You can safely carry a pistol, they won't freak out over a side-arm," Kasumi replies, then giving a low whistle as Shepard unceremoniously pulls up her dress and straps a small pistol to her thigh. "That should do it," Kasumi says, then pointing at a large sculpture of Saren Arterius in the back of the shuttle. "Your present to our charming host. Also, all your gear is stashed within the base of that statue."

"Not bad," Shepard nods approvingly. After they have arrived and gotten off the shuttle, the plans for once appear to proceed very smoothly. Quickly they work on disabling the barriers to Hock's vault, where Kasumi believes the greybox is stored.

As Kasumi is working on fooling the voice print lock with the recorded samples of Hock's voice, Shepard quickly strips out of her dress and puts on her armor, a garb in which she feels far more comfortable. "Took a few extra shots of you with my omni-tool while you were mingling with the crowds," Kasumi says, as the last barrier before the vault gives way. "Figured the galaxy might not have another opportunity of seeing you wear a dress like that. Mmm, those legs. I think we should make some morale-boosting posters for the Normandy's male part of the crew, what do you think?"

Shepard merely pokes Kasumi in the back with the barrel of her sniper rifle. "I think you should not risk annoying the woman with all the guns," she says, aware that her words lack any harshness.

The vault itself is crammed with all sorts of haphazardly placed pieces of art from different cultures, mostly asari, turian, human. Shepard recognizes Michelangelo's David and the head of the Statue of Liberty amongst the trophies, but the art of other cultures leaves her cold. Most importantly, the greybox is here and Kasumi quickly grabs it, when the inevitable occurs.

What happens next is already like a standard operating procedure for Commander Shepard. The cackling villain, in this case Donovan Hock, springs the trap, informing them of their hopeless situation and then sending in his forces to finish them off. Of course, his security chief Roe inevitably fails, and Shepard and Kasumi proceed on a daring, explosive filled escape from Hock's estate, the incompetence of his forces and their inability to stop them slowly driving the usually calculating and smart villain completely mad from helpless anger, until driven by rage he foolishly decides to jump into his own armored gunship and take them out himself.

"And that's how it usually ends for them," Shepard finishes her short course on villain psychology by kicking aside a large piece of the wing from Hock's recently destroyed gunship.

"I'll take your word on that, Shep," Kasumi laughs. "That was fun, though. We should absolutely do this again!"

"As long as I don't end up wearing another revealing dress," Shepard grumbles, as they hastily flee the scene before curious law enforcement representatives become alerted to all the explosions and fires quickly consuming Hock's estate.

On the way back to Normandy, Kasumi has difficulties deciding what to do with the recovered greybox. It contains some of the most private memories of her lover, but this information is encrypted together with sensitive intel, that according to Keiji's words, could get the Systems Alliance thrown out of the Council and possibly off the Citadel, intel which now would make Kasumi herself a target. Shepard is tempted to encourage her to destroy the greybox, just to protect the Alliance's interests and Kasumi's own life, but in the end, she can't bear to tell someone to destroy memories of their loved one. Kasumi decides to keep the greybox.

Back on Normandy, Lawson is very insistent to leave the Citadel, probably just to escape attentions of her amorous hanar admirer, even if she states going after warlord Okeer as the main reason. Their course is finally plotted for the Eagle Nebula, although Shepard isn't too keen to follow through on this particular dossier. A brutal krogan warlord, obsessed with finding the genophage cure for his own people and having a history of dealings with the Collectors to that end, likely trading slaves in exchange for the Collector tech.

"Does that sound like someone you would want on your team?" Shepard asks Garrus while visiting him at the main battery, watching as the turian busies himself with something he refers to as 'calibrations'. "Besides, he wants to cure genophage. Mordin would not be happy to hear that."

"Yeah, I can see happiness, joy and good times in our future with this Okeer onboard," Garrus lets out a dry chuckle.

"Damn, now I'm really starting to miss Wrex," Shepard sighs. "Wish we could go to Tuchanka and abduct him. He'd be worth a thousand of these Okeers."

"The old crew was... different, wasn't it?" Garrus says thoughtfully. "Though, we must have still felt like untrustworthy aliens to you, at least at first."

"Not really," Shepard shakes her head. "You all had pretty clear motives for wanting Saren dead. Trust was easy to develop back then. But these people... they're just in it for the credits, well at least some of them are. And I haven't made up my mind yet on the others. I know I can trust you, and I'm growing fond of Mordin. He's a clever little monkey and knows what's at stake here. When the crunch time comes, he won't let us down."

"What about the rest of them?" Garrus asks. "What about the Cerberus people?"

"I have to admit... Jacob's not all bad, and I'm starting to see some human elements in Miranda as well," Shepard confesses. "I mean, I won't trust them with any of my secrets, but I think they won't buckle when the going gets tough. As for the others... Kasumi is a sweet girl, but she's just in it for the credits, really. Though, I suppose now that she feels the gratitude for helping her with Hock, she might be committed enough."

"Then we have Zaeed," Garrus continues. "Did they tell you that we are supposed to help him deal with some kind of mercenary gang rival or else he's sitting out the fight with the Collectors?"

Shepard groans. "Of course, that was the part of the Cerberus deal, wasn't it?" Garrus nods helpfully. "That's just effing brilliant. Wonder if it would be less of a bother to just space him from that garbage compactor near his quarters?"

Garrus laughs wholeheartedly. "And then there is, of course, the ever trustworthy Jack. You know, I had to pull a few favors with the C-Sec guys to get her released, they had her locked up for picking a fight with two large krogan. Some disagreement about the fish in Presidium..."

"...fish in Presidium?" Shepard blinks.

"Trust me Shepard, it's better not to ask," Garrus reassures her, probably seeing her pained expression. "The burdens of leadership getting to you?"

"Think I need a stiff drink right about now," Shepard mutters, heading back to her quarters, mentally already opening the bottle of bourbon she has secured a few days back on the Citadel. "If my intercom is still switched off by the time we reach Korlus, just go fetch that Okeer yourselves..."

Shepard wakes several hours later, in a slight daze, someone whacking hard on the doors of her quarters. She staggers out of the bed and flicks the button to slide the doors open, revealing a particularly impatient looking Operative Lawson. "Shepard, we have arrived at Korlus, and you're not even ready?" she asks, every word laced with admonishment.

Shepard clears her throat before speaking. "Yeah, and I forgot to tell you the reason for that," she finally says. "I thought it would be a good idea for you to be in charge of this mission, Miranda. I mean, you're practically my XO, I should entrust you with more responsibility."

Miranda is taken aback, her mouth wide open from surprise. "That is... very unexpected. Thank you for placing trust in me, Commander," she quickly recovers. "May I choose the squad myself?"

Shepard just nods and watches Miranda leave in a particularly determined step. She closes the door to her quarters, stops at the bathroom to wash her face and then returns to sit on the sofa, but not before refilling her glass with more bourbon. She works on her omni-tool for a moment, bringing up various images from her and Liara's vacation on Earth. There's one she loves in particular, they are both sitting on a bench in one of the grand plazas in Florence, Liara's head is resting on her shoulder as they lazily throw breadcrumbs to a flock of hungry and expectant pigeons.

"So, Tevos says you're an information broker on Ilium now," Shepard says aloud, drunkenly talking to herself. "If you're a good information broker, then you must know I'm alive by now. Why haven't you made contact, Liara?" She takes another big swig of the booze. "I'm going to get to the bottom of this... as soon as I figure out some flimsy pretext to turn this ship around and towards Ilium..."

_Two years have passed. She has moved on, she has to have moved on. There's someone else, that's why she's not contacting me,_ she thinks, the dark thoughts combined with the booze making the great and unflappable Commander Shepard weepy like a child that has lost their favorite toy. "One way or another... I'm going to find out the truth and then move on. For better or worse."


	16. On the Horizon

_A/N: Time for the mission on Horizon. I've tried to put in a bit more dialogue to liven up the all too familiar part of the game, but this is still one of those sections where I'm sticking fairly closely to the game plot. (The others will be Collector Ship and Reaper IFF missions) Hopefully it's still somewhat enjoyable. _

_Also, I'm not sure how Kaidan comes off here. I mean, I tried not to make him too much of an ass, but it's kind of hard when he does act a bit like a donkey. :) _

_As always thank you for reading and reviewing! _

**Chapter 15 - On the Horizon**

"Shepard? Shepard!" Miranda's voice sounds slightly nervous on the comms. "Do you copy that, Shepard? Okeer's a no-go! I repeat, Okeer's a no-go!"

Shepard finally snaps out of her bourbon induced sleepiness and quickly reaches out to answer the comms. "What? What happened? Is he refusing to come with us?"

"Not exactly, Shepard," now it's Garrus speaking. "He's lying dead on the floor in his laboratory, looking even greener than before dying from suffocation."

"Oh. Okay," Shepard blinks, then rubs her eyes. "Yeah, I guess he won't be joining us then. That's fine, I never liked him anyway."

"You hadn't even met him!" Miranda protests. "And besides, the mission is not a complete failure. Okeer has left something behind... a prototype of what he claimed to be the perfect krogan. It's resting in a breeding tank. We need you to decide whether we should take him with us or leave him."

"Okay... does it look friendly?" Shepard asks.

"Shepard... it's a krogan," Garrus again.

"Right, let me rephrase that... does it look like it could shoot Collectors by the dozens?"

"Once more, Shepard... it's a krogan," Garrus chuckles.

Shepard sighs. They have awakened her too early, her temples are still pounding and stomach is twisting and bouncing with traces of hangover. "Just bring it onboard then... we can decide what to do with it later..." she finally says, and the comms are closed.

The shuttle arrives in less than an hour, and a huge breeding tank with a menacing krogan inside is brought on board and then safely deposited in the cargo hold. As Shepard stands in the briefing room, enjoying the taste of the elixir of rejuvenation otherwise known as coffee, she is deep in thought about what to do with the krogan, slowly getting bored with Miranda's warnings of dangers such creature presents, warnings that she repeats in regular intervals of ninety seconds.

But before Shepard can state that she has decided to open the tank and release the krogan, she is interrupted by Yeoman Chambers on the comms, telling her that Tim wants to speak with her through the newly installed QEC network. Obviously, this is an invitation that she can't refuse, and considering most of the squad are already gathered in the briefing room, Shepard does not hesitate in answering the call.

Tim delivers urgent and exciting news. One of the colonies in the Terminus Systems, Horizon, has just gone silent, and he believes that a Collector attack is imminent. He inquires whether Mordin's countermeasure is ready and then mentions something that makes Morgan's heart beat a great deal faster. "There's one more thing you should know, Shepard," The Illusive Man says. "Your old squadmate, Kaidan Alenko, is stationed on Horizon."

Shepard does not reply immediately, deep in thought. _Probably on that classified mission with the Alliance,_ she thinks. _I wonder, if the Collectors are working for the Reapers, could they be targeting him to get to me? Or is it just me being too paranoid, and this is all a coincidence?_ "Just send us the coordinates," she tells Tim. "We'll head there immediately."

"Make sure that seeker swarm countermeasure is ready before you move in," The Illusive Man reminds her. "Without it, this mission will fail."

Shepard terminates the call and quickly rushes to the lab to confront Mordin. "Tell me you have something," she says, praying, hoping for the reply she needs to hear. The corners of the salarian's tightly knit lips tug upwards, forming a goofy, lopsided smile. That is all the answer she needs to know.

Before they have arrived on Horizon, the countermeasure is already integrated in their combat suits. As the Normandy lands, they decide to split their forces in two teams to cover more ground, keeping constant radio contact. Shepard chooses Garrus, Kasumi and Mordin. "I think you deserve some time outside your lab," she tells the professor. "Also, to be the first one to test your own countermeasure. Not that I don't have faith in you, but..."

"Understood, Shepard. Honored by the opportunity," Mordin nods, before rubbing his chin thoughtfully. "Unless the countermeasure fails. In that case, ashamed posthumously."

Miranda's team consisting of Jacob, Zaeed and Jack moves out to circle the colony from the opposite side, and Shepard leads her own squad out, wishing Lawson's crew good luck. The Collector ship has landed right in the middle of the colony, and Shepard spends a moment simply looking at it, the vessel is so alien and creepy that it is hard to even recognize the strange structure as a ship, it looks more like a giant cocoon with some freaky integrated tech bits. Thick black swarms of miniature probes surround it, and some of those clouds also pass by them, but the countermeasure works perfectly and the seeker swarms ignore them completely.

For a while, the pattern of Freedom's Progress repeats itself, the same empty buildings, the same signs of people simply walking out in the middle of dinner never to return. It is only the sight of the Collector ship in the distance that still reminds them that the enemy is here. And soon enough they make contact. "Seems like those wings aren't completely redundant after all," Shepard remarks, watching a swarm of the creepy Collector drones descending almost right on top of them, nearly succeeding in pulling off a perfect ambush.

Repulsive and intimidating they might be, but they still fall to their combined weapons fire and tech powers, at least this advanced scouting party proves easy to handle, even if Morgan understands that the opposition will become more fierce as they advance further. Lawson also reports making contact with the enemy, and being able to advance through the light resistance.

The next group of Collectors they run into contain also some old friends, namely a bunch of husks. "The Illusive Man was right," Mordin says, before launching a cryo blast at the tightly bunched group of attackers. "Collectors working with the Reapers."

"Sure seems that way," Morgan agrees, about to radio this information to Lawson's group, but then finding that the comms are down, only static crackle in her ears. "Damn, they have to be jamming our communications somehow. Probably can't raise Normandy either."

"So we're completely on our own? Figures," Kasumi grumbles, then pointing ahead at something. It is a collection of pods that Morgan has seen on the footage from Freedom's Progress, pods the Collectors used to store the paralyzed colonists. "I have a feeling what those are for," the petite thief comments, looking rather disturbed.

There is an unsettling amount of these pods, both empty and full, as they move forward, through the rows of buildings, towards the heart of the colony. They come across scores of frozen colonists that the Collectors have not yet managed to throw into the pods. "Trapped in stasis. Victims appear fully conscious. Fascinating!" is Mordin's reaction. Morgan would have settled for something like 'monstrous' or 'despicable', but then she is not a mad scientist.

"Keep a lookout for Kaidan," she tells Garrus. "Gods, I hope they haven't loaded him on that ship already."

"Friend of yours?" Mordin asks.

"Just a friend?" Kasumi, as always looking out for gossip material, chimes in.

"An old comrade, yes," Shepard replies. "And I won't even dignify that with an answer, Kasumi."

"Just a friend," Garrus helpfully explains on her behalf. "Commander here is a pervy asari fancier."

"Oh, do shut up, you," Morgan grumbles at the good-natured banter.

The next Collector group that swarms them provides more resistance, due to a particularly odd creature within that group. It's carapace appears to glow from enhanced barriers and armor, and it's combat abilities make it far more dangerous than all the drones they have faced this far. With their combined effort, finally the dangerous foe finally falls, but to Shepard's dismay, she immediately sees another regular drone suddenly transforming into the creature they have just defeated. The transformation is accompanied by a deep, metallic voice, speaking words "Assuming direct control." The voice reminds Shepard of her conversations with Sovereign.

Finally, all the Collectors fall, but they are all exhausted, bruised and in need of applications of medi-gel after this battle. "What the hell was that," Kasumi wonders, testing her sore shoulder that had taken the brunt of a biotic attack.

"No idea yet," Shepard replies, looking around cautiously. "We should probably keep moving, though. I imagine they have caught wind of some resistance, so let's not stay in one spot for too long."

"At least Miranda's crew is taking some of the heat from us," Garrus says hopefully.

In a remote hangar they come across a mechanic who has managed to evade the seeker swarms. Once he has finished ranting and blaming the Alliance for everything that has ever gone wrong in his life, he actually has some relevant information to share. Apparently, Commander Kaidan Alenko has been working on getting the colony's defense towers operational, something that could prove useful in bringing down the Collector ship. Ignoring the mechanic's paranoid ramblings about Alenko having been sent here to spy on them, Shepard and her crew quickly formulate a plan which essentially amounts to getting the defense tower targeting systems to work and then using its GARDIAN lasers to send the bits of the Collector ship back to whatever dark space hole it has crawled out of.

The Collector resistance grows even fiercer as they approach the spaceport. New and more advanced type of husks are thrown into the fray and their powerful shockwave attacks catch Garrus by surprise, the turian launched high in the air and landing badly bruised in a pile of empty crates. Finally, they battle their way through to the spaceport, but the resistance there is too fierce and they are about to be overrun, Shepard ready to utter the command to retreat, when suddenly she sees the Collectors diverting some forces to the other side of the spaceport. The cavalry arrives soon enough, Zaeed charges in first guns blazing, shooting husks left and right, Miranda and Jack supporting him with their biotics and Jacob covering up the rear.

The Collector forces are trapped between their two squads, quickly getting decimated, now scrambling back to the safety. They secure the spaceport and with the communications to Normandy restored, the ship's AI takes control of the GARDIAN laser targeting, about to hit the Collector ship. It is then that Shepard notices the regrouped Collector forces reappearing, following a massive flying creature that looks like some sort of grotesque fusion of dozen husks melded together. "Miranda! On your six!" she shouts the warning, but it comes a little too late. The side of the spaceport secured by Miranda's team goes up in explosions and flames, and they quickly rush to provide support.

During this most heated of battles, the GARDIAN lasers finally activate, starting to fire shots at the Collector ship. It's barriers absorb the first few hits, but not much more than that, explosions starting to rock the massive vessel. To Shepard's dismay, before it can be brought down or rendered space-unworthy, the Collector ship quickly gains altitude and then blasts off, carrying most of the frozen colonists with it.

"Damn it! Fuck!" she swears profusely, standing, watching helplessly. If only they had arrived an hour sooner, they could have been the difference between life and gruesome experiments followed by painful death for hundreds of colonists. Only a bit later she remembers about Lawson and her team. "Casualties?" she calls out to her squad who have rushed to aid the others.

"None," Mordin replies. "Severe burns. Not life threatening. Full recovery expected."

"Thank gods at least for that," she sighs, still feeling angry and frustrated at what she perceives as a defeat. Absorbed in tormenting herself over this failure, she does not even notice a very familiar figure suddenly stepping out from the shadows of a hangar and approaching her. She finally recognizes him, wanting to cheerfully shout out his name, rush forth to greet him, but there is something in Kaidan Alenko's face that makes her pause.

"Commander Shepard. Captain of the Normandy. First human Spectre," he says by the way of greeting. "I thought you were dead, Commander. We all thought you were dead. Two years... two long years, why didn't you contact me? Why didn't you let me know you were alive?"

"I tried my best to contact you, after I had stopped being dead," Morgan replies, taken aback by Kaidan's accusatory tone. "But they wouldn't let me know where you were stationed. Everything was classified."

"Yes, and now I see why," Kaidan's angry tone persists. "The rumors about you working with Cerberus are true. Garrus, too," he spots the turian approaching them. "Alliance intel suggested that Cerberus might be behind the abductions of the colonies. Then the rumor about you working with Cerberus surfaced. Commander Shepard, working with traitors! I needed to be here, needed to see everything for myself!"

"And now you've seen that it's not Cerberus behind the attacks," Garrus says, coming up to them. "Give it a rest, Kaidan. We're not traitors."

"Come with me and you'll see everything for yourself," Morgan offers. She feels hurt by Kaidan's mistrust and accusations, even if they are not made without reason.

"I'll never work for Cerberus," Kaidan shakes his head. "I'm an Alliance soldier, through and through. I'll never give up on them."

"I don't work for Cerberus, I'm helping them defeat the Collectors," Morgan corrects him, knowing that it won't make a difference. "And I consider myself an Alliance soldier as well, but they would not take me back, just because I was brought back to life by Cerberus."

"No, because they see you have not broken your ties with Cerberus," Kaidan says. "Cut those ties and come back to the Alliance, Commander. Please. I want to be able to trust you again."

Morgan lets a hollow laugh escape her throat. "And what does the Alliance plan to do about the Collectors? What's that I hear? Nothing?" she is growing frustrated herself.

"Don't take the easy way over the right way, Commander. That's not you. You've always chosen the right way of doing things," Kaidan pleads. Shepard stands silent, folding her arms across her chest. "I see. Well, in that case... there's nothing more to be said," Kaidan says, shaking his head, looking sad and dejected. "Goodbye, Commander, and good luck. Try not to lose yourself completely."

Shepard watches him leave, clenching her fists, angry, frustrated, heartbroken, helpless. _Another friend gone,_ she thinks, choking back tears. _How much more will this dancing with the devil cost me? Will Liara still trust me?_


	17. The Masked Beauty and the TankBred Beast

_A/N: So, no Ilium this time, that's for the next chapter, sorry about that. I decided to pick Tali up first, because I wanted to have her along for some of the things that will happen on Ilium. Besides, Shep can always do with one more friend she trusts explicitly. :)  
_

_Also, if there's one character I'm having trouble hearing in my head, it's Grunt. If anyone has some helpful tips on how to write him, I'll gladly listen to ideas!  
_

_As always thank you for reading and reviewing! _

**Chapter 16 - The Masked Beauty and the Tank-Bred Beast**

During the mission debrief, Tim congratulates Shepard about what he calls a successful mission on Horizon. Morgan disagrees with Tim's definition of 'success'. Still, they both are of one mind that the Collectors have taken a hit and will be more careful now. The Illusive Man speaks of _another_ plan to lure them in, and Shepard picks up on that word, challenging him to reveal the whole truth about Horizon.

"I might have released some rumors about you working with Cerberus and dropping the location of Horizon," Tim confesses. "I suspected that the Collectors, and by proxy the Reapers, are looking for you, or someone connected to you. Now we know for certain."

Shepard dislikes being toyed and manipulated, even if she realizes that such is the nature of Cerberus and The Illusive Man, and that she should never expect anything else. And she has to admit that Tim does have a certain point. "You might be onto something there," she agrees. "During our encounters with the Collectors, their leader spoke to me. It was... very random, but it seemed like he was... very much influenced by the Reapers. He called me by my name. _'If I must tear you apart, Shepard, I will.'_"

The Illusive Man speaks about what it will take to stop the Collectors for good, to make sure no other human colonies get abducted. It will require a journey through the Omega-4 relay. And it will be a one-way trip.

"Your team will need to be strong. Keep building," he says, forwarding three more dossiers. "You will need to be strong, Shepard. Deal with your past relationships. Get some closure. Make sure the others do so as well, make sure they are fully committed."

_Did he just tell me to get closure for my relationship with Liara?_ she thinks later, resting on the bed in her cabin. She looks at the dossiers again. _Two of them lead to Ilium. I wonder if that's a hint. Question is... do I want to show up only to tell her I'm going off to die again? Can I do that to her?_

She looks at the bottle of scotch on the nearby table, then at the intercom. Drink or conversation, that is the question. _There's been a bit too much boozing lately,_ she decides, rustling up Garrus through the intercom. The turian shows up at her quarters soon afterwards.

"What's the matter, Shepard?" he asks, looking a little tired. "Can't sleep?"

"Tried and failed," Morgan admits. "Being told that you're part of a suicide mission isn't exactly sleep inductive. Though, I suppose we could be the first ones to make it back from the Omega-4 relay."

Garrus nods at that. "We're pretty good at beating the odds, Shepard."

"And the voice of that goddamn Harbinger, I keep hearing it in my dreams," she grumbles. "_'You cannot escape your destiny, Shepard.' 'I am the Harbinger of your ascendance.'_ So creepy. It was like Sovereign all over."

"I was just thinking that," Garrus agrees.

"I wanted to ask for your advice on the dossiers," Shepard says eventually. "Tim thinks we have a shot at recruiting Tali, she's on some secret mission beyond the Far Rim. Geth space. The other two are on Ilium."

"Ah," Garrus realizes immediately. "Well... I don't know what to say, Shepard. It seems like you could always do with one more trusted friend like Tali."

"How very impartial of you," Shepard chuckles.

"Now I have **-no-** idea what you mean by that," Garrus looks at her sternly, but she just smiles.

"No, I guess you are right," she agrees. "Tali it is." _I was looking for some sort of reason to go to Ilium. Now, when I know what it is I will have to tell Liara... I feel like delaying it for as long as I can,_ she thinks. _But then again... if she's a good information broker, she probably already knows all about my mission and what it means... for us._

"You haven't been yourself since Horizon," Garrus remarks. _I haven't been myself since waking up,_ she adds mentally. "Is this about Kaidan?"

"A little bit of it, too," Shepard says. "But I understand him. It's easier for someone like you to come and work with me in this arrangement. You don't have strings attached like he has with the Alliance. And I wouldn't want to destroy his career, which is what would happen if he would join us on a Cerberus ship."

"Still. One of these things that you might understand, but it still hurts you," Garrus says, eyeing her thoughtfully.

"That's very... insightful of you, Garrus," she is genuinely surprised. "I'll be fine, though. Don't worry." They sit silent for a while. "How are the others? How bad were the injuries?"

"Nothing too bad. Most got out with only minor burns, only Jacob's being kept in the medbay for a few days. He'll be fine, though, he's tougher than he looks."

"He looks plenty tough to me," Shepard says. "Oh yes, could you tell Joker and EDI to plot our course for the Dholen System? And Garrus, remind me please that I still need to deal with that baby krogan down in the cargo hold, will you? I think I'm going to take another shot at getting some sleep..."

After a few hours of restless snoozing and one of Rupert's better meals that doesn't taste like ass, Shepard finally finds her way down to the cargo hold. Hearing the commotion, Zaeed and Jack wander over to see what the fuss is about and then decide to stay, probably hoping for a good chuckle when the released krogan 'baby' attempts to violently butcher the naive Shepard.

Having warned the amused observers not to open fire unless it is truly necessary, Shepard braces herself and pushes the buttons to drain water from the tank, opening it. The massive krogan topples out of the tank and remains on all four for a while, coughing out water from his lungs. Then he looks up and his eyes meet Shepard's. _Be friendly. Please, be friendly,_ Shepard mentally crosses her fingers, but Lady Luck just plain old hates her. The krogan's small reptilian eyes narrow and he charges her, throwing her painfully against the wall of the cargo hold and keeping her pinned. "Human. Female," he states, having stared at her for some time. "I need a name before you die."

"...this is not a good start of our budding relationship..." Shepard croaks, looking at Zaeed and Jack for some help.

"Nice charge there," Zaeed merely remarks with a knowing nod.

"Fuck yeah," Jack agrees cheerfully. "I give you nine out of ten, big boy!"

"I know things because of the tank, but Okeer did not implant a connection," the krogan ignores the other two for now, continuing to hold Shepard pinned and staring her down. "What were the last words... warlord... legacy... grunt... yes, Grunt. It has no meaning. It will do."

"So... your name will be Grunt?" Shepard tries, hoping to distract the krogan with conversation. It is about as effective a tactic as throwing rocks at a Reaper.

"Yes. Now, if you are worthy to command me in battle, prove it by defeating me," Grunt snarls challengingly.

Shepard rapidly tries to remember all that she knows of krogan, their culture, things that someone like Okeer might have imprinted in the mind of someone he claimed to be the perfect krogan. "I have a strong ship and strong squad," she tries. "A strong clan. Join me, and you will not regret it."

Grunt's hand around her throat eases just barely. He still looks at her with mistrust and hatred, also sparing a look at Jack and Zaeed. "If your enemies are weak, and the battles are not worthy, I will destroy you," he speaks, with a definitive promise.

"Our enemies are worthy, you can be sure of that," Shepard says, and finally Grunt releases her. Hanging pinned against the wall with her feet helplessly kicking just above the floor just isn't something Morgan Shepard particularly enjoys. "We're going up against the Collectors. There aren't many greater dangers in the galaxy."

"If that is so, then I will follow you. For now," Grunt nods, satisfied for the moment.

Shepard is less than certain about this new recruit. Even though he will probably make the Collectors very unhappy on the battlefield, he also is an unbalanced, walking time-bomb, who could simply one day decide they are all unworthy to accompany him in the battle. _Or maybe he'll be impressed by all this crazy stuff we get up to and will actually become loyal. That worked for Wrex, at least. Gods, I miss Wrex. I miss Wrex so much._

"So Grunt, I want you to meet two of your... clan mates," she then says, hoping to leave the krogan in the company of like-minded violent individuals. "This lovely young lady is Jack, and the elderly gentleman is Zaeed. He has a lot of stories about killing krogan he's probably dying to share."

"That so?" Grunt snarls in Zaeed's face.

"Shepard, you cunning bitch!" she can hear Zaeed's shouting behind her, already well on her way to the elevator. Fortunately, they manage to reach the planet of Haestrom before Zaeed, Grunt and Jack have managed to kill each other or Shepard...

* * *

A couple of hours after disembarking from Normandy, Shepard and her skeleton crew of Garrus, Grunt and Kasumi stand in a sea of geth parts, drenched in their own blood from numerous injuries, all as one panting heavily.

"Geth!" Grunt roars. "A worthy enemy, Shepard!"

"Yeah, geth," Shepard sighs, kicking her right foot free from the cold metallic grasp of a geth hunter that had managed to sneak up on her. "See, Garrus, this is where you're supposed to make your 'Just like old times, Commander,' quip."

Garrus lets out a dry chuckle, but then winces painfully, clasping his chest. "Damn it, Commander, don't make me laugh now, it is too painful."

"Why did you have to drag me through all this," Kasumi complains cheekily, pointing at her torn combat suit. "I would have preferred to remain in the medbay and nurse Jacob back to full health. Mmm, that Jacob."

"What, I thought you were still deep in mourning," Shepard remarks.

"Hey, I might be grieving, but I'm not dead!" Kasumi retorts defensively.

"Right... enough of the banter, we still need to take care of that one last door," Shepard finally decides it's about time they got back to their task. Tali's hideout is somewhere nearby, according to Kal'Reegar, the last survivor of the quarians under Tali's command. "See if you can bypass it, Kasumi."

The thief starts to work on the doors, but whether it is because she is tired and injured, Kasumi is not having a lot of luck and minutes pass by. Finally, the doors slide open on their own and reveal a very familiar fully suited figure with her face masked, standing right in front of them. "What are you doing, Shepard?" Tali asks, sounding a little exasperated.

"Uh... removing this last barrier to get to you, I guess?" Shepard tries.

"You could have tried to contact me on the comms?" Shepard can mentally imagine Tali rolling her eyes as she speaks. "Keelah, you could have even knocked on the doors!"

"I must have taken a few extra hits to the head during all the fighting, I suppose," Morgan confesses, blushing a little. "Anyway, good to see you again." They embrace in a tight hug. "By the way, don't hug Garrus, he's got a nasty chest wound," Shepard quickly adds.

"...thank you, Commander," Garrus grinds out the words.

"These others are Kasumi, our local kleptomaniac," Shepard introduces Tali to the rest of the squad. Kasumi waves back and grins. "And that's Grunt," she points to the krogan, who simply... grunts in response. "He's kind of like a surly Wrex."

"But Wrex already was surly!" Tali protests.

"Well... you know what I mean! Less... lovable!" Shepard exclaims in exasperation. "I'll introduce you to the rest of the zoo, I mean, the crew, later. You will be joining us, yes? Nobody turns me down twice in a row and walks away, you know that, right?"

Tali laughs. "Fine, fine, you've won me over. The Collectors cannot be ignored, if they are working for the Reapers like you claim." Her voice then turns bitter. "I wish I could have joined you back on Freedom's Progress. I wanted to, Shepard, I truly did."

"It's alright, Tali," Morgan says softly, putting her hand around Tali's shoulder. "I understand."

"If I had gone with you then, they would have sent someone else to Haestrom. I could not have let anyone take my place on something so risky. I would be signing their death warrant," Tali speaks quietly. "It's hard enough as it is. I just watched all of my squad die."

"Maybe you did not lose all of your squad," Shepard smiles, turning Tali around and towards Kal'Reegar, slowly hobbling towards them.

"Reegar! You're alive!" Tali exclaims with joy. "In that case, Shepard, before we leave... let me say my farewells first..."


	18. Unhappy Reunions

_A/N: Well, this was pretty painful to write. Hopefully I did the scene justice. And do not despair, dear readers - before things can get better, they first need to get worse. Much, much worse! _

_As always thank you for reading and reviewing! _

**Chapter 17 - Unhappy Reunions**

She receives the news as soon as the SSV Normandy approaches Ilium. Liara T'Soni is a very good information broker, and she is never taken by surprise, not any more. She knows that Cerberus have succeeded in rebuilding Shepard, she has heard of Morgan's recent exploits, wondering a little why Shepard has not tried to make contact before. _She has been extremely busy. And perhaps she wanted our reunion to be in person._

There is also another thing that Liara does not know, and it frightens and worries her. _They have rebuilt her, but is she still the same old Shepard? The woman I risked everything to bring back to this life, and I would do so again,_ she wonders, her heart heavy. _Has she retained the same feelings we both once shared?_

Then she attempts to harden herself. _It would be better if those feelings had died with her, two years ago,_ she tries to convince herself. _Right now, they would just get in the way of what I must do. Of what we both must do._

_Maybe when this is all over, we can… we can go back to what we were,_ she muses, trying to cling to some shred of hope, but the reality is harsh and unpleasant. Morgan will eventually pass through the Omega-4 relay to confront the Collectors, and no ship has ever returned from the space beyond it. As for her… the Shadow Broker is still hiding somewhere out in his secret lair, and taking him down is the sometimes insurmountable appearing challenge before her.

Her shoulders sag in the stark realization and a few tears trickle down her cheeks, before she manages to bite them back. Steeling herself again as she awaits Shepard's arrival, Liara quietly laments the cruelty of her futile hopes.

* * *

When they finally reach Ilium, Shepard has become a jumpy bundle of nerves. As she stands at the mirror in her quarters, getting ready to step off board, the soft beep of the intercom startles her. Surprisingly, it's Miranda. "Commander... may I speak with you?" she asks, sounding very uncomfortable.

"Sure," Morgan replies. "Want to come up or should I get down to your quarters?"

"I would feel more comfortable in my quarters, please," Lawson says. Shortly enough, Morgan arrives on the crew deck, wondering what could be bothering Little Miss Perfect so badly that she even considers asking Shepard for help.

Miranda's reasons are serious enough. Turns out, her father has not stopped at creating one little wonder of gene engineering. Miranda has a twin sister, that she has so far managed to keep safe and protected from her controlling father, but according to her latest information, his influence and resources have finally enabled him to track down his other daughter. "I mention this because we are headed to Ilium," Miranda says. "That's where I hid my sister. She has been living a normal life up to now."

With Cerberus help, Miranda wants to relocate her sister and her adoptive family, asking Shepard to provide additional security as the relocation is taking place. Morgan agrees, even if she is not exactly reassured by Miranda's idea of involving Cerberus in the whole matter. "It would ease my mind a great deal if we could deal with this immediately after arriving on Ilium," Miranda says.

"I understand your concern, but the first thing I will take care of on Ilium is to visit Dr. T'Soni," Morgan says. "And I would prefer to do so being alone. Or with some of my old comrades."

Miranda nods. "Understood. I would not wish to intrude in your private matters, Commander. I thank you for hearing me out, nonetheless."

"We'll take care of your sister as soon as I've spoken with Liara, I promise," Shepard says.

Even though she considers heading off the Normandy alone, in the end she brings Garrus and Tali with her, trusting them to be respectful of her and Liara's privacy. Ilium is breathtaking, especially the busy, bustling metropolis of Nos Astra with its spires and skyscrapers, its skies dark with the traffic of swarming shuttles. Morgan barely notices it all, or any sights around her, quickly asking for a path to Liara's office and then hurrying there as fast as she can, uttering endless apologies as she bumps into one pedestrian after another.

Liara's assistant, a gorgeous asari by the name of Nyxeris, explains that Dr. T'Soni is already waiting for them. Tali and Garrus decide to wait in the little foyer, idly conversing with Nyxeris, as the doors to Liara's office slide open and they stand face to face again, two years and roughly one month since Normandy's destruction over the skies of Alchera. Morgan cannot even begin to imagine how difficult it is for Liara, knowing that she must have cried countless nights, dealing with her grief, now to see her again, alive and well, it must be surreal beyond comprehension.

There is a certain awkwardness between them and they approach each other hesitantly, finally Liara slips into her arms. "Shepard," she breathes, but Morgan feels the embrace is somehow different, and soon they separate. Shepard does not know where to begin, and it seems neither does Liara. "You look… well," finally the asari remarks.

"Thanks," Morgan replies, feeling a little self-conscious about the slight traces of her scars, even if most of them have disappeared after Dr. Chakwas careful treatment. "And you… enchanting as ever," her eyes run across Liara's slender shape, curves nicely accentuated by the purple-grey robes. "What is this I am hearing about you becoming an information broker?"

"You have not heard wrong," Liara says, moving back behind her desk and retrieving something from under the table, two small data disks. She throws them on the table, motioning for Shepard to pick them up. "Those disks contain the information you need about Samara and Thane Krios. You are looking for them, aren't you?" Morgan can only raise an eyebrow in reply. "I am a very good information broker, Shepard."

"But how… why?" Shepard does not understand. "The Illusive Man tried to convince me that you are working for the Shadow Broker and that you can't be trusted. I did not believe his words, so please tell me I was right to call him a damned liar."

Liara's fists clench tightly and her hands glow blue with a crackle of the biotic energy, her face twisted by anger. "He said that, did he? No wonder," she grinds out the bitter words. "He wants to gain your loyalty, and towards that goal he needs to limit my influence on you… if it is even still a factor. He does not want you to trust me."

"But I do trust you, Liara," Shepard says simply. "I'm simply confused and out of the loop. Why don't you start with explaining why you became an information broker in the first place?"

"My goal is first and foremost to track down the Shadow Broker and destroy him, once and for all," Liara slams her fist on the table in a way that startles Shepard a little. "To find him, I needed to become an information broker myself. It is a respectable and profitable occupation here on Ilium, and my scientific background has actually been very helpful in disseminating a great amount of data. Like I said Shepard, I'm a very good information broker."

"But why do you want to destroy the Shadow Broker?" Shepard asks.

Liara doesn't reply for a long time. "I suppose that the Illusive Man has not told you that story." Shepard shakes her head in denial. "It was… a month after your death. When I watched Normandy getting blown to pieces over the skies of Alchera… something died within me, Shepard." Morgan looks at Liara, and the asari shudders lightly, overcome by emotion.

"I was still grieving when Cerberus contacted me," Liara continues, once she has sufficiently recovered. "They made me a proposition. Somehow, the Shadow Broker had acquired your mortal remains and was going to sell them to the Collectors for a hefty fee. Cerberus wanted to recover them and bring you back to life. And they sought my aid in recovering your… corpse."

"Gods…" Shepard sits down at the table heavily. "I… cannot imagine what that would have been like for you."

"At first I refused. I didn't trust them, given our history. I didn't believe they could even do what they planned. But… somehow, that Illusive bastard managed to convince me," Liara sighs. "With a help of a... friend, I recovered your corpse. Handing it over to Cerberus was the hardest part… I almost decided against it. I wanted to give you a decent burial. In my mind, I had already buried you."

"I know what you mean," Shepard agrees. "When I first woke… I felt what was done to me was wrong. Why did I deserve this second chance?"

"Because I was weak, Shepard. I had not buried you in my heart," Liara says, turning around, her shoulders shaking slightly. "I was weak. I could not let go. Shepard, when they told me that they could bring you back, I just could not let go, it tore me apart, but I could not let go!"

"Now that I have come to terms with it all, I'm glad you did not let go of me. For what it's worth, know that if our roles would have been reversed, I would have done the same as you did," Shepard says quietly, wanting to take Liara in her arms, to comfort her, but somehow sensing that it would not be appreciated.

"I suppose it makes it a little bit easier," Liara says, slowly regaining control. "But even now, seeing you is… difficult."

"So where does that leave us?" Shepard asks, her heart sagging at the anticipation of an answer she fears she might loathe.

"I mentioned that a friend helped me to rescue your body from the Shadow Broker. During our mission, he sacrificed himself, allowing me to escape with your remains, as he himself remained a prisoner of the Shadow Broker," Liara explains quietly. "We both owe our lives to him. I will not deny… there is a part of me that wants nothing else than to hold you in my arms again, but I… simply cannot even entertain the thought. It would be the greatest insult to Feron, as he rots away somewhere on the Shadow Broker's secret base."

"Then let me help you. Let us track down the Shadow Broker together," Shepard says with determination. _At least she still cares. There is hope yet for us. _

"It is not that simple, Shepard," Liara shakes her head, resolutely. "Peeling away the layers of Shadow Broker's network is a slow and dangerous process, and it could take me years before I am ready to strike at him. And in the meanwhile, you have your own mission that cannot wait, cannot be abandoned…"

"Yeah," Shepard sighs. "Going through the Omega-4 relay to take fight to the Collectors."

"And nobody has ever returned from beyond Omega-4 relay," Liara's voice falters just briefly as she speaks.

"You are worried that I am heading into my death, again," Shepard realizes.

"I cannot lose you for the second time, Morgan," Liara sobs, covering her face with her palms. "I cannot even bear to look at you now, thinking I might lose you soon again."

"Then come with me," Shepard says quickly, without thinking. "With you at my side, I believe we can take care of those Collectors. And after that, I will help you take down the Shadow Broker and rescue Feron."

"No, I can't do that, Shepard. There is a high probability that we would both die, and who would help Feron then?" Liara wipes away the wetness from her cheeks, before shaking her head. "I'm sorry, but I can't join you. We go each our own way for now. I will forward you any useful information about the Collectors that I come across, anything that might increase your chances of success."

"Then for what it is worth, I thank you, Liara," Shepard says quietly, getting up and grabbing the two OSD's. "These two additions to my squad will go a long way towards that."

"I wish you luck with your hunt, Shepard," Liara says, trying to keep the emotion out of her voice and almost succeeding. They cannot bear to say anything else than polite farewells and shortly after Shepard leaves the room, surrounded with chilling, heartbreaking coldness.

"Shepard, wait up," she hears Garrus shouting after her as she walks away swiftly, having almost forgotten about him and Tali. "How did it go?"

"I got what I came for," she replies, holding the two OSD's in a raised hand.

"That's not what he asked about, Shepard," Tali says softly, having caught up with her.

"There's nothing else to say," Morgan shrugs, swallowing the tangled lump of bitterness in her throat.

"But..." Tali protests weakly, her posture sad and disappointed.

"Enough about this," Shepard turns around and speaks dismissively. "There's nothing else to say. It's over."


	19. Drifting Through Dark Spaces

_A/N: Time for Shepard to demonstrate the worst example of leadership in her whole career up to this moment. The good point in all this is that things will go uphill from here. Just because they couldn't possibly get any worse. :) _

_As always thank you for reading and reviewing! _

**Chapter 18 - Drifting Through Dark Spaces**

"Can we trust, Niket? Oh, absolutely! He's my only real friend, Shepard. Gods... for someone genetically engineered to be perfect that woman can be so dense," Morgan Shepard rambles, reaching out for another glass of unidentified alcoholic substance, the asari bartender wordlessly refilling her drink. "Still, I guess she really cared for her little sister. I can respect that. For crying out loud, am I starting to like that ice cold bitch? Gods, I hope not..." she stops, only to stare at the asari on the other side of the bar. "You don't really care about this one way or another, do you?"

"Uh-huh," the bartender shrugs. "At least you managed to get rid of that annoying human, before I had to beat him over the head with his own spine. For doing that babe, you can ramble to me all evening."

"Oh yeah... Conrad," Shepard groans, remembering her most persistent fan. "Sorry about that whole thing."

The asari bartender passes her a bowl of peanuts and opens another bottle of liquor, this time pouring some for herself. "Anything else I can get for you babe?" she asks. "Sorry, no sex. I just cleaned the bar."

Shepard blinks. "I don't think embracing eternity usually gets that messy," she says without thinking.

The asari laughs throatily. "Well, then you're not doing it right," she remarks. Shepard is about to vehemently disagree, when the other woman cuts her off. "She must be something special to get you moping like this," the bartender says.

"How do you know it's a 'she'?" Shepard stares at her with drunken suspicion. The asari merely grins knowingly. "But yeah, you're right. She is something special, alright."

"Nos Astra can provide many ways to forget about someone," the bartender suggests mysteriously. Shepard isn't sure about her tone, whether it is testing or suggestive.

"You're... not coming on to me, are you?" she finally asks.

"Goddess, no, that would be very awkward," the asari laughs. Shepard gives her a narrow-eyed glare. "I mean, I'm really not fond of humans that way. Sorry, babe. Besides, I'm no longer at the stage where I feel the need to drag everyone remotely interesting between the sheets."

"You know, you're a... pretty damn odd bartender," Shepard finally remarks, finishing yet another glass.

"Name's Aethyta. Matriarch Aethyta," the asari says, making Shepard's eyes widen in surprise.

"A matriarch? In a bar? Serving drinks?" she blinks.

"And dispensing matriarchal wisdom," Aethyta winks at her. "So, why not? Besides, the other matriarchs laughed my blue ass off Thessia, just for having some _radical_ thoughts. What's so damn funny about using our supposedly superior asari knowledge to construct mass relays of our own?"

"You have the tech to do that?" Shepard asks, surprised. Aethyta nods. "Well, in that case, I don't see why not. Your fellow matriarchs are probably too stuck in the old ways of thinking."

"You said it, babe," Aethyta agrees. "Or they go and join up with some crazy turian Spectre with delusions of grandeur and get themselves killed."

"Benezia," Shepard feels her mouth going dry. "You are talking about Benezia," she repeats.

The matriarch gives her another one of those enigmatic smiles. "Perhaps I am at that," she says, before reaching out and slapping Shepard's hand with surprising force. "Don't eat that," Aethyta admonishes her. "I've told you several times already, the nuts in the red bowls are for turians and quarians. If you want to get yourself killed, poisoning is slow and messy and generally not recommended."

Shepard guiltily nurses her slapped arm. "Geez, you whacked me good, like a krogan," she complains.

Aethyta laughs. "Can't help it. Dad was a krogan. Can you tell?"

"Boy, can I," Morgan chuckles, slowly beginning to feel a little woozy from the last glass of the frighteningly pink concoction. "You know, I think I'm... getting a little inebrit-... inebe-... drunk."

The asari rolls her eyes in reply. "Good thing you humans have secondary and tertiary organs. All that booze is probably playing merry havoc with your liver right now."

"Yeah, thank god for that... hey, wait!" Morgan blinks, giving Aethyta an incredulous stare. "That's krogan! Humans don't have that!"

Aethyta shrugs. "Well, tough." She then winks at Morgan. "You want me to radio your ship and tell them to send someone to pick you up? I would not recommend attempting to walk all the way back. We lose too many customers that way... drunkenness, extreme heights and low railings is a hilarious combination."

"Nonsense, I can do it," Shepard protests, jumping off the seat at the bar to illustrate her point. Immediately, the collective strength of several bottles of hard liquor punch her in the face and send her sprawling on the floor. "I'm Commander Morgan Shepard and this is my favorite bar on Ilium," she mutters before promptly passing out.

* * *

When Shepard finally wakes up, she finds herself back in the captain's quarters of the Normandy. The walls are still slowly spinning but eventually stop, her surroundings becoming crisp and focused again, letting her groggily get out of the bed. _Is this what Tim meant by saying I should find closure to my past relationships? Sure didn't feel like the kind of closure that made me strong, committed and now willing to get myself killed for the greater galactic good._

She stands at the mirror naked save for underwear, observing the sad mess before her, hair miserably tangled and giving her a particularly pathetic appearance, and the dark circles under her eyes do not make for an inspiring image. "Fuck you, Tim! Fuck you!" she exclaims angrily at the mirror. "Shows what you know, dickhead! I'm not fucking ready, I'm not... I'm not..." _Gods, I need to get a grip. I need to get a grip on myself, or this will quickly spiral out of control. Need to... do something._

_The others, they still need me. They count on me to be strong, to lead them. They don't deserve to be sent to their deaths just because I'm falling to pieces here,_ she finally remembers, reaching out for something to anchor herself to. _Garrus. Tali. Joker, Chakwas and the rest of them. Need to be strong for them. The remaining dossiers, need to tackle them._

In the mess hall, she faces a lot of worried looks, but she puts on a flippant, confident smile and soon everything returns back to normal. They discuss tactics, coordinate strategies and decide on the new plans. It makes sense to split their forces in two groups, one to go after Thane Krios, the other to follow Samara. Thane, the mysterious drell assassin, is supposedly after an old acquaintance of Shepard's, a scheming and backstabbing asari named Nassana Dantius who managed to successfully manipulate Morgan into killing Nassana's own sister for her. Shepard promotes Miranda to lead the group going after Thane and allows her to pick a squad.

Miranda deems Jacob to be in need of further recovery and selects a crew of Garrus, Zaeed and Mordin, leaving Shepard with Tali, Jack and Grunt. They follow Liara's intel to quickly track Samara down at the commercial spaceport, finding their target busy mercilessly slaughtering asari commandos belonging to the mercenary group of Eclipse. Samara is a powerful biotic and a member of an ancient order of justicars, a group respected and rightfully feared for their extremely black and white views and subsequently uncompromising modus operandi. Anyone standing between Samara and her target is considered to be obstructing the righteous justice, and as such, the justicar code demands them to be eliminated. This extreme rigidity forces Samara to apply her code even to the local asari police officers who attempt to prevent her from running amok and killing everyone left and right in their district.

In the end, Shepard manages to strike a deal with both Samara and the local police detective Anaya. Samara will allow herself to be taken into custody for a day, during which Shepard promises to track down the culprit she is after. Once the day has expired, Samara grimly promises to break free from her detainment, killing Anaya and every other police officer foolish enough trying to intervene. "I wish I could understand why your people greatly respect these justicars," Shepard tells a very uncomfortable looking Anaya before leaving. "I would like to hope that if such remnant of the Middle Ages ever reared its ugly head back on Earth, they would be quickly thrown in prison where they belong."

"Well, for a monastic order, given up on all worldly pleasures, she certainly shows off a lot of her... skin," Tali comments. "That does not strike me as overly professional. And what about those high heels, how does one even walk around with those?"

"Having flippers like yours probably doesn't help there, duck-girl," Jack laughs at Tali, annoyed that the quarian doesn't understand the insult.

Samara tells them of her target, another asari who has been in contact with the Eclipse, seeking her way off Ilium. Shepard decides to ask the Eclipse, hoping that they would be smart enough and helpfully hand over the justicar's prey or at least disclose the name of the ship that Samara's target left on. Predictably and violently, the Eclipse decides not to cooperate.

"I still wonder how it is possible to have such an extensive Code that would cover every possible scenario, explaining them what course of action is just and which isn't?" Tali wonders as they are busy clearing the Eclipse base from the desperate defenders.

"I don't think that's possible," Jack says, lazily throwing a shockwave that knocks three LOKI mechs off a small walkway, sending them tumbling to explosive demise five stories below. "Which means she might one day run into some situation that her Code doesn't cover and her brain might blow up from having to think for herself. Ah... a good mental image to keep in mind!"

Shepard can't keep herself from chuckling. "She did say she sleeps well at night with the choices she makes. My sleep is all messed up, maybe becoming an unthinking zealot is the answer? Something to consider, eh? At least she said she's drawn to impossible causes, stopping the Collectors should be right up her alley."

"Less chatter, more focus on the important things," Grunt shouts impatiently, getting annoyed by their banter.

"And that would be?" Tali asks.

"Kill more squishy asari!" the krogan roars, charging the next hapless group of mercs trying to stop them from reaching the headquarters of someone called Captain Wasea.

"I'm a bit worried about this asari that Samara is chasing," Morgan remarks, following Grunt into the fray, his violent enthusiasm downright contagious. "Something out of the asari mythology? Ardat-Yakshi? Demon of the night winds? Doesn't sound very nice."

"It must have been something serious like that for Samara to leave the asari space and come all the way here," Tali agrees with a nod.

The Eclipse continue to throw themselves to slaughter with increasing desperation, and the pointless, stupid loss of asari life is starting to get to Shepard. _They have to know they can't stop us,_ she thinks. _What do they hope to gain from this pointless sacrifice? Is the name of this one ship worth twenty, thirty lives? Do they truly fear this Ardat-Yakshi so much that they would rather die than betray her?_

She feels relieved when they finally reach the heart of the base, where the leader of this Eclipse cell, Captain Wasea, stands waiting for them, surrounded by at least dozen of her Eclipse sisters. _There will be ranting, cursing and threats made, before they attack us again,_ Shepard already knows the depressing pattern. _And then they will die, all down to the very last. Hundred years, two hundred years, three or more, all spent pointlessly and with nothing to show for it, just a bullet-ridden corpse for cremation, contents for a jar with not even a label on it._

_Do their parents ever find out what happens to these asari maidens who choose to waste their young lives with these scummy mercenary gangs, or drown themselves in red sand while stripping in some seedy bar? Aethyta was right when she said the asari need to rethink their own way of life. At least Liara isn't like this. Liara isn't like this. Liara... Liara... _

"Shepard!" Tali's voice alerts her, shocked and panicking. She is suddenly aware of spiking pain in her side and as she stares down, Shepard sees her Kestrel armor being riddled by bullet holes, kinetic barriers long gone and dark red stains of blood slowly spreading and flowing downwards. Heavily, she throws herself into cover, daring to take a short breath that still makes her cry out from pain. She seeks to quickly apply some medi-gel, before she has bled out on the floor, wondering what just happened. _Fuck! I was right there, how did I miss it when they started shooting?_

The medi-gel quickly takes effect and seeing that the others are still being hard pressed by the Eclipse, with bloodied hands she readies her sniper rifle, hoping to pick off some of the Eclipse rocket troopers that are making Tali and Jack's life miserable. Even wounded, her aim is still true, both the heavy troopers collapse moments later, two clean headshots. _Garrus would be proud,_ she thinks, momentarily forgetting to observe the rest of the battlefield.

Wasea's biotic powers lift a fuel canister and the asari commando quickly throws it into her direction. Shepard notices it in the last moment and rolls out of her cover, avoiding the point of impact as the explosion leaves a charred hole in the spot she had occupied moments ago.

Morgan quickly gets back up to her feet, about to reach a new spot for cover to her left. It is only a few yards, but she is slowed by her injuries. And Wasea is fast, too fast for her.

The SMG barrage hits her right in the midriff. The kinetic barriers shatter, _pop, pop, pop_, the shields go out. One, two, three bullets enter her abdomen as she throws her arms in the air and falls, Tali's shouts of rage and despair accompanying her descent into darkness.


	20. Through Suffering, Towards Hope

_A/N: So, now we come to the reason why I had Shepard act like Darwin Award candidate in the previous chapter. Hopefully this will make sense. ;) _

_As always, thank you for all the favs, alerts and reviews! You folks are the best! _

**Chapter 19 - Through Suffering, Towards Hope**

"I think she's coming to."

"Look, her eyelids are fluttering, just there, did you see?"

"Commander, I would be very grateful if you tried to avoid giving me scares like this one."

"Let's just be glad she's alive..."

The voices around her are all mixed up in one big mess and it is with great difficulty that Morgan Shepard can finally begin separating them one from another. There's Garrus. Karin Chakwas, of course, this is her medbay. And Tali'Zorah, too. All three of them appear worried sick, as she opens her eyes and attempts a smile. She feels as if her midsection has been thrown under a tank, her body feeling heavy as she recognizes the effects of anesthetics and a massive amount of painkillers. _Amputation?_ she instantly jerks upwards, despite the pain, throwing off the covers to see whether all her limbs are intact.

"What are you doing, Commander?" Chakwas bristles at her angrily, putting the sheets back in place to cover her, Morgan only managing to catch the sight of her stomach being heavily bandaged. "Seriously, Shepard, do not try to make any sudden movements. I just finished digging through your insides, and I would hate if your jerking around meant I need to repeat the less than pleasant experience!"

"Sorry... sorry, Doctor," Morgan mumbles an apology. "Just... needed to see the damage for myself. A few new scars, eh? At least all my limbs are in their proper places."

"Well... not exactly," Chakwas says. Morgan looks at her, feeling frightened at the doctor's dramatic pause. "While I was in there, I figured I might as well remove your appendix. It's not like you needed it."

Shepard groans. "Gods, Karin... don't ever scare me like this, please."

"Only if you promise never to scare me by nearly dying in my care," Chakwas replies grimly, suddenly looking tired. "You're out of danger now. I think I can trust you in Garrus and Tali's care." With that, she leaves the medbay.

"What happened?" Shepard turns to her friends, her memories of the events that led to receiving these injuries sketchy at best.

"I thought about asking you the same question," Garrus replies, looking very concerned.

"It's like you just... blacked out when we caught up with Wasea," Tali says, puzzled, unsure of what had truly happened. "They came at us guns blazing and you just kept walking onwards, oblivious, even after they had started shooting."

The memory slowly floats back to Shepard, but she doesn't know how or what to explain to her friends. She doesn't even know what it was, herself. She was distracted by her own dark thoughts? That sounds too stupid and embarrassing to speak out loud. She is depressed, unfocused, lacking in commitment, pessimistic of their chances, she has lost belief in herself and her ability to lead? Probably a bit of all the above, but she cannot say these things to those who expect her to be strong. Weakness is something she cannot afford. "Yeah, I think I remember now," she says quietly. "I'll get it together, guys. This will never repeat again, I promise you that."

"I'll hold you to that, Commander," Garrus says. "This is the first time I've seen you make a mistake like this. It's just... very unlike you, Shepard."

"I know, Garrus. I know," she tries to sound reassuring. "This will serve as a good warning, I'm not going to make the same mistake twice, I'm not that stupid." Garrus finally nods, convinced.

"You might also be interested to know that Samara came in while you were unconscious to swear an oath to you," Tali tells her. "While she is under this oath, your orders will override her justicar Code. But... once the mission is over, if you have forced her to do something that goes against her Code, she will be forced to kill you."

"What?" Shepard blinks. "Goddamnit, what if we force her to choose between oatmeal and scrambled eggs for breakfast and the Code forbids her to eat any of those? Maybe I should... I don't know, read this Code?"

"Oh no, being a mere human you are not worthy to read the Code," Garrus adds helpfully. "Sorry, Shepard. You'll just have to play this by hand."

Morgan groans. "Well, knowing my luck, that means if the Collectors won't kill me, then Samara probably will." Tali and Garrus chuckle at that. "How did your mission go, Garrus?"

"Krios is aboard of Normandy, Shepard," the turian explains. "You will find him... very interesting, I'm sure. The way he killed Nassana Dantius... was very impressive. She and her four commandos never saw him coming, he moved between them so silently."

"Well, he sounds highly skilled, that's good," Shepard ventures.

"Yes. He's also slowly dying from an incurable disease," Garrus adds.

"...right, that's... not good?" Shepard blinks.

"It's not contagious and it doesn't impair him in any way for now," Garrus explains further. "I think he views this mission against the Collectors as some sort of a last chance to redeem himself. I'm sure he'll be eager to tell you more himself, when you're ready to speak with him."

Even though Chakwas has confined her to bed rest for at least forty-eight hours, Shepard barely manages to hold out for twelve. When the doctor excuses herself to go and take a few hours of rest, Shepard doesn't waste the opportunity, she throws one of Chakwas' spare white lab coats on her naked shoulders and slips out of the medbay, barefooted. Shepard is too intrigued by these two new additions to her team and she is eager to get to know them better, starting with a quick visit to the starboard observatory which according to Tali, Samara has chosen for her quarters.

When Shepard quietly enters, Samara is sitting cross-legged on the floor, deep in meditation, surrounded by faint field of biotic energies. "Shepard," she says, having noticed Shepard's arrival, welcoming her in. "Please, join me. I was hoping we could talk. I imagine you have questions?"

Shepard does have quite a few questions for the asari justicar, particularly trying to find out as many details about her Code, just to make sure she doesn't force Samara to do something that the justicar would later have to kill her for. As they speak, Samara never shows any concern about the reasons why the Collectors must be fought, and Morgan asks her about this lack of interest.

"I will do as my oath bids me, and I do not have any curiosity beyond that," Samara replies with cool conviction. "Think of it this way, Shepard. If I must kill a man because he has done wrong, do I really wish to know that he is a devoted father?"

"I would wish to know," Morgan replies. "It might make me reconsider whether death is the only punishment applicable on this occasion. Are all wrongs as defined by the Code punishable by death and only death? Such rigidity is hard to fathom."

Samara merely shakes her head, reluctant to discuss the Code in greater detail. Shepard asks her about the Ardat-Yakshi, hoping to find out more about this mysterious 'demon of the night winds', but Samara refuses to speak of it, claiming it to be a too personal issue.

"You must have heard of Cerberus, and the rumors surrounding them, even if you have been staying in the asari space until now," Shepard finally says. "The Code allows you to work with an organization like that?"

"Over the many years, I have learned to make my own impressions and not trust rumors," Samara replies.

"Really? I thought that the whole idea behind such a detailed Code was that you don't need to make your own impressions and generally don't need to think too much, just follow the Code..." Shepard remarks, unable to withhold the comment, even if she realizes she is coming off rather insulting.

"You show a disappointing lack of understanding, Shepard," Samara replies. "But it is understandable. And I am not concerned about the reputation of Cerberus because I do not work with them. I work for you Shepard."

"I see. Well, I'm glad we could talk about these things," Morgan nods, then saying her goodbyes to Samara and hurrying away, before she has done something that qualifies as punishable offence by the almighty Code, for example, questioning its very wisdom and the rationale behind the purpose of justicar order.

She stops outside in the hallway, then slipping into the women's restroom and opening the white coat to make sure the bandages are holding up and the wounds have not reopened. Everything looks more or less in order, there are no signs of blood and she doesn't feel any pain from simple walking around and talking, so Shepard decides to continue making the rounds, heading towards the nearby life support chamber, where the assassin Thane Krios has chosen to reside, preferring the slightly more arid air of the room.

Morgan enters the life support to see a lean, masculine figure sitting at the table in a deep trance, hands crossed like in a prayer, soft words escaping the assassin's lips as he recites one verse after another. Shepard has only seen a few drell before, and certainly not up close as this. Thane cuts an interesting figure, shape much like a human or asari, but for the more reptilian head, and their strange fish like throats, that as Shepard understands they can inflate to impressive size. His eyes are pitch black, as he finally turns towards Shepard, watching her enter. _Black like Liara's when she's about to..._ Morgan thinks, then quickly shaking these thoughts away.

"Ah, Shepard," Thane greets her. His voice is smooth and velvety, and so deceptively calm, perfect for an assassin. "Should you be walking around the ship? I understand you were grievously wounded."

"I'm feeling better, Doc has allowed me to walk around a bit," Shepard lies, trying to sound convincing as she takes a seat opposite to Thane. "I imagine I have not made the most auspicious first impression."

It looks like something almost resembling a smile on Thane's face, before he continues talking. "I have acquired my own share of injuries over the years. In our line of work, danger is inevitable," he says. "I imagine the others have already briefed you about my conditions? I will help you defeat these Collectors. Free of charge."

"Yeah, they mentioned that. Said it is to be your last job, that you are dying from some sort of incurable disease?" Shepard asks.

"Yes. Kepral's syndrome," Thane nods, before going on to explain that the disease is the result of the drell living on the hanar homeworld of Kahje, unused to the very humid conditions on the hanar world. Thane's story about the drell literally killing their own planet Rakhana by aggressive industrial expansion is very interesting, and Shepard finds it rather educational. _That would have been the fate of humanity, if we had not found our way to the stars,_ she thinks. _The near-sightedness of our own politicians, throwing only scraps of budget to space exploration... it nearly doomed the future of the human race._

"Were you praying when I entered?" she asks Thane. He nods, and goes on to explain about all the gods in the polytheistic pantheon of the drell. Thane sounds bitter as he mentions that the younger drell no longer feel interested in following the old ways of their ancestors, instead choosing to cling to the worship of hanar or asari deities.

_A spiritual assassin,_ Shepard thinks at herself. _I guess it's not the weirdest thing I'm going to see in my travels._ Some of Thane's beliefs make Shepard cringe, her insides bristling in disagreement. " An assassin is merely a weapon," he says, resolute, firm in his convictions. "A weapon doesn't choose to kill. The one who wields the weapon does."

"You would deny your own free will?" Shepard asks, shaking her head. Thane merely stares at her, his look saying all she needs to know, that he believes she would never be able to understand what he means. "I think that's probably enough talking for now," Morgan says quickly, unwilling to start an argument over morality. "Thank you for your insights, Thane. They have certainly been interesting." He merely nods and watches her leave.

Even though Chakwas ends up shouting at her a little bit for wandering around and risking reopening her wounds, the doctor eventually admits that Shepard's injuries are healing up nicely. The next time Morgan goes to sleep, it is already back in her quarters, the bandages removed, there is no lingering pain in her abdomen, merely a faint scratching sensation in the spots where the bullets pierced her skin, leaving three new, albeit small scars.

Shepard has just crawled into her bed, pulling the blankets up to her shoulders, when suddenly the intercom beeps softly, startling her. She rises to answer. It is Tali. "Can I come up, Shepard?" she asks, speaking quickly. "I have something interesting for you."

Shepard quickly dons the pants of her uniform and a simple t-shirt, remaining barefooted, as Tali arrives at her cabin. "What's up, Tali?" she asks, curious.

Before starting to speak, Tali walks over to the sound system and switches the music on, cranking up the volume. "I, ah… have been tapping into Cerberus communications as of late. They are not as well encrypted as they believe," she explains.

"Anything interesting?" Shepard asks.

"Yes, you might want to look at Miranda's last reports to The Illusive Man," Tali says, switching on her omni-tool and downloading the transcripts to Shepard.

"Shepard's effectiveness in the last two missions after seeing T'Soni on Ilium has decreased by thirty-eight percent?" Morgan reads the report, blinking. "How the hell can she measure that with such accuracy, that perfect little wonder on gene engineering? And I wonder for how many of those percentages getting near-lethally shot accounts for!"

"Don't ask me," Tali shrugs. "I can't stand that annoying _bosh'tet_ either. But looks like she's got The Illusive Man concerned. Take a look at his reply." The quarian quickly downloads more data to Shepard's omni-tool.

"It is clear that the situation between Shepard and T'Soni must be resolved if the mission is to be successful," Morgan reads. "In a few days, you will receive a packet of data that will make both Shepard and T'Soni very happy. Make sure to use this information to strengthen Shepard's loyalty to our cause and make her more appreciative of everything that Cerberus is doing for her."

"What do you think The Illusive Man is talking about?" Tali asks.

"Probably some lead that will let Liara get closer to the Shadow Broker," Morgan replies. "I will welcome everything that helps Liara deal with that bastard, but if they think that this will make me get down on my knees and kiss their Cerberus asses, they are deeply mistaken. These subtle manipulations of my loyalties will not be appreciated. Thanks for bringing this to me, Tali, nice catch."

Tali nods, appearing satisfied. "I can just see the Cerberus cheerleader presenting you the data with her blindingly white smile, boasting how Cerberus does everything to help you, and how they are 'really not that evil'."

"And then she will be left cursing when I simply grab the data, turn around and say 'about damn time, how much longer were you willing to sit on this intel, you goddamned hypocrites'," Shepard laughs.

Tali seems to savor that mental image, but then quickly becomes more serious. "They are right though, in that you have become… more distracted. Shepard, Wasea nearly killed you back in the Eclipse base." Shepard doesn't reply, just shrugs numbly. "It's really eating at you, isn't it? I've been talking with Garrus about how to cheer you up, but…"

"That's sweet, Tali, but in all honesty… if Cerberus does come through with the data about the Shadow Broker, that might be what I really need," Shepard replies. "In the meantime, I promise to try and pull myself together. It would do no good to get myself killed by some two-bit mercenary gang leader, right?"

"Right," Tali nods, quickly hugs her and then leaves Morgan to her interrupted sleep.


	21. Chasing Shadows

_A/N: Time to get rolling with the LotSB plot. This should keep us busy for a few chapters. Hope you'll enjoy some of my subtle changes to it._

_Also, I would be interested in feedback on how the Shepard/Miranda relationship is coming along. I'm trying to slowly and tentatively bridge the gap, so I'm wondering if that's coming across._

_And now I'm off to play some MP games to bring my Galactic Readiness up. God knows I suck at teaching geth and quarians to love one another. :P _

**Chapter 20 - Chasing Shadows**

"Commander, Operative Lawson would like to speak with you in her office," Shepard smiles as she hears the voice of Yeoman Chambers on the comms. This message has been expected for a while now.

"Thank you, Chambers," Morgan replies. "I'll go see her right away."

Miranda Lawson rises from her desk, putting her carefully penned reports away, as she sees Shepard entering her quarters. "Commander," the Cerberus operative greets her, urging her to sit down. "Doctor Chakwas assures me that you have made a full recovery from your injuries."

"Feeling good, Miranda, thanks for the concern," Morgan flashes a bright smile, lightly slapping herself on the knee. "I'm sure you'll tell my friend Tim not to worry."

Miranda nods, wincing slightly at her irreverent way of addressing The Illusive Man. "Commander, it occurs to me that I never thanked you properly for assistance with my sister's relocation," she speaks, the words slightly awkward as she is not used to thanking someone. "Please, allow me to take this opportunity to do so now. I will never forget what you did for me and my sister, Shepard."

She sounds very sincere, and Morgan cannot help but feeling a little touched. _It is clear she loves her sister very much. Perhaps more than anything else in the world. Someone like that can't be completely rotten to the core._ "I was happy to help, Miranda," she says. "No problems with the relocation of your sister's family, everything went smoothly?"

"Yes, I believe so. My sister is completely safe from my father in her new location," Miranda smiles. "She has a normal life again."

"I would feel much safer if Cerberus hadn't been involved in this operation at all," Morgan can't help but remark. "I hope nobody in the organization will flood this information to your father."

"I am saddened to hear you still feel this way about Cerberus," Miranda sighs, looking disappointed.

"Whether I do or don't, it's still a leash, Miranda," Shepard says. "Something to keep tabs on you with, if you ever happen to develop... doubts."

Miranda looks thoughtful for a moment, but then shakes her head, deciding against listening in Shepard's attempts of sowing doubts in her convictions. "Still, I will not forget that you helped me, Commander," she then says. "But... that was not the only reason I wanted to speak with you, Shepard."

"Oh?" Morgan raises an eyebrow, attempting to feign surprise.

Miranda retrieves an OSD and passes it over to her. "The Illusive Man went through a lot of trouble to get this for you, Shepard. Your friend Liara T'Soni might be particularly interested in this information. This piece of intel will help her track down the location of the Shadow Broker."

Morgan grins inwardly as she hears this, but despite what she had told Tali earlier, she just can't bring herself to call Miranda a hypocrite and throw the see-through scheme to get in her good graces back in Lawson's face. _Damn it, I no longer hate her. I still hate Cerberus, but her... her, I'm starting to respect._ "Why do this? The Illusive Man doesn't get along with the Shadow Broker or something?"

"Not since stealing your body back from the Shadow Broker," Miranda explains. "Not since the Shadow Broker starting to make deals with the Collectors. No, The Illusive Man believes that the Shadow Broker needs to be taken out."

"Why not give the intel directly to Liara?" Morgan asks. _Of course, I know the answer already. They couldn't score bonus points with me then. Still, I'm interested to hear the answer._

"She is very distrustful of Cerberus, and the operation to recover your remains from the Shadow Broker helped little to smoothen our relations," Miranda admits reluctantly. "So, we believe that it would be best if she got this intel from you. Besides..." Lawson grows a little hesitant, uncomfortable. "Given your history... The Illusive Man believes that... any improvement in your relationship with Dr. T'Soni would be, ah, beneficial to the mission."

"So it's not entirely out of the goodness of his heart," Morgan smiles. Miranda blushes slightly. "In any case, I appreciate the gesture, I really do," she takes the OSD and rises from the chair. "Thank you, Miranda. I believe I will bring these to Liara immediately..."

Shepard quickly leaves the Normandy, this time not bringing anyone with her, Liara's office is close to the Nos Astra spaceport. She spends most of the way running, and once at her destination, takes a few moments to regain her breath. With some surprise she notes that Liara's assistant Nyxeris is not behind her desk and thus cannot announce her arrival. Slightly puzzled, Shepard decides to simply walk in... only to find Liara standing over the badly mangled corpse of her assistant, her hands still glowing blue from the biotic discharge.

"Err... is this a bad time?" Morgan asks, blinking in surprise and shock.

"Shepard! This is _**not** _what it looks like!" Liara exclaims in panic. Then she catches herself, the biotic glow diminishes and disappears. "Okay, this is _**exactly**_ what it looks like. I unmasked Nyxeris as the Observer, Shadow Broker's top agent on Ilium. Then... I killed her."

"Right. Seems like you're doing a pretty good job in getting close to the Shadow Broker," Shepard notes, pulling out the OSD. "Maybe you don't even need this?"

"What is it, Shepard?" Liara is immediately curious.

"Oh, just something I got Cerberus to hand over," Morgan says proudly. "They claim the intel on this disk will help us catch the Shadow Broker."

"Help us? You... you're really serious about this, aren't you?" Liara takes the OSD with trembling fingers. She loads the data onto her omni-tool, starting to quickly browse through the information. "Looks like leaked transmissions between Shadow Broker operatives, and hints to a location," she says, and Morgan notices images of shady looking salarians, star charts with coordinates, and finally, an image of a young drell. Liara's eyes immediately widen in recognition. "It's about Feron!" she exclaims. "He's alive, as I hoped!"

"He's that friend who helped recover my body, right?" Shepard asks. Liara nods in reply. "So, what now?"

Liara momentarily looks confused. "I... I don't know, I need to... go through the data one more time, make sure nothing has escaped me. I only have this one chance to succeed in this rescue... I cannot make any mistakes." She looks at Shepard, grateful, overwhelmed. "I think I should go home and spend some time analyzing the data. Then I can decide on the best course of action."

"Let me come with you," Morgan says, trying not to sound too pleading. "Don't push me away now, Liara. Let me help."

"I will, Shepard. I will, I promise. But right now..." Liara hesitates a little. "You would be a... distraction. Why don't you stop by this address in... say, two hours?" she quickly uploads the relevant data into Shepard's omni-tool.

"Two hours, alright," Shepard nods. "Should I come alone? I can bring someone we both trust, Garrus, Tali..."

"Their aid would be welcome too," Liara says, grabbing the OSD and holding to it tightly. "I will see you soon, Shepard."

"Wait! What about the body?" she points at Nyxeris' still shape at her feet.

"Oh... well, you don't need to bring her along," Liara shrugs, hurrying away and leaving Shepard standing over the corpse, pressing a palm against her forehead.

Innocently whistling, Morgan drags Nyxeris back out in the foyer and drops the dead asari in a seat behind the secretary's desk, walking away nonchalantly as is she hadn't seen or heard a thing. Casually, she heads for the Eternity Lounge for another chat with her favorite asari bartender, this time making sure not to drink as much as the previous time. She also radios the Normandy to get in touch with Tali and Garrus, and they promptly show up at the Eternity Lounge too, eager to aid with anything she and Liara might need help with.

In conversation, time at least passes quickly and the appointed hour comes. They take a cab to Liara's apartment... and when they get there, Shepard's heart almost jumps right into her mouth from seeing the glowing 'Do Not Cross' lines drawn around the entrance to Liara's apartment, work of the local law enforcement officers.

As Shepard wrestles with the Ilium cops, trying to find out what has happened, another asari approaches them, this one looking very battle-hardened, confident, and above all, heavily armed. "Someone tried to kill your friend, Commander. However, they failed, and Dr. T'Soni gave them a slip," she says, letting Shepard breathe out a huge sigh of relief.

"And you would be..." Morgan turns to the newcomer, but she just shakes her head.

"Before I introduce myself, let's make sure to have a little more privacy," the dangerous looking asari says. "Lieutenant, your people are dismissed." The cops protest at first, but seeing that the asari won't budge, they quickly leave the premises.

"Who are you to have the power to get rid of the local law enforcement?" Shepard wonders.

"Tela Vasir. Special Tactics and Recon," the asari finally introduces herself.

"Another Spectre..." Morgan realizes. "Well, that explains things." Then she peers at Vasir, a little suspicious. "Why is a Spectre interested in this case?"

"Your friend is someone with a high enough profile to demand... certain attention," Vasir says enigmatically. "Seems like she has made herself a rather powerful and dangerous enemy."

"We are after the Shadow Broker," Shepard says, then wondering whether it was wise to disclose this information.

"He certainly fits the bill of a dangerous enemy to have," Vasir admits.

"What have you managed to find so far?" Garrus buts into the conversation, scanning the room with his C-Sec trained eye.

"About twenty five minutes ago, someone took a shot at T'Soni," Tela Vasir explains, pointing at bullet holes in the window of the apartment. "Whoever it was, did not count on her having her kinetic barriers up while in safety of her own place. How paranoid can a girl get?"

"Paranoid, but clever," Tali remarks, also looking around curiously.

"Yeah. She stuck around for four more minutes before leaving the building," Vasir says.

Shepard snaps her fingers in realization. "She was leaving a message for me! She knew I was coming... oh, I love you Liara, you clever little devil."

"Well, maybe then you'll have better luck finding it," Vasir grumbles. "I'm done sifting through her crap."

"I'll look around, maybe I can spot something," Shepard offers, starting to walk around the flat. The apartment is beautiful, very classy and well furnished, but it also has a little bit of impersonal, cold feel to it, as if Liara hasn't been spending too much time there. _With her dedication, she probably only returned here to sleep and then got right back to work,_ Morgan arrives at the bitter realization.

She stops at a beautiful painting right at the entrance to the apartment. "I've no idea what planet that is," Vasir comments, seeing what has caught her interest.

"It's Ilos," Tali says grimly, standing next to Shepard, momentarily overtaken by the memories of that forgotten Prothean world, the epicenter of their confrontation with Saren.

"Looks like Liara hasn't been able to forget it, either," Garrus adds thoughtfully.

Shepard moves away from the painting and with heavy steps walks upstairs to Liara's bedroom. She opens one drawer after another, but there are only clothes in them... except for one drawer. There is a small case inside, and when she quickly opens it, Morgan feels her heart breaking from the overflow of emotion. "Star of Terra," Garrus says quietly, having approached her from behind with silent footsteps. "Your Star of Terra."

"She... she went back to Alchera. That's why I couldn't find it," Shepard desperately tries to avoid breaking out in sobs. "Oh, Liara..."

"And a picture of Normandy, too," Tali says, picking up the small framed image from the nightstand next to Liara's bed. "She truly missed her time with you, Shepard."

"Yeah, it would appear so," Morgan recovers, quickly pocketing the Star of Terra away safely. _Liara would want me to have it back, anyway. For luck. I'll tell her later._ She takes the picture from Tali, and in her hands, the image immediately changes to the Prothean digsite on Eden Prime. "What the... oh, I see, it's keyed to my ID," Shepard realizes.

"Prothean digsite..." Tali muses. "Hey, maybe the message is hidden in one of the Prothean artifacts? She has a lot of them in the apartment."

"Let's check each and every one of them out," Garrus nods, and they hastily proceed to examine every ominous looking piece of Prothean relics that Liara finds so unexplainably compelling.

"Wow, she was certainly into ugly," Vasir comments, as together they go over all the Prothean relics in the apartment. "No offense," the other Spectre adds quickly when Shepard turns around to glare at her.

Soon enough, they come across a backup data disk, hidden in the base of one of the artifacts. It contains a recording of a holocall that Liara made from her apartment not long before the assassin attempted to shoot her. She has arranged a meeting with a salarian named Sekat in the Baria Frontiers offices, located in the Dracon Trade Center.

"My skycar is outside, let's grab it and hurry," Vasir suggests quickly. Shepard and the others swiftly follow her, jumping into the car and then holding on tightly as Vasir navigates the heavy traffic with daring and dangerous maneuvers that make Morgan feel a little bit queasy.

Finally they reach their destination, the tower of Dracon Trade Center, stretching at least thirty floors high. Everything seems normal and reasonably quiet, and Shepard allows herself to relax a little bit. "No sign of cops anywhere," Vasir comments. "Looks like we're early for the party-..."

And then it happens, a huge blast that shakes the building to its very foundation, roaring smoke and flames wipe out what looks to be the entire third floor, sending a shower of shattered glass, debris, and scorched body parts of anyone unfortunate enough to have found themselves at the Baria Frontiers offices.

"Liara!" Morgan screams, falling on her knees, ignoring the agonizing cries of the injured civilians all around her. Another explosion goes off, just as powerful as the first one, then another and one more, four in total. As Morgan Shepard finally dares to look at the tower of Dracon Trade Center again, she sees the tall spire still standing, but at least three or four floors have been wiped out completely. There is only one thought, one horrible, dreadful thought on her mind. "Liara... Liara was in there..."


	22. Another Spectre Gone Bad

_A/N: More Shadow Broker Lairness in this chapter. I ended up rewriting large part of the talk between Liara and Shepard after defeating Vasir. I like the game dialogue well enough, but I didn't want to regurgitate again and again. Besides we all know that IT HAS BEEN TWO YEARS! Hopefully my take will be enjoyable. :) _

_As always, do not hesitate to tell me what you thought! Oh yes, and I'm totally cracking open a bottle of champagne at 100 review mark. You guys have earned it with your support! _

**Chapter 21 - Another Spectre Gone Bad**

"Back on your feet, Commander," it is Garrus, she recognizes his voice as a pair of strong hands pull Shepard back on her feet. "Come on, you don't even know Liara was in there at the time."

"Agreed, Shepard," Tali nods. "We need to investigate. Liara's too clever to be killed like that, isn't she? You said so yourself."

Morgan feels her spirits lifting slightly, her friends succeeding at putting the fight back into her bones. "Damn right, I did say that and I meant it. Let's go," she smiles grimly. "Where's Vasir?"

"She took the skycar to the top of the building," Garrus explains. "Said she'll sweep the tower from the top. She promised to keep radio contact."

"Alright. I guess we shouldn't turn away help," Shepard shrugs, quickly leading her team into the burning building. It is difficult to ignore the pleading screams of the badly injured civilians, and they stop to administer medi-gel to at least a few who look like it won't be wasted on them. The sights are depressing and the injuries terrible to look at, but they steel themselves and move on. Even if they are hardened veterans, used to violence, it is somehow harder to accept when such tragedy is inflicted upon unsuspecting civilians, their visceral, shocked reaction sending shudders down Morgan's spine.

Inside, the building is a predictable mess, filled with dead bodies. Shepard has to force herself to stop at every dead asari lying on her face to turn them around on their back, praying to every god she can that the face revealed to her would not belong to Liara.

"Look at this one, Shepard," Garrus points at one human employee, curled in a fetal position and lying in a pool of his own blood. "This one has gunshot wounds. Curious."

"Are you sure?" Shepard asks stupidly. Of course Garrus is certain, or he would not have said it. "We better get up to the Baria Frontiers ASAP, then. I don't understand what's going on here, but it doesn't look good."

Further on, they find a dying human employee who manages to utter a few words before expiring from his injuries. "Mercs... came from the smoke... set up bombs..." and then he is gone, wounds too severe for medi-gel to fix.

"Vasir, watch yourself," Shepard calls the other Spectre on the radio. "The mercs who did this are probably still here and well armed."

"Got it," the asari confirms on the comms. Passing by a bomb that thankfully hasn't been armed, Shepard and her crew finally reach the Baria Frontiers office. She quickly checks the digital log book. "Look there, Liara checked in just a few minutes ago. Gods, was it... before or after the blast..."

"Shepard, I think it's more than four minutes since the blast," Tali speaks up supportively. "I'm willing to bet Garrus' favorite sniper rifle on that."

"Hey, you can't do that!" Garrus complains good-naturedly.

Shortly after stepping into the devastated offices of Baria Frontiers, the mercs responsible for the slaughter descend on them. Their armor does not provide any way to identify them as one of the merc groups she knows of, and Vasir radios Morgan to inform her that she might be battling the private army of the Shadow Broker, his special forces groomed for operations just like this.

No matter how skilled they are, they are no match for Shepard and her rage and anger. Her focus is fully back, now that she knows Liara's life is at stake. Garrus draws the thickest of the enemy fire by engaging them first, supported by Tali's combat drones and tech powers, while Shepard follows them through the tight spaces of the burning offices, using her camouflage skills to momentarily disappear from view, using the moment to pick her target and then again reappearing as a bullet is released from her sniper rifle, dropping one Shadow Broker operative after another.

They have almost cleared the entire floor of Baria Frontiers offices, but there is still no sign of Liara, and Shepard again starts to worry. Vasir tells her that she will rendezvous with them soon, and not a minute after that call, they come across Vasir in one of the reception rooms, standing over two corpses on the floor, one is the Shadow Broker operative that the asari has just shot, the other is a salarian.

"Sekat," Shepard recognizes him immediately, bending down to check him for any clues. "Nothing, the data isn't here," she curses.

"Yeah... speaking of which," Tela Vasir steps closer. "Did you manage to find your friend's body?"

Shepard is about to reply to Vasir, when suddenly there is a noise of a pistol being drawn. A slim shape jumps down from somewhere above, pointing their weapon at Vasir. It is Liara, wearing a beautiful, form fitting white-blue combat suit that Shepard has not seen before. "Do you mean this body?" she asks threateningly, as the other Spectre slowly backs off. Shepard is about to interfere, when Liara cuts her off. "Shepard, don't be fooled by her. This is the woman who tried to kill me. I doubled back after leaving my apartment and saw her breaking in."

Shepard turns towards Vasir, the entire plot finally starting to make sense to her. "Of course," she says, now also drawing her Carnifex pistol and pointing it at Vasir. "She didn't know where you went, that's why she needed me to find you. And once she had the location, she quickly signaled the Shadow Broker forces who bombed the crap out of this building to take you out."

"Exactly," Liara nods. "I'm guessing she also killed Sekat and took the data that I'm after."

"Good guess," Vasir gives Liara a mocking stare. With her left hand she retrieves the data disk from her back pocket and shows it to Liara. Her right hand remains behind her back. "Not that you will ever get it, you pureblood bitch!" she screams, the right hand comes forth to launch a powerful biotic blast, and Liara just barely manages to raise a barrier that deflects the brunt of the attack.

Seeing that Vasir is about to jump through the window and escape, Morgan decides to do something stupidly heroic and quickly charges the asari Spectre, tackling her and together they topple through the broken window and towards the tiled floor at least eight yards below. In the last moment of their fall, Vasir manages to disentangle herself from Morgan's grasp, letting the biotics slow her descent, while Shepard crashes heavily on the ground, groaning as pain of the impact shoots through her and she momentarily struggles to get back up.

Still in a slight daze, she sees Liara's sleek shape levitating to the ground in front of her, charged with biotics, and she immediately rushes after Vasir. _Ouch, she completely ignored me. That's... a bit cold,_ is Shepard's first reaction, but then she realizes how important it is not to let Vasir get away with the data. Garrus and Tali arrive at her side right after she has managed to pick herself off the ground and administer a small dosage of medi-gel to get herself back in fighting shape. However, Shadow Broker reinforcements have also arrived by now and they cannot simply charge after Liara, there is now fierce opposition in the way. _Great, now she's isolated herself again, maybe she shouldn't have hurried like that after all._

When they finally manage to break through the reinforcements, Shepard sees that Liara and Vasir are still both busy at the skycar parking lot, trying to snipe each other from the cover. As they rush forth to take the asari Spectre by surprise, Vasir leaves her cover and quickly runs towards the edge of the building leaping off and right into her skycar that she has remotely brought in to pick her up. Liara doesn't waste any time and jumps into a nearby empty taxi shuttle, at least this time waiting for Shepard and the others to catch up with her.

"I'm fine, by the way," Morgan grumbles, getting into the skycar together with the others and somehow ending up in the driver's seat. "Oh gods, this is going to be... interesting."

"Or perhaps you meant 'complicated', as Mordin would say," Tali quips from the seat behind her.

"Hey! No backseat driving, you hear me missy?" Morgan says, and they take off, Vasir's skycar barely visible in the distance and Shepard does all she can to keep in touch with the asari Spectre, nervous, knowing how much rests on not losing Tela Vasir out of her sights.

Even though Liara is not sitting in the backseat, she proves to be an even worse co-pilot. She jumps in her seat constantly, shouting and advising her on what to do. "Go left! No, right! We're losing her! Gogogoogogo! Now left again! Aaaaaah, a truck, watch out! Right, I said right!"

"Liara, I love you to bits, but I swear if you don't shut up now..." Shepard grinds out the words, doing all she can to keep up with Vasir. Their reckless driving has already caused three or four likely lethal accidents behind them, and Shepard is determined to limit any more such crashes. With sheer determination she pulls alongside Vasir, and the asari Spectre panics, attempting to ram their skycar, but Shepard pulls her shuttle just a little bit upwards and Vasir's car shoots into the opposite line. She tries to pull out of it as fast as she can, but one of the cars going in the other direction glances the side of Vasir's vehicle, sending it spiraling out of control and crash-landing on a balcony of a posh looking establishment below them.

Shepard quickly lands the taxi next to Vasir's crashed vessel, but they find that the Spectre has already left the car. Still, there are traces of blue asari blood in her wake, and as such tracking her down appears like an easy enough task. "Probably injured in the crash," Garrus remarks, as they set to chase their foe through the luxurious upper floor rooms of the exotic resort called Azure.

The rooms of the establishment are filled with male patrons cowardly hiding under their beds, while the young asari dancers and entertainers hurriedly utter hasty prayers for their lives. The traces of blood lead through a section of suites and they relentlessly pursue their prey. In one of the rooms, Shepard stops to stare at a tawdry vid featuring several scarcely dressed asari dancers. "Just what kind of place is this, Liara?" she eventually asks.

"Azure, it's a luxury resort with an... exotic edge," Liara replies. "_'Azure'_ is slang for certain asari body part in some areas on Ilium."

"Where?" Tali asks, also growing curious.

"The lower reaches, near the bottom," Liara explains.

"Err, I think she meant where on the asari body," Garrus attempts to correct Liara.

"So did I..." Liara says, without missing a beat.

"Oh, you mean _'that'_ part!" Shepard states knowingly.

"Now that's just too much information, Commander!" Garrus tries his best to pretend he is wincing in disgust.

"Right, enough of that," Shepard chuckles, leading them back on course and after Tela Vasir. Destroyed security mechs and bodies of dead dancers litter the way, when they finally catch up with the persistent Spectre. Her last act of desperation is to grab one of the hotel guests as a hostage, trying to use her as leverage for her freedom, but Shepard and Liara work beautifully in a tandem, Morgan distracting the other Spectre and allowing Liara's biotics to levitate a table behind Vasir and then hit her right in the back of the head, forcing the Spectre to release the hostage.

One last shootout between them follows, as the impossibly tough Spectre simply refuses to go down. Their combined weapons fire finally bursts through Vasir's last layer of barriers and she falls down on all four, bleeding profusely. "Damn it. Damn you all," she exclaims helplessly as Liara simply walks up to her and retrieves Sekat's personal data files from her back pocket. "I may have failed, but the Shadow Broker will destroy you. He is stronger than anything you've faced before," Vasir rants, forgetting that she's supposed to be dying.

"You're just another Spectre gone bad," Morgan says, looking upon her with pity.

"Is that what you think?" Vasir spits at her. "I have not betrayed the Council! For years I have used the Shadow Broker's intel to keep the Citadel safe! So what if sometimes some people need to disappear? That's a price any Spectre should be willing to pay!"

"Does that involve blowing up an office building full with civilians?" Morgan Shepard shakes her head. "I don't think so, Vasir."

"What right do you have to question me?" Vasir doesn't back down. "You're with Cerberus now. Do you know what your terrorist friends have done? Crimes hundred times worse than what I just did! So you..." she stops to cough up flecks of blue blood. "...you don't have any right to judge me."

_She's... not entirely wrong there,_ Shepard thinks, thoughts swimming through her head. She knows she has done some terrible things, made cold, calculated choices for the 'greater good'. _Is Vasir really that different from me?_ "Stay with me," she says instinctively, readying a dose of medi-gel.

But with her last waning strength, Vasir angrily bats her hand aside, denying herself the cure. "Fuck... you..." she manages, as her head slumps to the side and unseeing eyes roll at the back of her head.

_Well, I tried,_ Morgan tells herself, quickly catching up with Liara, busy working with analyzing Sekat's data on her omni-tool. "I'm putting the data through to Normandy's computers," she says. "We can be at the Shadow Broker's base in a few hours. We need to hurry, he will know about Vasir soon enough. If he kills Feron before we get there..."

Morgan reaches out to touch Liara's hand. "He won't. We'll make sure of it, Liara. I promise."

"Yes, I know," Liara looks up into her eyes, there's a strange sadness there, and... shame? "You're here to help, like always." Shepard looks at her questioningly, as if there is something that Liara needs to explain further. "Do you remember Therum? Saving me from the geth, fighting the krogan battlemaster, while I covered uselessly?"

"You were starved and unfit to fight, Liara," Morgan says softly. "You cannot seriously feel ashamed for not being able to help then."

"Yes, but I'm not starved and weakened now," Liara shakes her head. "And I'm still leaning on you for help."

"Because I want to be there for you. Just like you have been there for me, Liara. Many times. Perhaps without even knowing that I was close to faltering."

"I... yes, I suppose that is true," Liara finally concedes, but then her serene expression again gives way to the cold determination that unsettles Morgan. "But come on, we are wasting time. We can get there in a few hours, and the Shadow Broker's agents are still shooting their way through Ilium. With luck, they won't notice that we are already gone."

"Shooting a lot of innocent people, Liara," Morgan says, a little sternly, making Liara stop.

"You know what I mean..." the asari tries defensively.

"I'm not sure I do," Morgan shrugs her shoulders. "For example, when I fell through the window with Vasir... you never even stopped to see if I was alright."

"A little fall would not have hurt the famous Commander Shepard," Liara's attempt at deflecting her question with humor is not appreciated, and the asari lowers her eyes. "I... had to make that call, Morgan. I couldn't let Vasir get away, if you would look at the circumstances rationally you would agree with me."

"I suppose I do," Morgan admits. "I guess I'm just... having hard time adjusting to the... new you. Colder. Rational. Focused and determined."

"Is that how you see me?" Liara asks, her voice trembling. "Colder? I... perhaps it is the weight of the decisions I have had to make during these two years. All those difficult calls of judgment... like the one with Sekat. You realize that he had no idea about the stakes of the game? I got him involved into something that led to his death. And... I would do it again. Does that make me cold, Morgan? Tell me, please."

"I don't know, Liara," Morgan says, suddenly feeling tired and depressed. "I think you are simply doing all that you can to get your friend back. If I was in your place... maybe I would do that and more, even worse things. I would certainly be willing to sacrifice more, much more for you, Liara," she admits.

"Shepard, I... I had to do things that were much worse just to get you back from the Shadow Broker," Liara speaks, her blue eyes downcast.

"I'm sorry, Liara. I'm so sorry for all that you have had to go through all these years," Morgan whispers. _I'm sorry for what my death made you become. But the real Liara, loving, caring, giving... I know she is still in there, under that shell. And I will get to her, or my name is not Morgan Shepard._

"It's okay, Shepard," Liara manages a brave smile. "From here on, things will be simple. We go in, grab Feron, get out. And kill anyone who gets in our way. Nice and uncomplicated."

Liara turns around to walk back to the skycar, but Shepard's hand shoots out and stops her. "And after that?" Morgan asks. Liara looks at her questioningly. "What happens then? Or you will not allow yourself to even entertain such thoughts?"

"Do you really want to get into that now?" Liara replies fervently. She sighs, seeing that Morgan clearly expects a more in-depth answer. "I have spent so much time without... any real hope for the future, I did not even know what I was plotting, rescue or revenge! All these years, not knowing whether you were coming back... I was not sure what I could hope for. And now you're asking me if I have something in mind for what comes after? Morgan... I do **not** dare to hope there will be an after, not with everything that has happened!"

"I'm not going away ever again, Liara," Morgan says, wanting nothing more than to put her arms around Liara, to make her believe that this nightmare has truly ended.

"You said that once to me already. Then you died," Liara remarks bitterly. "Please, Morgan. Let's rescue Feron. And if we are successful, maybe then I will allow myself to think about the future."

"Alright, Liara. Have it your way, we'll take one step at a time for now," Morgan whispers. _I've been patient so far, I can probably summon a little more patience. Probably._ "Let's just get Feron back." _And after that... I'm not letting you evade any more questions, Liara T'Soni._


	23. The Storms of Hagalaz

**Chapter 22 - The Storms of Hagalaz**

Normandy's stealth engines are enabled as they approach the tumultuous planet of Hagalaz, where the Shadow Broker makes his lair. In the distance, they have a visual of the strangest ship that Shepard has seen yet, and that includes the Reapers, the vessel is specifically built to withstand the extreme conditions, in particular the devastating lightning storms that circle around the planet where the hot and cold air of the daily cycles collides. Liara explains that the ship always follows the sunset, the point where the storms are at its fiercest, allowing it to remain nearly undetectable.

The shuttle bay is predictably locked down, so the only solution is for a small skeleton crew to take the shuttle to land on the ship and then look for an entry hatch. Shepard decides to only bring Garrus with her and Liara, expecting his skill at overloading their opponents shields to become very handy.

Wandering around the ship is not a particularly enjoyable experience, even if the sights of the boiling, swirling grey clouds and massive electrical discharges all around them are very impressive. The wind is so strong it threatens to knock them off their feet, and considering that the Shadow Broker is not big on safety protocols, there are no railings installed and it would be very easy to slide off the ship and plunge to a terrible death deep down below.

They don't get very far when a set of maintenance drones discover them, deciding that they are pieces of debris that have no place on the Shadow Broker's ship. The drones are disposed of quickly, but it creates a new problem. "Sooner or later, someone's going to come to check, wondering what happened to the drones," Garrus states unhappily.

"Knowing our luck, probably sooner rather than later," Shepard says, noticing Liara nodding emphatically alongside her. Morgan's fears come true as soon as they pass massive lightning capacitors, crackling dangerously before violently discharging the stored energy. A squad of Shadow Broker operatives lay in wait for them, but it is just a small scouting party and it falls very quickly. Liara's singularities are particularly deadly and cruel in these circumstances, lifting the hapless opponent in the air and then making them watch as the ship slowly moves away from under them, leaving them to plummet to their spectacular deaths.

Morgan tries to shoot as many of the mercs trapped by the singularity as she can, hoping to spare them the nasty way of death, thinking that Liara secretly enjoys tormenting them a bit too much. Soon, the resistance grows too fierce for her to allow for such mercy killing. And some time after that, Morgan is already so annoyed with these Shadow Broker agents that she is actually mentally cheering on every occasion they manage to throw one or several of them over board and off the ship, starting to think that these bastards deserve everything they get.

"Okay... looking down was clearly a mistake," Liara says in a weak voice, as they finally reach an entrance, but it turns out to simply lead through the rooms housing the highly customized ship's engine and massive motion dampeners, before throwing them back on the outside of the ship yet again, still on a lookout for an entry hatch.

"I can't believe he hasn't ran out of these mercs yet," Shepard complains, after they have defeated yet another squad searching the hull for them. "What's the tally like by now, forty, fifty?"

"Thirty-four," Garrus says proudly. "Half of them mine."

"Well, at least he's not sending all of them at us at once," Liara says.

"Shush, don't give him ideas!" Shepard admonishes her, as they finally come across something that looks like an entrance leading into a more critical part of the ship. A simple hacking of the door quickly proves inadequate, and Liara has to employ a more complicated bypass shunt program to crack the entry, something that also alerts the Shadow Broker and his squads to what is happening and they all charge back towards the entrance to stop them.

"You're about to get your wish, T'Soni," Garrus chuckles grimly. "Now they **will** attack us all at once!"

The following battle could have easily gone bad quickly, but some smart thinking on their part evens out the odds. The mercs coming from the left side of the ship pass right by one of the massive lightning conductors, and just when they are all nicely grouped next to it, Garrus overloads it, zapping all of the mercs in one deadly blow. Meanwhile, Liara lays down singularity fields in the path of the mercs charging in from the right, and most of them get picked up by the gale winds and tossed overboard. Then it becomes simple picking off of the stragglers, and soon after that, the entrance is cracked and they proceed inside.

The resistance within the ship is just as fierce if not fiercer, the operatives spurred on by Shadow Broker's orders on the comms, urgently demanding that they hold their position at any cost. But even at the cost of their lives, they cannot slow down Shepard, Liara and Garrus, surging through their defenses, sensing their target is nearby and growing desperate.

"I've downloaded the ship's layout," Liara says, quickly leaning out of the cover to warp an enemy vanguard's barriers. "We're headed for the prison block... and Feron."

Shortly after, they arrive at their destination to face a horrible sight. The young drell is strapped into some kind of monstrous torture device, apparently having been subjected to painful interrogations in Shadow Broker's care. Liara immediately sets to work on the nearby consoles, trying to manipulate the torture equipment into releasing her friend, but succeeding only in mildly electrocuting the drell, his body arching with a cry of pain. Liara immediately withdraws from the console, frightened to touch it again. They can't get much information out of Feron in his current state, but he at least can tell them that to release him, they need to cut off power from the central operation chamber, where as Feron warns, the Shadow Broker himself is waiting for them.

"Good," Shepard nods. "We can get our two ducks with one shot."

"Ducks?" Liara wonders.

"Birds back on Earth," Shepard reminds her. "You remember, we used to feed them. Not the pigeons, the other ones, those swimming in ponds and channels."

"Every time someone mentions shooting birds I'm getting worried," Garrus remarks.

"You have nothing to worry about, Garrus," Shepard chuckles as they charge down the hallway, to where the Shadow Broker is preparing his last stand. "You're our avian sidekick, we'll make sure nothing happens to you!"

The final barrier eventually falls, the door opens and they step through to come face to face with the Shadow Broker. Shepard has expected to find a wily salarian or perhaps a cunning asari posing as the galaxy's most important information broker, but instead it is a... creature she has never seen before. It's body is as massive as krogan's, but it's head is more insect like, with six black beady eyes, tooth filled oddly shaped maw and small horn-like protrusions at the side of the head, giving it a distinctively devilish appearance.

"Here for the drell?" the creature says, not yet bothering to rise from his seat behind the desk. "Reckless, even for you, Commander. And Dr. T'Soni," he turns towards Liara. "Your interference is to blame for all of this."

"You should have known I would come for Feron," Liara replies fiercely.

"Feron betrayed me when he handed you Shepard's body," the Shadow Broker speaks. "The drell is simply paying his price for betrayal."

"Give up already," Shepard says, aiming her rifle at the Shadow Broker's head. "You have nowhere left to run."

"Ah, but it's not me who is cornered," the disgusting creature replies confidently. "The Collector's offer for your body still stands, Shepard. And Archangel..." he looks at Garrus. "The bounty on you is still outstanding as well, how wonderful. You see, Dr. T'Soni..." the Broker then turns to Liara. "I know everything about everyone, all of your dirty little secrets. There is no way you can hope to defeat me."

"You're not the only one who is good at finding out the most guarded secrets," Liara says, managing to appear supremely confident. "I know who you are, Shadow Broker. You're a yahg, a pre-spaceflight species quarantined to their homeworld for massacring the Council's first contact teams. This base is older than your planet's discovery, which implies that you killed the original Shadow Broker sixty years ago and then took over. I imagine you were taken from your world by a trophy hunter who wanted a slave... or a pet. There," Liara finishes with a nonchalant smirk. "How am I doing?"

"Brilliantly," Morgan says, impressed, but also worried when she sees the yahg slowly getting to his feet._ Goddamnit, he is __**big**__._ "But I think you managed to piss him off."

With a roar, the yahg smashes his fist against the desk, shattering it in pieces, then quickly launching the pieces of scrap metal at them. Shepard manages to tackle Liara aside, falling on top of her protectively, but Garrus ends up getting hit smack in the face with a flat part of the table, collapsing unconscious.

The yahg quickly draws his submachine gun and is about to open fire, Morgan and Liara quickly scrambling for cover. They circle around the room, diving out of the Shadow Broker's path, relying on their agility and quick reflexes to escape, all the while taking pot-shots at the enraged yahg, slowly whittling down his defenses. However, as soon as they have managed to disable the shields, he simply stops and recharges the barriers, all biotic energy and projectiles bouncing off.

"That shield's kinetically sensitive!" Liara exclaims. "We can't shoot through that!"

"Suggestions?" Morgan shouts back at her.

"Err... punch him in the face?"

"...you have got to be kidding me," Shepard speaks, switching the pistol to her left hand and taking a run up to the yahg, still busy restoring his shields and considering himself to be completely safe from harm. Much to Shepard's surprise, her heavy punch does connect with something soft and squishy, her fist making contact with the yahg's disgustingly toothy mouth. But before she can punch her opponent again, the yahg converts his omni-tool into a physical energy shield and brings it forth to stun Shepard and throw her backwards.

As the Shadow Broker grabs his gun and resumes shooting, Morgan quickly scurries back into safety and the whole deadly dance resumes again. "I've got an idea," Liara shouts at her as Morgan is making her getaway. "But we need to get him to bring that shield up again."

"Let's just keep whittling away at it then," Morgan breathes out heavily, just barely dodging a shower of SMG bullets, rolling to the side and unloading three quick shots in the yahg's stomach, momentarily unprotected by the energy shield. The Shadow Broker roars and charges her, turning his back to Liara, who uses the opportunity to weaken him further more with a well placed warp field.

The chase around goes on for what seems forever, and Morgan is starting to feel very, very tired, feeling every inch of her skin covered with heavy perspiration. But the Shadow Broker's shields are slowly giving way and he moves back to the center of the room to replenish the shields as before. Sensing her opportunity for a few more quick punches to the yahg's disgusting visage, Morgan charges him, but then ducks aside at the last moment, crashing into the remains of a desk as she hears Liara's shout.

"Get out of there, Morgan!" she warns, and as Shepard looks above them, she immediately realizes Liara's intentions. There is some kind of an energy source in the ceiling of the room, and the Shadow Broker is using it to power his shields, but now it becomes the target of Liara's biotic attack. "Get into cover!" the asari yells, ducking out of the way and Shepard follows her example, as the device overloads and deafening explosion comes down right on top of the Shadow Broker, throwing small yahg bits all over the room.

It is finally over. The Shadow Broker is dead.

Liara approaches her, panting heavily, exhausted by the effort. Morgan herself feels completely spent, unable to say a word. They are surrounded by almost near darkness, power surge from disabling the Shadow Broker shield restoring equipment frying the entire grid and likely freeing Feron from his torture equipment.

Soon enough, however, the power is restored through the backup grid and lights come back on, together with dozens and dozens of computer terminals around the central communications hub. "Shadow Broker, this is Operative Murat. We had a momentary connection failure. Can you confirm status?" the panicked agents report in one after another.

"Operative Shora requesting update. Are we still online?"

"Shadow Broker, I've lost our feed. We are online and awaiting instructions."

Above all, Morgan is worried by Liara's reaction as the asari watches the terminals coming online one after another. Her breathing is quickened, arms shaking and her eyes are blinking rapidly, as she slowly walks up to the consoles. _What are you doing, Liara? What are you doing?_ Morgan mentally shouts. _Get in, grab Feron and get out! That was the plan! What are you doing!_

Liara picks up the commlink, now suddenly looking calm and confident. "This is the Shadow Broker," the words coming from her lips stun Morgan. "The situation is under control. We experienced a power fluctuation while upgrading hardware. It disrupted communications momentarily. However, we are now back online. Resume standard procedures."

"No! Die, you bastard!" suddenly there is a voice behind their backs, as Feron charges into the room, brandishing a pistol he has picked up from a fallen operative. He freezes as soon as he sees that it is Liara speaking into the commlink, looking at her, at a complete loss, as is Shepard. "...Liara? But... how?"

"I want a status report on all operations within the next solar day. Shadow Broker out," Liara finishes before turning around to face their shocked stares. "Everyone who has seen him in person is dead..." she says quietly.

"You are the new Shadow Broker," Feron confirms what Morgan has been already suspecting.

_And there we go. I came all this way only to lose her again... to this,_ the first reaction that goes through her head is crushing disappointment. _She won't be joining me. That much is certain now._ "Are you really sure about this, Liara?" she speaks, her voice barely a whisper. "Is this truly what you want?"

Liara approaches her, also looking saddened but despite that, certain of her choice. "What I want is to help you the best I can, Morgan. Can we really afford to lose this?" she asks quietly. "His contacts, his trading sources, all of this intel... it could help us against the Collectors. And against the Reapers... we know they are the real threat behind it all." She draws a sharp breath, her voice trembling. "With this information, I can give you... I can..."

"I'll, uh... check the power systems," Feron mutters and quickly disappears, dragging a still slightly woozy looking Garrus with him, unwilling to intrude on what is quickly becoming a deeply personal moment between Shepard and Liara.

When the door behind them closes, and Morgan and Liara are alone, the mask finally comes off. The tears come like great floods and Morgan quickly swoops Liara in her arms, waiting patiently until she has finished crying. "I can't believe it is finally over," Liara sobs in her shoulder. "These past two years... I have spent mourning you and fearing for Feron's life, and now... now I have you both back, I... I don't know what to say..."

"You promised to allow yourself to think about the future, once we get Feron back," Morgan reminds her.

"I did, but... I guess I just made a choice, didn't I?" Liara says, eyes downcast as she tries to pull away, but Shepard does not allow her, holding the asari tightly. "Please, Morgan... so much has changed. You have your mission and I now have this..."

Morgan has finally had enough. "The only thing that matters in this are our feelings for each other. I still want you, Liara. And I think you still want me," she speaks, tracing the contours of Liara's chin with her fingers, pressing a thumb against her lips to silence any answer the asari might give. Then she simply leans in and kisses Liara on the lips, deeply, letting all the pent up emotion flow over, releasing it into that one kiss that lasts for what seems like eternity, leaving them both breathless as they finally break it off. "I finally have you again," Morgan says, aware of the tears on her own cheeks. "And I'm not letting you go. No way in hell."

"Okay... okay..." Liara breathes, overcome by emotion. She smiles through the shine of tears. "You are right, I cannot deny what I feel, and I suppose it is plain to see. I will... no longer seek to discourage you, Morgan. I am yours, and you are mine, and let us leave it at that."

"As it should be," Morgan smiles, and they kiss, again and again, relief and exhaustion almost starting to give way to wild passion before they stop each other with sheer force of will.

"We should... probably focus on the immediate situation," Liara speaks, albeit reluctantly.

"Yeah," Morgan nods. "What do we have here?"

"It will take me a while to sort through all this information," Liara says. "But I have little doubt there will be plenty of useful intel for you. Remember, Morgan, Shadow Broker has had extensive dealings with the Collectors. That alone is worth investigating."

"You understand that I hoped you would come with me so that we could face the Collectors together," Morgan remarks, trying to swallow what little remains of her bitterness.

"I... I know," Liara looks at her, wracked with guilt. "But... can you truly ask me to abandon this, knowing what is at stake?" Shepard knows that she cannot ask that. She shakes her head, allowing Liara to relax. "And this time, I will not remain a stranger, I promise that."

"Okay," Morgan says, feeling a little better. "And Liara... promise me one thing, please."

"What?" Liara looks at her.

"Promise me that you will only be taking over as the Shadow Broker until we have defeated the Reapers once and for all."

Liara smiles. "That I can safely promise, Morgan," she says earnestly.

"Good. Good, that's good," Morgan repeats. "I should... probably allow you to get settled here," she says. "Still... it would be good to see you back on Normandy before we leave again. There is... much left to discuss."

"Yes, I believe there is," Liara agrees. "Give me a few hours to gather my bearings, please. Then I'll stop by your quarters... oh, Morgan... you wouldn't still have some of that chocolate cake stashed away somewhere?"

Morgan can only laugh at that. "I sure do, Liara. I sure do."

"Excellent!" Liara grins. "Then wait for me. I'll be along shortly..."


	24. Reenacting 'Vaenia'

_A/N: So yeah... Insincere Apology: I am very sorry that I couldn't stop Shep and Liara from getting terribly smutty after all they had to go through. Just a simple butt-grab like in the game scene simply was not going to cut it. Hence the M rating._

Kind of nervous about this chapter, so hope you'll enjoy it. Fingers crossed and all that.  


**Chapter 23 - Reenacting 'Vaenia'**

With nervous trepidation, Shepard prepares herself for Liara's visit onboard of the Normandy, wondering what to wear for the occasion. There is the revealing dress that she has worn for Donovan Hock's party, but she is reluctant to put something so slutty looking on, unwilling to appear desperate. In the end she goes for something she feels comfortable in, a tight pair of black jeans and a simple short white tank-top of the bellybutton showing kind.

Knowing that Liara is already on the ship, currently receiving a guided tour accompanied by Yeoman Chambers, Morgan does not hesitate in opening a bottle of red wine and cutting the chocolate cake in slices, and as she busies herself with that, Liara finally steps into her quarters, looking enchanting in a traditional red asari robe with blue stripes, carrying a bottle of elassa in her hands. "I got this for you," she says, passing the bottle to Morgan.

"Oh, excellent, that's even better than wine," Morgan smiles. "Speaking of which, where did you get it? And for that matter, where did you manage to get that robe?"

"Shadow Broker's resources are limitless, Morgan," Liara merely grins enigmatically.

"Such a tease," Morgan chuckles. "Did you enjoy the tour around the ship?"

"Yes, I did. My word, your companions truly are a colorful bunch," Liara says. "Especially that salarian professor, Mordin. He, ah... gave me this datapad with all sorts of... embarrassing advice. About the erogenous zones of humans and so on..."

"Oh yeah, he likes to do that," Morgan nods. "So... learned anything new?"

"...maybe," Liara smiles, her eyes twinkling in merriment. "So, does that mean he also gave you similar advice?"

"Maybe," Morgan laughs, as Liara playfully elbows her in the side.

"Still, it was good to see the old friends," Liara says. "I had met Garrus and Tali before, of course, but it was nice to run into Dr. Chakwas and Joker. Although, he did ask whether we would be... ah, embracing eternity, while I was aboard..."

Shepard chuckles. "That sounds like something Jeff would say." She then gives Liara a playful wink. "So... what did you reply to him?"

"I said ...maybe," Liara says, then ducking as Shepard makes an attempt to playfully grab her. "But let's be serious for a moment, Morgan," Liara's smile fades away, replaced by seriousness. "Are you truly certain about it, considering what you are about to face? The travel through Omega-4 relay..."

"Liara," Morgan takes the asari's hands into hers. "You know as well as I do that there are no guarantees..."

"Shepard, these two years have been... like a never ending nightmare that I could not wake from," Liara says, her voice heavy. "I'm asking myself whether I can bear to lose you again. And... I... I really don't think I can. I can't go through this again, I just can't." She turns away, deeply upset.

"It is a terrible burden, a sacrifice, I know that, Liara. I hate asking you to make it for me," Shepard says quietly, placing her hand on Liara's trembling shoulder. "But I need to have a reason, someone to come back to. Do you remember Ilos? Do you remember how that night we spent together made you feel?"

"I felt like I was on top of the world, like there was no force in the galaxy that could keep me down and wrestle you away from me," Liara says, her voice thick with emotion. "Oh, Morgan, I remember... I remember it so well. It made me feel that we are unbeatable. That we would survive through any odds."

"I need to feel this way, Liara," Morgan takes the asari in her arms from behind, holding her trembling form tightly. "I need to know you will be there, waiting for me to return. I need you to give me a reason to come back."

"Do I... truly mean that much to you?" Liara asks hesitantly as Shepard slowly turns the asari around to face her.

"Of course you do," she replies, managing a smile. "There are so many things that I look forward to when I think of you, Liara. Marriage. Old age. Lots and lots of beautiful blue children."

Liara laughs, despite herself. "Goddess, you just say these things, and I... I actually feel better," she says, before leaning closer and planting a kiss on Morgan's lips. "Very well. I will be your reason to come back. And perhaps... together we can provide... even more incentives for you to return..."

"Oh? What do you have in mind, Dr. T'Soni?" Shepard grins, as together they spin towards the large, soft bed in her quarters.

"I think we could do what Joker said... reenacting some scenes from 'Vaenia'..." Liara manages, between kisses and struggles to get each other out of their clothing, seeking to feel each other's skin against skin again.

Shepard's tank-top gives way quickly to Liara's nimble hands, and she takes a sharp intake of breath, feeling the asari's fingers tracing her skin, the touch almost electrifying to her, so great is her need. She is struggling to pull the robe over Liara's head, almost succeeding at suffocating Liara with her clumsy, hasty efforts, and the asari has to take her hands away from Shepard's burning flesh, helping Morgan to undress her. As Liara sits astride of Shepard's legs, unbuttoning her jeans with teasing slowness, Morgan can do nothing but to stare and admire her lover's body, shaking with desire, feeling the raw, burning necessity to pull her close and to never let go.

Their union is exhausting, draining and satisfying like never before, the suppressed need, desire and passion finally finding release like a ferocious torrent, sweeping them both along for a ride like insignificant slivers. They cling to each other like two desperate, shaking leaves, tossed about by a whirlwind of pent up emotion, but even as everything crashes and burns around them, they manage to hold on to each other, tooth and nail, desperate to never let go, now that they have found one another again, wanting, needing for this union to last forever.

The release is so powerful that for a long while they both simply lay huddled one against another, drenched in perspiration, unable to speak as the room, the whole Normandy and space around them is spinning, leaving them dazed, filled with tiring satisfaction that cannot be put into words.

"Am I alive?" Liara finally manages to speak a few words. "Or did we both just die?"

Shepard chuckles tiredly. "I don't know what that was, but... gods, I thought I was going to die for sure. Remember what I told you on Ilos?" Liara gives her a curious stare. "I'm totally coming back for some more of this. And I held that promise. Now I'm promising you the same again."

"Oh, Morgan," Liara sighs. "I believe you. I don't know why, but I believe you."

They continue to lay in each other's arms for a long while afterwards. "We'll probably have to leave in a few hours," Shepard says reluctantly. "Much as I hate to, there's work still to be done. Light years to travel before we can rest."

"I know, I have my hands full too," Liara sighs. "Still, another hour with you... I would not say no."

"I suppose we could always use that time to create even... more reasons for me to come back to you," Morgan grins.

"Goddess, I don't think I can survive another union now, Shepard... unless your plan is to kill me!"

"Oh, there are... many other less exhausting ways for us both to still have fun," Morgan grins, disentangling from a quietly protesting Liara. She turns her asari lover on her back, leaning over her and starting to slowly explore her body.

"Ah, you mean... that," Liara smiles, as the first quiet moan escapes her lips. Shepard's tongue circles around her bellybutton before moving lower and lower, as Liara's hands dig into the bedsheets as she struggles to retain a measure of control while Morgan is sweetly torturing her with her lips and tongue.

Liara's cries quickly intensify, and Shepard runs her hands upwards across her lover's body, travelling over her stomach, lingering on her breasts, gently squeezing and toying with them, before she slips the fingers of her left hand between Liara's parted lips to silence her cries. The way the asari's sharp teeth nibble on her fingers, together with her muffled cries and her body arching and aching for release, it drives Morgan completely wild as she finally witnesses Liara's body shuddering and growing limp in her arms, the asari's chest rising powerfully with short, ragged breaths, her eyes closed in pleasure.

"I thought you said 'less exhausting'," Liara says, having spent some time recovering. She gives Shepard a very satisfied smile as Morgan leans over her for another kiss.

"Well, you look pleased enough, so don't complain," Shepard chuckles, then suddenly finding herself getting flipped over in the bed, her asari lover rolling on top of her.

"My turn," Liara grins, before starting to repay Shepard with the same sweet torment that Morgan had just delivered to her. Liara's tongue quickly finds a way to her breast, circling around a rock hard nipple, as her right hand slips between Morgan's legs, inescapably moving upwards, pushing her legs apart, ignoring her protesting whimpers, realizing them for what they truly are, aching demands for pleasure and satisfaction.

She cannot stop a cry escaping her lips as she feels Liara's probing fingers reaching her center, slipping and sliding through her pliant strength, even as the asari's lips and tongue work on her breasts. The cresting pleasure builds rapidly and she sinks her teeth in the pillow to muffle her moans, arms and legs moving wildly, trying to anchor herself to something to avoid getting picked up by yet another torrent of pleasure, but it is to no avail, Liara slowly and mercilessly brings her to the point of no return, as Morgan finally succumbs, surrendering herself with a loud cry and begging Liara to stop her sweet torment.

Liara pulls herself up, giving Morgan a quick kiss on her sweaty brow. "Sounded like you enjoyed that," she says, looking proud at her accomplishment.

"...did you have time to study Mordin's datapad before coming here?" Morgan manages, still breathing heavily.

"...maybe," Liara replies cheekily, earning a mock-glare.

"Oh, Liara..." Morgan smiles, wrapping her hands around her lover, as their allotted time together slowly comes to a close.

* * *

Before Normandy leaves the Hourglass Nebula, Shepard decides to address her team, inspired by her newfound motivation and confidence. _No more wallowing in self-pity,_ she tells herself. _Now we're going to be totally committed to stop the Collectors, and it's up to me to get this strange assortment of individuals to work like a cohesive team. And I'll be damned if I don't get them to work together as a finely tuned engine!_

"Certain recent experiences that I won't go into detail about, have taught me how important it is to be completely at peace with yourself before taking on a mission like ours," she tells her team. "We cannot allow ourselves to be distracted by lingering personal issues. If anyone has a concern of personal nature that needs to be addressed before we pass through Omega-4 relay, I urge you to bring it forth and I will help each and every of you to find closure and peace with the past."

"Commander, ten years ago my father disappeared along with a privately held frigate, Hugo Gernsback," Jacob is the first one to speak up. "Last week, the ship's beacon sent out a distress call from planet Aeia. I would like to investigate."

"There's still that matter to liberate Eldfell-Ashland refinery from the Blue Suns mercs on Zorya," Zaeed reminds her. "You've been putting that off for far too long."

"Shepard, do you remember me telling you about Sidonis?" Garrus asks. She nods quickly. "He's been spotted on the Citadel. I'd like to head there and see if we can track him down."

"Alright, that should keep us busy for a while-" Shepard starts, but gets interrupted by Thane.

"Shepard, as long as we're going to the Citadel, there is... an issue I must address urgently," the drell speaks, looking concerned. "It is about my son, Kolyat."

"Disturbing news, Shepard," Mordin pipes up too. "My old apprentice Maelon. Captured by Blood Pack mercenaries. Held on Tuchanka. Should investigate. Would be very appreciative."

"Shepard, I think I may be seriously ill," Grunt roars. "I feel this... intense desire to destroy and maim everyone in my way!" Shepard is about to ask how is this any different from normal krogan, when Grunt quickly elaborates. "This is something different, Shepard. I do not even care if the enemies are worthy or not, I simply wish to kill... this is not normal. As long as we are heading to Tuchanka..."

"Yeah, alright... maybe Wrex will know what to do. It'll be nice to catch up with him, at least," Morgan sighs. "Well, I guess that's it then. The rest of you are normal and well adjusted individuals not bothered by terrible crisis of personal nature?"

"Actually..." Tali speaks up, looking very subdued and depressed. "The Admiralty Board has accused me of treason. I... I must travel to the Migrant Fleet and answer these charges. If you would accompany me..." Shepard nods reassuringly towards her old friend. This sounds very serious, and she wants to be there for Tali in what for the young quarian must feel like her darkest hour.

"We should stop by Omega soon, Commander," she hears Samara's voice. "The fugitive I'm looking for is there, and I cannot pass this opportunity to track her down."

"Oh yes, and I want to go to Pragia and deploy a big fucking bomb to blow up the Cerberus facility I was raised in," Jack chimes in.

"Right..." Shepard groans. _Gods, I'm almost sorry I asked. Well, let's get cracking, I guess..._ "I guess that's... yeah, pretty much _**everyone**_ covered. No well-balanced individuals here, no sir."

"Commander," Yeoman Chambers calls her on the comms at that very moment. "The Illusive Man wishes to speak with you in the debriefing room."

"...if he has a lost niece somewhere in the Shrike Abyssal he wants me to find..." Shepard launches into an angry tirade, startling the surprised Chambers, "...he can well do it himself!"


	25. The Collector Trap

_A/N: I must confess being over the moon about the nice reception of the last chapter. Sadly, this one doesn't have anything smutty in it. It has plenty of Collectors, though. And yes, I think anyone using words 'smut' and 'Collectors' in the same sentence probably deserves to be shot._

_So yeah, time for the Collector ship. I tried to add a bit more banter to make it slightly less boring. Oh, and for anyone wondering, we're not just going to forget about Liara on Hagalaz. Expect her and Shepard to maintain contact often. There might even be visits further down the road. :) _

**Chapter 24 - The Collector Trap**

Tim looks very agitated when Shepard finally gets down to the debriefing room and establishes the connection. "Shepard," he says, taking another whiff of his cigarette. "We've caught a break. We've intercepted a transmission from a turian scout frigate that ran into a Collector ship beyond the Korlus System. They were wiped out but not before managing to disable the Collector vessel."

Shepard blinks in surprise. "What the... a turian frigate was able to take out a Collector ship? How?" she asks with disbelief.

"I have no data available on that, Shepard," The Illusive Man says impatiently. "I only know that we need to board that ship and get some hard data on the Collectors, something that will help us get through the Omega-4 relay. We do not have a lot of time, I can only feed false messages to the turian fleet for so long, I won't be able to stall them forever."

"It does sound urgent," Shepard admits reluctantly. "Very well, we'll get right on it."

Tim wishes her best of luck, reminding her to establish uplink with EDI once aboard the Collector ship. Then he terminates the connection, at the same time as Shepard reaches out to Joker over the comms to send him the coordinates only to find out that they are already well on their way to the Korlus System.

As they approach the given coordinates, the visual that opens before their eyes is rather disturbing, even scary. The Collector ship looms massively large, looking particularly menacing when dark, with most systems offline and emissions at minimum. Next to the Collector ship they can see the debris of the unfortunate turian frigate, or what little remains of it. It looks so tiny compared to the Collector vessel that Shepard finds herself deeply puzzled, wondering just how it was able to make a dent into their formidable opponents.

Shepard decides against bringing a large squad onto the Collector ship, believing a small scouting party to be more effective and able to stay undetected just in case there are still some living Collectors onboard. Together with Garrus, Tali and Mordin they depart Normandy in a shuttle, heading for the nearest docking bay which at first glance reminds her of a natural cave. The winding tunnels beyond the docking bay are very unbecoming of what Shepard expects to see on a spaceship. "It's like a giant insect hive," Tali remarks, and Shepard is forced to glumly nod in agreement, taking into account how the Collectors themselves appear very much insect like.

"Shepard," EDI's voice reaches her through the established connection. "I have run the scans and can confirm that this is the same vessel that we encountered on Horizon."

"Figures," Shepard says, leading the team through the empty, alien tunnels. "I was wondering about that."

"Maybe those GARDIAN lasers softened up the Collector ship," Garrus remarks thoughtfully. "Perhaps that's how that turian frigate was able to take them out?"

"Weapons systems on the turian frigate inconsistent with marks on the Collector ship hull," Mordin shakes his head. "Chances of turians harming even a crippled Collector ship... problematic."

"If this is the ship from Horizon, do you think some of the colonists might still be onboard?" Tali asks in a slightly trembling voice, just before they come across the first storage pods. They are all empty.

"I don't know, Tali," Morgan replies. "But the sad truth is... we would not be able to evacuate many of them on Normandy."

"Keelah," Tali suddenly turns around sharply, bumping right into Garrus' chest, the turian walking behind her. "There, ahead..."

Tali stays slightly behind as the rest of them approach a large pile of what turns out to be human remains. Shepard feels bile rising up in her throat and she has difficulty looking upon the bodies, or what has left of them. It is like something processed in a slaughterhouse, various human limbs discarded randomly, arm separated above the elbow, part of someone's foot, eyeless face with skin crudely torn off, it is too much to bear and she turns away, forcing the anger back down into the pit of her stomach.

"Genetic experiments?" Mordin muses, the last one to remain standing over the corpses, seemingly unaffected. "Remains of a disposed control group? A likely hypothesis."

"Let's keep moving. I don't want to stay here for longer than necessary," Shepard says, Tali vehemently agreeing with a nod of her head. Shortly after, they come across some sort of a Collector terminal and EDI establishes uplink with the recovered data node, mining it for all information she can get access to, as Shepard and her crew examine their close surroundings.

"Would you look at that," Garrus says, poking at one of the opened pods. To their surprise, the one inside is not a human. "These sick bastards are even experimenting on their own."

EDI's voice once again appears on the comms. "My analysis shows that the Collectors were running baseline genetic comparisons between themselves and humanity," Normandy's AI explains.

"Any idea why?" Shepard asks.

"I can offer no extrapolation on their motives," EDI speaks. "But the results reveal something remarkable. Collector genetic structure is identical to only one known race in the galaxy." They all wait for EDI's explanation with bated breath, but even so, all as one they are shocked and stunned by the revelation. "The Protheans."

Morgan Shepard nearly drops her rifle from surprise. "The Protheans? Oh my god... the Collectors... are Protheans? Liara will flip out when she hears this..."

"Protheans defeated. Then genetically repurposed by Reapers," Mordin states quietly. "Brilliant strategy. Likely employed many cycles before by Reapers. Monstrous, but brilliant."

"Good thing you added the part about it being monstrous," Tali says, turning her head towards the salarian doctor. "I would have started to wonder if salarians even have hearts, Mordin."

"Shocked at implication. Realize Collectors evil. Realize must be destroyed," Mordin looks hurt and affronted. "Insulted at the insinuated ignorance of ethics and morality."

"She didn't mean it like that, Mordin," Shepard offers conciliatory. "It's just your scientist way at being fascinated by things most would find abhorrent and inexcusable."

The tunnels eventually widen out and seem to be all leading out to some kind of central chamber. More and more pods come into their view, but EDI detects no life signs in them. _Maybe for the best,_ Shepard thinks grimly.

"Shepard," EDI calls out on the comms again. "Joker asked me to compare the data of this ship with the scans of the one that attacked the original Normandy two years ago. There is no doubt, Shepard. This is the same ship."

Morgan feels her blood running cold from the implication. The same ship chasing her for more than two years, not stopping even after her death, trying to retrieve her corpse, perhaps to hand it over to the Reapers. It is the Reapers who are after her, their attention likely drawn by her being so instrumental in dismantling Sovereign. _The Reapers themselves have made me their target. I think I now know what the Harbinger is... it is a Reaper, it must be!_

"This can't be a coincidence, Shepard," Garrus warns her. "Something about all this just feels plain wrong. I think we might be walking into a..."

"Evidence of trap compelling," Mordin agrees. "Still, need Collector data. Must discover ways to navigate Omega-4 relay. No option but to continue."

"Sometimes I hate logic," Tali sighs deeply.

"How about... all the time?" Shepard grins, trying to remain upbeat despite the worrying news. She acutely realizes that if this is a trap, then their lives are in mortal danger.

Finally, they reach the central chamber, standing at the exit of the corridor, feeling disturbed, but also in strange awe as they watch the ceiling of the massive cavern. There are what must be millions of these storage pods, designed to holding incapacitated humans. "They could... probably store big part of Earth's population inside those..." Shepard says quietly.

"A likely intention, Shepard," Mordin agrees. "Following the pattern, colony abductions not yielding the required quota. Ship intended for storing larger quantities."

"I'm sure that's all very interesting, but I have to wonder about something else... if the Collectors have been attacked by the turian frigate, where are some of the Collector corpses?" Garrus wonders as they move on, seeing another Collector terminal at the end of the walkway around the central chamber.

"That's just one more sign we're about to get ambushed," Tali says, looking around carefully, pistol at the ready.

"Let's just hope this terminal has something about the Omega-4 relay," Shepard says hopefully, establishing another uplink with EDI. "Then we can quickly get out before-"

Suddenly, everything around them goes pitch black for a moment, as a major power surge sweeps through the entire ship, disabling every system, including the Collector terminal. A while later, the lights slowly return and the terminal shows signs of coming back online. Shepard quickly restores EDI's link, but the Normandy AI has worrying news for them. "Shepard, my readings show that some of the Collector ship systems are starting to power up. Ready yourself, this might be-"

"Ambush!" Garrus shouts as suddenly there are Collector drones, swarming all over them, flying in from all sides, catching them exposed on the walkway. Without much thinking they abandon the terminal, hoping that now that EDI is in, she will be able to mine all the info she needs, and they can begin to make their unlikely escape, trying to flee back to the relative safety of the narrow tunnels.

With Garrus and Shepard providing covering fire, Tali and Mordin reach the tunnels first and then use their tech abilities to slow the Collectors down, allowing the others to escape in turn. "Shepard, submit now," she can hear the droning voice of the Harbinger, pulsating in her head like a jackhammer. "We are the Harbinger of your perfection."

"I have discovered data that can help us find a way through the Omega-4 relay," EDI reports, allowing Shepard to breathe a sigh of relief, even if they are still under heavy fire from the approaching Collector forces, led and directed by the Harbinger.

"You only damage the vessel, you cannot hurt me," Shepard hears Harbingers voice, as with combined weapons fire they manage to bring down the drone that the Reaper is controlling. In a matter of moments, it has already gained possession of another drone, raining deadly attacks upon Shepard and her squad. "Assuming control of this form," it speaks, launching its biotics at them.

"Move! Move faster!" Shepard shouts, trying her best to slow down the Collector assault, while making sure their retreat does not become a disorganized fleeing ruled by blind panic.

"Shepard, I have also discovered that the turian signal was a lure sent by the Collectors," EDI confirms what they have suspected for a good while now. "The turians never succeeded at disabling the Collector ship. But the signal is... unusual. It would have been impossible for The Illusive Man not to notice that it was a fake."

"How do you figure that, EDI?" Shepard almost stops from surprise.

"Because he wrote the signal detection protocols himself," EDI explains calmly.

"Well... everyone who didn't expect Tim to betray us at some point, raise their hand," Shepard says bitterly. Nobody raises their hand, possibly also because they are too busy shooting at the Collectors, by now supported by Reaper ground forces, husks and the heavy hitting abominations.

"Lied to us. Used us," Mordin says, shattering a couple of husks reaching for him with a cryo blast. "But a necessary risk. Needed the data."

"Still, it's just stupid. We would have rushed to investigate this even if we knew it was a trap," Shepard remarks. "Why lie to us? Why piss off allies after spending so much effort to play nice? It doesn't make sense to me."

"Uh, Commander... I hate to rush you," now it is Joker on the comms. "But the Collector ship is powering up its weapons. I'm not losing another Normandy!"

"Relax Joker, we're nearly there," Shepard exclaims, as they break through the final husk ranks on the way to their shuttle and jump in, taking off and quickly speeding back to the Normandy, the ship already starting to get ready for evasive maneuvers. They crash into the docking bay without much caring for safe landing procedures, the beam of the Collector ship's main gun is already licking at Normandy's armor, threatening to cut through. Joker is doing all he can to evade the deadly attacks, pulling off some physically near-impossible moves to get them clear from their attackers. Only when they successfully make an FTL jump, Shepard dares to open the shuttle doors, the four of them toppling out, feeling winded.

The first thing that Shepard does is to stride towards the debriefing room with heavy, determined steps, ready to rip into The Illusive Man and his backhanded tactics. Tim appears to her view all businesslike, congratulating her on a job well done, not even raising an eyebrow when she threatens him, calls him a damned traitor.

"You knowing about the trap beforehand could have tipped off the Collectors in a number of ways," Tim explains.

Shepard doesn't believe a word. "How?" she asks. "They would have noticed me sweating less profusely or measured my heart rate to find it lower than expected?"

"Regardless of whether you agree with my methods, our goal is the same," Tim then says, growing a little weary when she doesn't appear willing to let the matter drop. "We now know that the Collector and Reaper ships use an advanced Identify Friend/Foe detection system to safely navigate through the Omega-4 relay. We need to get our hands on one of those Reaper IFF's, Shepard."

"Yeah, I just know where we can find a 'disabled' Collector vessel," Shepard snarls angrily.

"These altercations gain us nothing," Tim says, displeased. "I will keep looking for ways to find the IFF, but we need to work together if we want to defeat the Collectors, Shepard. So I suggest you go and tell your team that I did not risk their lives for nothing."

Shepard faces him with an icy glare. "I will tell my team the truth, and only the truth. What they will make of it... that will be up to each of them," she says, turning around and walking out of the debriefing room.


	26. Sowing Doubt, Reaping Loyalty

_A/N: Ahh, today marks the glorious start of two week vacation. Updates should be as frequent as normally for the first week, but then I'll drop off the grid for a week or so, taking a trip to a likely internet-less place. :) _

_Anyhow, here's another chapter for you. Enjoy! _

**Chapter 25 - Sowing Doubt, Reaping Loyalty**

"You did what?" Liara's face on the vidcomm is creased with worry.

"Oh, just boarded a Collector ship to get some invaluable intel," Shepard replies flippantly, brushing off Liara's admonishing stare. "And wait till I tell you what we found out..."

"I have some big news for you too, Morgan," Liara says. "Wait till I tell you this..."

"The Collectors are actually repurposed Protheans," they both speak at once, then blinking and staring at each other with disbelief. "How did you find that out?" Liara asks. "Was there something on the ship?"

"Yeah, EDI analyzed some of the genetic tests they were making and found a connection," Shepard explains. "But how did **you** find that out?"

"You won't believe it, but the Shadow Broker actually knew this. It was in his files," Liara tells her. "His notes spoke of them being puppets of a Reaper that sought to make a deal with him."

"Harbinger," Shepard says. Liara nods grimly.

"The Shadow Broker knew a great deal about the Reapers, Morgan," the asari continues. "I think that is why he was willing to trade the intel that proved Saren's guilt. It is as if he knew what was coming and tried to do something to stop it. Or maybe he was just looking for a way to survive."

"He probably had a vested interest in a continued existence of organic life in the galaxy," Morgan remarks. "I doubt the Reapers and their fellow synthetics would have had much use for an information broker like him."

Liara nods in agreement. "He also has a lot of information about the Protheans. I have barely scratched the surface of his data, but it seems to me that the Shadow Broker thought that the Protheans had other plans to fight the Reapers, beyond what we found on Ilos. The Shadow Broker was looking for ways to acquire these plans."

"That could be significant, Liara. Shadow Broker has rarely been proven wrong... maybe even never," Shepard says, having thought for a while. "I think you should continue investigating in this direction."

"Don't worry, I will." There is a brief pause. "How are you, Morgan? Otherwise, I mean."

"Good. Good, much better, I think," Shepard smiles. "Missing you like crazy, of course, but good. You?"

"I have not had much time to think about how I feel," Liara confesses. "There is so much to do, I have little time to rest and ponder upon things."

"Don't try to bury yourself in this new job of yours, Liara," Shepard says, warningly. "I saw what it was doing to you on Ilium. Take a moment for yourself now and then, okay?"

"I... will try," Liara manages a small smile. "I just need to remember that I don't have to do everything alone anymore. Feron has been a big help, though I do not allow him to work as much as he wants to. I keep insisting that he takes it easy after all he's been through. And the little VI assistant probe that I inherited is also helping."

"It's good to know you're at least trying to be sensible about things," Shepard smiles in reply.

There is a small pause in the conversation. "I miss you so much," Liara finally admits, lowering her eyes. "If you should ever find yourself close to the Hourglass Nebula..."

"I will visit soon, I promise," Morgan says softly. "Until then, stay safe, Liara."

"Stay safe, Morgan," the asari replies, serene smile on her lips as the vidcomm projection fades.

Moved and uplifted by their conversation, Shepard then decides to go and speak with her two top Cerberus officers to gauge their reaction after The Illusive Man's betrayal lured them into the Collector trap, hoping to sow more seeds of dissent and turn them away from the terrorist organization.

Miranda surprises her by offering an unexpected apology. "The mission on the Collector ship proves that I was wrong to distrust you, Commander," she says earnestly. "I never should have questioned your ability or your commitment to the cause, Shepard."

"Well... you never did question it openly, for which I am thankful," Morgan replies.

"Cerberus needs more people like you, Shepard," Lawson goes on, steering the conversation in the opposite direction of where Morgan wants it to go. "Too many join us guided simply by xenophobia, or other wrong reasons. Someone like you, fighting for all the right reasons, you could help Cerberus to restore their name."

"But I would still be answering to The Illusive Man," Shepard remarks. "The man who just put all our lives in jeopardy on a very dubious pretext, when he could have chosen to be honest with us. How did you see that entire episode, Miranda?"

Operative Lawson is silent for a long while. "I... I must admit, even if I still trust that The Illusive Man had only the best intentions at heart, his approach was... no, I should not question him, Shepard, he has never lied to me..."

"Until now," Shepard finishes. Miranda looks conflicted, unsure what to say. "Miranda, this is the man who thought that experiments with husks, Thorian creatures and controlled rachni were all good ideas!"

"Damn it, Shepard, just because those projects were not successful does not mean the intention behind them was not with the humanity's best interests at heart!" Miranda explains, trying to sound convincing. "We were looking for a way to create expendable shock troops to limit human losses! Imagine how many soldiers on the Eden Prime could have lived if we could have sent rachni against Saren's geth."

"Replacing good Alliance marines with those monsters? Good luck with that," Shepard shakes her head. "And I don't think The Illusive Man is done playing us, Miranda. Keep your eyes wide and see for yourself, when the inevitable comes. Consider yourself warned, Miranda. The Illusive Man is not your friend. He's not anyone's friend."

"I hope... I mean, I still think you're wrong for distrusting him, Shepard," Lawson says. "But I will keep watching, both you and The Illusive Man. You warned me about him, Commander. Now, allow me to warn you. I sincerely hope that your words do not mean that you plan to betray Cerberus in the end, Commander. I would hate for us to end up on the opposite sides of the battlefield."

"Let's hope it won't come to that, Miranda. I would hate having to kick your genetically engineered perfect ass," Shepard grins, trying to defuse the situation a little bit.

Miranda shakes her head sadly. "And even with my genetically engineered perfect ass and everything else that was supposed to be... perfect," she says quietly. "I still have to face the reality that I could never have done the things you have, Commander."

"Perhaps because I'm not perfect," Shepard tries, but Miranda's expression remains sullen. "Ah, chin up, Lawson," Morgan grins, trying again. "Come on, you know you're pretty damn tough, and your biotics scare the hell out of me if I'm honest. You're really not so bad after all, and that's coming from someone who doesn't even like you very much."

Miranda finally allows herself a small smile. "Well... I thank you for your honesty, Commander. It is appreciated," she says as Shepard leaves her office, heading back to the elevator and selecting the CIC, hoping to catch up with Operative Jacob Taylor.

Quietly walking up to the ship's armory, Shepard unexpectedly bumps into Kasumi, who merely flashes her an innocent smile and quickly disappears. The reasons for such odd behavior become apparent when Shepard enters the armory to find Jacob busy doing pushups, naked from the waist up, sweat pouring down his broad back with sculpted muscles. _Some time ago, I would have found that pretty... appealing. You know, before discovering asari,_ Shepard grins inwardly. _Still, can't fault Kasumi..._

"Commander," Jacob says, stopping his exercising. He jumps back up to his feet and grabs a towel, starting to wipe off the sweat. "So, The Illusive Man betrayed us, huh? Can't say I'm too surprised."

"If you're not surprised about your employer betraying you, isn't that a pretty good hint that maybe it is time to look for a new employer? Or consider self-employment," Morgan remarks.

"Maybe you're right, Shepard," Jacob shrugs, not looking completely convinced. "I'm still trying to keep the bigger picture in mind. The Illusive Man wants us to destroy the Collectors, that seems like something I can get behind."

"Not making any plans for after our mission against the Collectors?" Shepard asks.

"Please, Commander, we all know that our chances of returning from the Omega-4 relay are slim," Jacob smiles. "This is not the time to discuss future commitments."

"We'll come back victorious, I have no doubt of it myself," Shepard states with full conviction. "And when we do, I'd like you to at least consider options other than Cerberus."

"Maybe I will, Commander," Jacob remains evasive. "I know that I'm done with the Alliance. Privateering... I don't know, but we'll see. I know that Cerberus are a colorful bunch. Even this distress call from Hugo Gernsback... passed onto my personal log through Cerberus filters."

"Really? What do you make of that?"

Jacob shrugs. "I don't know, Commander. Someone's messing with me? Maybe fishing for favors? Hard to say, but it's definitely something to keep in mind..."

"We'll go check it out soon, Jacob," Shepard promises. "It's just that... some of the other issues appeared a little more time-critical. I hope you understand."

"I do, and I appreciate you taking the time, Commander," Jacob nods. "As long as we end up going there."

And speaking of time-critical missions, there is one thing that Shepard has been very concerned about ever since having learned of it. The Migrant Fleet accusing Tali of treason sounds like complete hogwash and she is determined to learn more about these, what she is certain to be completely false, accusations.

As always, Tali can be found down in the engineering, discussing some complicated schematics with Gabby Daniels, the latter excusing herself when she sees Commander Shepard approaching them. "Can we talk?" Shepard asks.

"Sure, follow me," Tali leads her a bit out of the earshot of Daniels and Donnelly, on the little bridge in front of the new Normandy's massive drive core, where their voices are absorbed by the quiet hum of the machinery.

"So what's this nonsense about the Admiralty Board and charges of treason?" Shepard asks.

"I don't know... but I'm scared, Shepard," Tali admits, her voice trembling slightly. "I asked for your help, but now I'm worried if showing up in a Cerberus ship won't make things even worse for me..."

"Well, they know that you're not working for Cerberus. And they approved of your leave to work with me," Shepard reminds her. "And it will be me accompanying you, not Cerberus. I'm sure we'll be able to deal with these ludicrous charges they have brought against you... whatever they are..."

"Yes, I... don't even know what to expect, but cases like these tend to be very serious," Tali sighs, then appearing a little angry. "You'd think I would remember betraying the Fleet!"

"It doesn't make any sense to me," Shepard agrees. "What can we expect once we arrive at the Migrant Fleet?"

Tali tells her of the usual procedure of what happens when charges like these are brought against one of her people. Standing before the Admiralty Board with its members acting like judges sounds very much like a trial back on Earth to Shepard. When Tali explains that the usual punishment for treason is to be forever exiled from the Migrant Fleet, Shepard has the good sense not to say that at least it is preferable to death sentence or long incarceration. To quarians, proud and highly social people with such strong attachment to their own kin, an exile would be particularly devastating.

Even if Tali seems to have calmed down a little during their talk, reassured by Shepard's support, she still agonizes about the charges, as well as about the reaction of her father, also one of the admirals on the acting Board. "Of course, he will have to abdicate from taking part in the trial," Tali explains.

_I hope my mother will never have to witness me taking stand before a military tribunal._ Morgan thinks, shuddering from the thought. _Though considering this flirting with Cerberus... anything is possible._ "We'll get through this, Tali," she says. "I promise, we'll think of something."

"Thank you, Shepard," Tali sounds very grateful. Before they part, she has one more thing to add for Shepard. "By the way, that distress call that has Operative Taylor looking so constipated? I know who passed it through to his personal log."

"Who? Tim, of course," Shepard says, convinced with certainty.

"It was Lawson," Tali replies.

"Miranda?" Shepard blinks. "Wonder why... ah, maybe it's not so surprising, after all." Now it is Tali's time to appear curious. "I think they've had some sort of... romantic connection in the past. Maybe she's just... I don't know, returning some old favor or something."

"That's Cerberus for you, eh, Shepard?" Tali shrugs. "Never know whether the offered hand is safe to shake or whether it holds a concealed knife to stab you with."

Shepard chuckles. "That's... very true, Tali. I'll go and pass the Fleet's coordinates to Joker," she says. "After that, we're wasting no more time. It's off to the Vallhallan Threshold..."


	27. Treason

_A/N: Well, it's time for Tali's loyalty mission. I chose a way to tell the story here in a way that might be a little controversial, and I certainly expect reaction like 'But I wanted to see Shepard yelling at the admirals during the trial!' First draft actually had that, but then I decided to try writing about the trial in reflection/banter, and I ended up liking this version better. But well, I'll let you be the judge of that. ;) _

**Chapter 26 - Treason**

_"After time adrift among open stars, along tides of light and through shoals of dust, I will return to where I began."_

The words with which Tali identifies herself to the Migrant Fleet, before they are allowed to dock on the Rayya where the trial will take place, are certainly poetic enough. But there is nothing poetic or even remotely decent about the complicated mess they are immediately dragged into as soon as stepping on board of the Rayya.

First of all, they find out about the charges brought against Tali. She is being accused of bringing active geth aboard the fleet, something she vehemently denies, insisting she only supplied her father's research project with shipments of inactive geth components.

Secondly, it turns out that if a member of the Fleet is accused of treason, their legal representative, a counselor, is their ship's active captain... which to Shepard's own great surprise and protests of many stuffy quarians, promotes her to stand in defense of the accused.

"Good job there, Shepard," Garrus comments, as they both recline against the wall in the corner of the large garden plaza of the Rayya where the first part of the trial has just concluded. The turian is the only one Tali has agreed to bring onboard with them, not knowing or trusting the others enough. "Think you managed to really work that crowd."

"I was just making it up as I went along," Shepard confesses, watching Tali deep in conversation with her friend Kal'Reegar and Veetor, the mentally scarred quarian from Freedom's Progress, both of them having traveled to Rayya to vouch for Tali's loyalty.

"Well, it seems to have worked," Garrus remarks. "At least they're allowing us to explore the Alarei. I know the odds are slim, but... no, who am I kidding, it has been too long for Tali's father to have survived, Shepard."

"Yeah," Morgan nods sadly. The Alarei is the laboratory ship of Tali's father, overtaken by active geth and presumably having killed everyone on board. Shepard has bravely, and possibly foolishly offered to try and retake the ship, hoping to obtain some evidence to prove Tali's innocence and possibly save her father, even if she can't imagine Rael'Zorah surviving this long on his own. "I sure don't have the heart to take that hope away from her."

"Agreed," Garrus says, sounding very much in need of shooting some geth. "Just rubs me the wrong way, the treatment she's been getting."

Shepard agrees full-heartedly as she stares at the gathering of the admirals on the other side of the plaza. "I know just what you mean. Starting with stripping her of the ship name. That's kind of like a quick sucker-punch in the gut as you're still getting ready for the proper fight."

"I think 'vas Normandy' is a better name than 'vas Neema' anyway," Garrus says. Then his mandibles twitch to form a grin as he looks at Shepard. "Though for you, I think another name would be even more fitting. Commander Shepard vas Qwib-Qwib."

"Hah! Speak for yourself, Garrus vas Iktome," Shepard laughs back at him.

"That actually sounds dignified," Garrus says, only succeeding at drawing more laughter from Shepard. "Oh wait... that's some kind of human specific joke that my translator just failed at, isn't it? Damn you, Shepard."

"Sorry about that, Garrus," Shepard finally recovers, now watching Tali speak with Admiral Shala'Raan, an old friend of her father and the entire family, but the conversation is not going very smoothly. Tali's posture seems full of anger and frustration as she speaks.

"For someone who claims to be a friend of the family, she sure set Tali up," Garrus speaks, giving Raan a none too fond stare. "I mean, not even telling Tali about her father before the trial when she had the chance to do so? That's... low."

"You know, I was just thinking how it reminds me of The Illusive Man, when he tried to justify not telling us about the Collector trap," Shepard says. "He claimed that our knowledge of the trap would have given us away. Raan claimed that Tali's knowledge of the events would have meant her reaction during the trial would not be as visceral."

"How do you decide to just... do that to someone you claim to care about?" Garrus asks.

Shepard shrugs her shoulders. "I think all these admirals are loaded full of shit. I'd like to think Tali's father was better, but... I don't know, questionable research on the geth, looking for something to give the quarians edge over the synthetics? Looks like he was very much in support of war with the geth."

"I can understand that, Shepard," Garrus says grimly. "How long can you just wander around the galaxy like this? You have Earth you can always come back to, for me Palaven is always there. But for Tali... going back to Rannoch is a distant dream."

"Yeah, I know... but with the Reaper invasion," Shepard muses. "I mean, sure, I can understand wanting, needing to have their homeworld back. But if they go and wipe themselves out against the geth, the galaxy might just be screwed. I feel that there soon will come a time where we will need these fleets against the Reapers."

"I guess you're right, Shepard. Kind of makes you want to hope that Gerrel doesn't get his way with the war. Even if it pains me to support that suit-wetter Koris, trying to make nice with the geth."

"Damned geth apologist," Shepard spits. "We should have taken him with us when we were chasing down Saren and his geth. Let's see how he would have liked those flashlight heads after all that."

Garrus laughs. "That would have made anyone into a geth hater, Commander," he chuckles.

"Still, with Koris and Gerrel you are pretty clear where you stand. Raan is on the fence, cautious, but I don't think she will support the war unless she is reasonably certain of their victory," Shepard says, looking at the last of the admirals, a quarian female with an imperious voice when she speaks, which does not happen often. "This Daro'Xen is the great unknown. Frankly, she scares me. I think she might do something crazy to start a war with the geth, if she believed she stood to gain something from it."

"I think she's just plain insane," Garrus shakes his head.

"Really... with leaders like this, I fear for the quarian people, I really do," Shepard sighs. "It might even be for the best if this Admiralty Board did something that caused them to step down."

"I think they're just being politicians, Shepard. Are they any worse than the Council? Or your leaders back on Earth? They certainly strike a note of resemblance with the turian hierarchy," Garrus concludes, watching as Tali approaches them again, having finished talking with Raan. "Anyway, I believe it's time we board the Alarei and shoot some geth. Just like old times."

The three of them take the shuttle from the Rayya to the Alarei, Shepard not risking any complications by suddenly demanding to be allowed to employ a larger squad. As suspected, the Alarei is swarming with geth, and the evidence left behind by Tali's father paints a very grim picture. There is very little left to interpretation, all facts seem to point to Rael'Zorah deliberately foregoing safety protocols and activating geth units to perform different tests on them. Such actions would be completely unacceptable to the rest of the Admiralty Board, and if Rael was still alive, it would likely lead to his own exile from the Fleet.

Shepard and Garrus know for certain that somewhere along the way, they will come across Rael's corpse, even if Tali still clings on to some slim hope for a happy ending. That hope is extinguished brutally when they come across a body, its suit ruptured by multiple gun blasts from up close. As Tali collapses over her father's remains, inconsolable, Shepard attempts to comfort her, putting her arms around her friend's shoulders and holding her tight.

_This is the shittiest feeling in the world,_ she thinks, utterly gutted. _You know what's coming, but you can't do anything to stop it. You can't do anything to protect her from the devastating blow._

"There's something here," Garrus says softly, picking up a datapad from Rael's limp hand. "Looks like your father left you a message, Tali."

Said message is anything but comforting for Tali to hear. It confirms everything she has been fighting to admit, the true nature of her father's experiments, his intent to work with Xen and Gerrel to take the war to the geth, asking, demanding Tali to hand over the results of his experiments to the other admirals.

"This is... terrible, Shepard," Tali sobs. "He did all this, worst crime possible for a quarian to commit, all in the name to one day give me back my homeworld? If I had known the measures he was willing to go to... I never wanted this, Shepard. Keelah, I never wanted this!"

"I understand. Instead of actually spending time with you and together doing something you wanted, he... threw himself into something like this," Shepard says, as Tali slowly moves away from the embrace.

"We cannot give the data to the other admirals, Shepard," the young quarian exclaims passionately. "I cannot bear to see my father exposed as a traitor! His name would be stripped off every ship manifest he ever served upon, he would become a monster in children's books to serve as an educational example! I cannot do this to him!"

Shepard is also considering other reasons why Rael's research should not be handed over to the other admirals, namely, they would immediately resume pushing for open war with the geth, this time having stronger arguments and likely winning more votes. But the fate of her friend is paramount in this decision. "That would also destroy the evidence we need to prove your innocence. You would... do this for your father, considering everything he did?"

Tali nods fervently, as Garrus shakes his head, muttering something about these damn quarians not being deserving of such sacrifices. Morgan is still not completely decided when they return to the Rayya, but as they approach the garden plaza and the trial, she can hear that the meeting is already in session. "Didn't they say they would continue only after our deaths have been confirmed?" she exclaims furiously, some of the things said making her blood boil, particularly Koris' suggestions to exile Tali posthumously. "Gods, I'm going to give them a piece of my mind!" Shepard exclaims, stepping through the doors and into the plaza to face down the surprised admirals...

* * *

Several hours later, part of the crew are sitting in the Normandy's mess hall, Tali, Kasumi, Joker, Jack, Thane, and a few others, listening as Garrus reads the entire recorded Shepard's speech to them. Morgan blushes a little, hearing her turian friend claim that her speech will undoubtedly become the stuff of legends amongst the quarians, even if she herself can't remember saying any of those things, too overtaken by anger and passion. But her crew certainly seems to approve, proclaiming her speech to be nothing short of epic.

"I really don't remember using this many swearwords," Shepard chuckles, feeling a little embarrassed.

"I think Garrus has actually edited out the worst of it," Tali comments, her voice grateful and pleased, despite the ordeal she has been put through.

"Way to go, Shepard," Jack comments, obviously Morgan's disregard for authority managing to score some respect points with the crazy biotic. "Maybe we should blow up one of their ships too, just so the pricks really get the message."

"Raise hands anyone who didn't think she was about to say something like that," Joker chuckles. There is no reaction, no arms raised.

"I'm sorry Tali, I should have been more considerate," Shepard says guiltily. "In retrospect, I can't believe they didn't exile you and threw us both off the Rayya. It was really thoughtless of me, screaming obscenities at them like that."

"Well, that wasn't all you did," Tali gently pats her hand. "You also said some… very touching things about me, Commander. I will never forget that."

"Shepard was right when she said those admirals were not fit to scrape the mud off your boots, Tali," Garrus says, looking at their quarian friend. "And all the other things she said about you… I'd sign under every word."

"Thanks, Garrus," Tali says, sounding a little overwhelmed. "Shepard, I think it worked because you managed to convince the crowd that the admirals were not actually interested in me or anything about the Alarei. They only cared to use me in order to advance their own political agenda. I think everyone in the room actually was aware of that from the beginning. But only you had the audacity to speak up, to throw it in their faces."

"Well, being angry like hell helped," Morgan admits sheepishly. "Seems like half of my speech consisted purely of swearwords, I'm usually a bit more eloquent than that. But if I could have reached that squirming, slimy little weasel Koris, I would have punched his lights out."

"I think he sensed that, Commander," Garrus adds. "You got him backing up worse than a krogan toilet."

"Any chance that would have worked with the Council, Commander?" Joker suggests jokingly. "You might want to try that the next time the asari councilor asks you to take out her trash, or whatever."

"That would never work, poor naïve Joker," Shepard says, shaking her head. "They are far too cunning to be put on the spot like that."

"I agree with Shepard," Tali says, nodding. "You won over the crowd, you rallied them to my support and you put the admiral's backs to the wall. Exiling me after all that would have lost them all the public support and put pressure on them to resign. So yes, I have your… fervent defense to thank for all that you have done for me, Shepard."

"It's alright, Tali, I was quite happy to yell at them for a bit," Shepard chuckles again. "Say… do you think they are the types to hold a grudge?"

"Not over this, Shepard, as strange as it may sound," Tali tells her. "Your thoughts and opinions are only peripherally interesting to them and they will forget about what happened soon enough. The geth are still the big issue. And that's not going away anytime soon."

The reminder of the geth, and the threat of another war breaking out brings a more somber note to the small gathering. "I really hope your people think twice before taking the fight to the geth, Tali," Shepard says, shaking her head, quietly hoping that the quarians will see reason and decide against going to war, even if her gut feeling tells her that it is too much to hope for.

"I hope so as well, Shepard," Tali agrees, grimly. "We will only have one shot at taking back our homeworld. One false step, one wrong decision… and it might spell the end of the quarian race…"


	28. Kaleidoscopes

_A/N: Rather pleased with how this chapter turned out, trying to combine the defining moments of the other loyalty missions all together. Alas for poor Grunt, his loyalty mission is kind of boring, so he got replaced by a conversation with Liara. :D I also like the idea that Shepard doesn't always succeed at everything she does, and one loyalty mission here is a pretty clear example of what I mean by that. _

_Well, hope you enjoy this. Mordin will be next, and he deserves a full chapter for himself. He's just that awesome. :) _

**Chapter 27 - Kaleidoscopes**

Shepard stands tall, looking deep into the eyes of the turian in front of her, trying to see something worth saving, guilt or remorse. "You one of Harkin's men?" he asks, his voice like a hiss, the only expression in his eyes is that of fear.

Garrus speaks softly on the comms, telling her to move to the side. She hesitates. _Can I allow a friend to commit murder in cold blood?_ Shepard thinks. _Is this what he truly needs?_

She remembers Garrus' heavy boot on Harkin's neck, about to crush it. _Terminus really changed you, Garrus,_ she recalls Harkin's words. _Yeah, I guess it did. Just like dying changed me. The forgiving, merciful me doesn't come out to play as often as before. _

"Hey you, yeah, I'm talking to you," Sidonis becomes nervous. He looks malnourished and tired, probably from lack of sleeping, but it is not enough to conjure a sympathy in Morgan. _An eye for an eye. A good rule to live by._ "I thought you're here to help me! Can we hurry up?"

"Shepard, what's taking you so long," Garrus is urgent on the comms.

_Would I find myself capable to forgive someone who betrayed my team?_ Morgan mentally asks myself. _If Zaeed or Jack or one of the others would betray us to the Collectors or the Blue Suns... I would not care for their reasons. I would want them to suffer. Garrus needs this. Deserves this._

"Don't worry, this will only take a short while," she smiles coolly, stepping a little to the side, not enough to alert Sidonis to danger. There is a crisp sound of a shot taken, a bullet goes right through the left eye of the betrayer, killing him instantly. Splashes of purple blood hit her in the face, and she screams to divert suspicion from herself, feigning shock, with the corner of her eye watching Garrus flee into a maintenance shaft.

_A closure, for better or worse. An eye for an eye._

* * *

"So, Shepard... I hear you've been pretty engrossed with that VI replica of yours," Kasumi speaks, as they hang around near the C-Sec quarters, waiting on Thane to reappear. "Did you actually say 'I delete data like you on the way to real errors,' when threatening Elias Kelham during that interrogation?"

"That's pretty extreme, Commander," Tali giggles.

"Oh laugh it up, you two," Shepard grumbles, meanwhile checking something on her omni-tool. "Hey, would you look at that... those three volus have released another patch. Got to download that, hope they have fixed the bug that made it crash and reboot."

"That's alright, Shep," Kasumi chuckles, amused. "This sounds like a good first step in admitting that you have a problem."

The doors to the detention cells open and Thane emerges. He looks weary, as if having suddenly aged several cycles. "It's alright, Shepard," he answers to Morgan's unspoken question, still lingering on her lips. "Our problems aren't something that can be solved in one conversation. We'll keep talking. See what happens."

"What will happen to the boy?" Shepard turns to the head of the C-Sec department on Zakera Wards, Captain Bailey. "Maybe you can work out something, Captain? Like community service, I don't know? Kolyat is not a criminal."

"Community service for attempted murder?" Bailey shakes his head. "Interesting. I wonder what jury would agree to that."

"I hear you have a knack for... interesting solutions, Captain," Shepard winks slyly. "Like with Mr. Elias Kelham buying those tickets for C-Sec Charity Ball? Or confessions obtained by making someone 'scream a little'?"

"I might be able to work something out," Bailey sighs, defeated. "I just wish you hadn't leaned on me like that, Shepard. Don't much care for it, even if you are right."

"I'm sorry, it's just... this is important," Shepard admits, feeling guilty for having to resort to near-blackmail. But this is for Thane, and for his son.

"I thank you, Shepard," Thane tells her, as they leave the C-Sec quarters. Morgan just feels relieved that they have been able to stop Kolyat from committing murder. Inwardly, she prays that father and son eventually manage to reconcile, unable to place guilt with either of them. _I cannot blame Thane for needing to avenge his beloved wife, even if it hurt and alienated him from his son,_ she thinks. _If someone did that to Liara... I would stop at nothing to punish them. Nothing._

"It was the least I could do, Thane," she says, hoping that her drell friend has managed to gain a measure of peace in the knowledge that his son will not suffer for the sins of his father.

* * *

2175 Aeia is a beautiful garden world, but all it does for Shepard is to remind her of Virmire. It also becomes a personal hell for Operative Jacob Taylor, coming here to find survivors of the Hugo Gernsback, hopefully including his father. But instead of his father, he finds a monster, abusing the chain of command to unthinkable extent, even creating for himself a harem from the female crew members.

"Probably not a good moment to sneak in a supportive hug," Kasumi whispers to Shepard, watching Jacob pace around angrily, trying to decide what to do with the Acting Captain Ronald Taylor.

"Not really, Kasumi," Shepard replies, shaking her head. "Maybe some other time."

"You were a better man when I thought you dead," they hear Jacob shouting in his father's face. "As far as I'm concerned... you still are!"

"Was this the kind of closure you wanted Jacob to find?" Shepard asks of Miranda, staring at Jacob with a very concerned stare, ignoring the way Kasumi sends her a few jealous glares.

"No, I could not have imagined this..." Miranda replies quietly. "Wait... how do you know it was me?" she quickly catches on.

"Really, Miranda," Morgan smiles. "Jacob mentioned this was passed through Cerberus channels. Tim would never give him intel this risky. You and Jacob have history... you're the obvious choice."

"Guilty as charged, Commander," Miranda agrees. "I hope I have not made the wrong decision. Still... I think Jacob deserved to know the truth."

"Come on, Shepard," Jacob says stiffly, passing by them and heading back the way they came. Morgan looks at Jacob's father, the man appears bewildered when he realizes that Jacob has no intention of saving him. "Let's round up the survivors and signal the Alliance."

"What about him?" Kasumi asks, pointing at the elder Taylor.

Jacob does not even spare another glance backwards, as he walks away, forever leaving the past behind. "The hunters should be along shortly to take care of him."

* * *

Waves of massive explosion underneath them rock and rattle the shuttle as it swiftly escapes Pragia, leaving behind a smoldering crater in radius of at least several miles. "Satisfied?" Shepard turns to Jack, the psychotic biotic's fingers tightly wrapped around the trigger mechanism of the bomb, not letting go. "We just wiped out every living being on a good chunk of Pragia's surface," Shepard continues. "Hope it was worth it."

"Pragia covered by industrially mutated plants. Will overgrow everything in days, Shepard," Mordin explains, sitting next to Morgan in the shuttle. "Planet only used by drug-runners, smugglers, terrorists. Acceptable casualties."

What Cerberus have been doing on the Teltin facility is morally reprehensible and despicable beyond description. Seeing the torture racks, the cells the potentially-biotic children were kept in, expendable test subjects, the memory of it makes Morgan's blood boil, and she feels a growing pang of sympathy for Jack.

She had hoped that Miranda would feel likewise, after seeing what the organization she so fervently defends is capable of. But while disgusted with what she sees, Miranda brushes off all accusations, claiming that this was simply a cell gone rogue. As if those experimenting on rachni or Thorian creatures were much different or any better.

And Jack isn't the one to let the matter drop. "You saw what went on there," she angrily exclaims, shouting at Miranda. "Admit that what they were doing was wrong!"

Miranda merely gives Jack a cool, superior stare that only further incites the psycho. "I would apologize, only it wasn't Cerberus doing those things. Not really," she says with a smirk. "But clearly, you **are** a mistake."

The biotics flare up, the two women about to break out into a fight that would destroy their small shuttle before they have reached Normandy. "Hey, that's about enough," Shepard says firmly, reaching out and placing one hand on Jack's shoulder, the other on Miranda's. "Save your strength for the Collectors," she says, then roughly pulling on their shoulders, sending them crashing head against head. With quiet grunts, they collapse in an undignified heap.

"Thank you, Shepard," Mordin comments. "Arguing getting tiresome. Affecting morale. Not concerned with reaction?"

"Not really," Shepard shrugs. "Sometimes you just need to show them who's in charge here." She thinks for a while, just enjoying the silence, before turning back to Mordin. "Say, we've got a quarter of an hour before we reach Normandy. Want to practice some more of that Gilbert and Sullivan?"

In reply, the corners of Mordin's mouth tug upwards to form a huge grin.

* * *

Zaeed is lying on the hard ground outside the burning Eldfell-Ashland refinery, a heavy metal beam pressing down on his legs, prevent him from getting up. His eyes are still fixed on the small gunship disappearing in the distance, carrying off his arch-nemesis, Vido Santiago.

"Shepard, fuck you, you traitorous cunt!" he yells, struggling to get the metal beam off his legs. "You just cost me twenty years of my life, you bitch!"

Morgan stands in front of him, hands folded across her chest, making no move to help him. "Maybe you should have considered that before you went and blew up a sodding refinery," she remarks coolly, prompting a string of expletives to be aimed in her direction.

"Help me, damn it," Zaeed grunts, finally having ceased cursing Shepard.

"Why should I? I don't even know why I need someone like you on my team," Shepard shrugs her shoulders. "You put the entire mission at risk for your own selfish goals. I don't want someone like that watching my back when we go against the Collectors."

"Fuck you! Cerberus wants me there. They already transferred first deposit of my payment, I'll do what I've been paid to do, nothing more, nothing less," Zaeed says, panting, still hopelessly trying to push off the metal beam, crushing his legs.

"Help him," Shepard gives a brief nod to Garrus and Grunt, and together they lift off the support beam, pinning Zaeed to the ground. When the grizzled mercenary rises, Shepard quickly steps up to him and lays him out with a sucker punch straight to the mouth. "Let's go," she tells the others. "I'm not going back in the same shuttle with him."

Garrus looks like he's about to protest, but Shepard cuts him off sharply. "Someone will eventually return to pick you up, Massani," she says, watching blood trickle down Zaeed's chin as he spits out bits of broken teeth. "While waiting, I advise you spend that time to think what it means to be a part of a team..."

* * *

The beats of the Afterlife's VIP lounge course through her system like a persistent electrical tingle, making Shepard crave to just throw everything aside and join the crowd of dancers in the middle of the floor. Briefly, she wonders if her drink has been spiked. _Maybe it's that Hallex that Samara says Morinth likes to use. If so, then... woah, what a rush! I wonder if that's the band that she mentioned. Expel 10? They're good..._

_Or maybe it's just Morinth's influence,_ Shepard quietly regards the asari across the table, lounging in her chair, looking at her with those dark, piercing eyes, so very different from Liara's blue, but still enchanting in their own way. _She's definitely beautiful,_ Shepard admits, hoping she is managing to remain subtle as her eyes slowly examine Morinth's gentle curves, accentuated by her tight leather suit.

_But so very dangerous. Like a predator,_ Shepard reminds herself, but the drink and Morinth's disarming, seductive smile make it difficult for her to focus her thoughts. _Is being a predator justification enough to kill it? Does a lion chasing down a gazelle is deserving of death? To kill is their nature. To serve evolution._

"Have you seen 'Vaenia'?" Morinth's voice is silky smooth, there is something feline in her entire relaxed posture.

"It's one of my favorite vids," Shepard replies. "We used to reenact scenes from it with my asari girlfriend," she adds, wondering why she is even mentioning something so private. _It's probably that drink. Besides, I'm sure it won't do any harm. Someone like Morinth will only get turned on by that._

"And now you've truly piqued my curiosity," Morinth says, with that enigmatic smile of hers.

_Gods, now I just reminded myself of how much I miss Liara,_ Morgan thinks, bringing the glass to her lips and emptying it, feeling a surge of heat and pleasant dizziness hitting her head hard. _Liara..._ she closes her eyes, and when she opens them again, she sees the image of her lover sitting in front of her, winking at her as she sips her cocktail through a straw. _No, that's not..._ she shakes her head, looking again. It is Morinth before her, almost just as beautiful and desirable as Liara.

"Perhaps we should go to my place," Morinth suggests, and for a moment, Morgan feels exhilarated by the thought. "We could watch 'Vaenia' together. See where that leads us..."

_Can I allow Samara to butcher someone so... beautiful, so perfect?_ suddenly she feels cold sweat freezing her back, hoping that the anxiety does not reflect on her face. _She wants to kill her own daughter, simply because of what she is. Because of her perfect predator nature._

"Get out of here, now. Quickly," Shepard grinds out the words, fighting herself all the way. _Damn it, what am I doing? I must help Samara, I must... I... can't..._ "Your mother is watching you. Get off Omega and don't return."

Morinth understands immediately. She rises in one smooth motion, giving Shepard a small nod as she leaves and Morgan collapses on the table, pressing her head to the cold metal surface. "What the fuck just happened..." she numbly repeats to herself. "I blew it. I fucking blew it..."

* * *

"You won't believe what I just did," Shepard says with irrepressible smile, watching the vidcomm slowly clearing, the face of her asari lover drifting into focus.

"The comm chatter on Tuchanka is ripe with news about some crazy human who took out a thresher maw on foot," Liara glares, folding her hands across her chest. "Morgan, this is not reassuring me that I am getting you back in one piece once this is over! What were you thinking of?"

"Umm... sorry?" Morgan grins sheepishly, feeling a little guilty. "I had no idea that a thresher maw would show up during Grunt's rite of passage. And when it did... uh, let's just say that it was a pretty damn lucky thing when that grenade launcher went off when it did, and... yeah, we probably shouldn't mention this again."

Liara sighs deeply. "I would ask you to be careful, but what would be the point?" She loses her stern expression soon, finally cracking a smile. "So, what else have you been up to?"

"Just a lot of running all across the galaxy, trying to fix the problems of my new friends. On some occasions ending up making them worse," she admits, thinking back to Samara. At least Zaeed seemed to have gained more respect for her, after being violently taken down a notch, and Jack and Miranda had gotten over their bumped noggins and bruised egos. "Waiting for The Illusive Man to find something that would let us go through that damned Omega-4."

"Yes, you mentioned that. I have not been able to find any records about derelict Reapers or Collector ships in the Shadow Broker files," Liara muses, then becoming thoughtful. "Though I wonder about those notes attached to something called the Leviathan of Dis... anyway, if I find anything, I will let you know, Morgan."

"Thanks, Liara, I know you're doing all you can," Morgan says. "I'm sure Tim is also running ragged, trying to find any kind of intel. What about other interesting discoveries, anything on the Prothean artifacts the Broker seemed so interested in?"

"Nothing definitive. Just bits and pieces. I've still only scratched the surface of all this data," Liara admits. Her voice is almost hesitant when she speaks again. "I... could show you my findings... I mean, if you're ever close to Hourglass Nebula..."

"I've been thinking about you too, Liara," Morgan tells her, smiling. _She misses me so much. As much as I miss her,_ there is a warm feeling in her heart from the realization. "And I have made plans to visit you soon. As soon as I'm done here on Tuchanka. There's just one thing left to settle here, we have to find Mordin's missing assistant. Not much hope of him being alive anymore, but still... need to do it for Mordin's sake."

"I understand. I will be here, waiting, working," Liara says softly. "Say hello to all our old friends. And give Wrex a hug from me, alright?"

"I can't promise that, Liara," Shepard winces, pointing at her midsection, feeling her bruised ribs. "Already tried to give him a hug of my own... Much as I love Wrex... not recommended. Or as Mordin would say... problematic!"

Liara chuckles. "Be well, Morgan," she says as they part again. "I will see you soon."

"Be well, Liara," Morgan repeats, terminating the connection. "Love you," she says to an already black screen.


	29. The Doctor Who Killed Millions

_A/N: Somehow this chapter proved very difficult to write. Perhaps it is due to knowing what happens in ME3, but I had a torrid time with this. It also took large quantities of wine, far more beyond my usual consumption. :) _

_Hopefully I have done justice to Mordin and his loyalty mission. Let me know what you think!_

_I'll try to get one more chapter (should be full of Shep/Liara fluffness) out on Saturday morning before dashing to catch my train and leave y'all for a week. :)_

**Chapter 28 - The Doctor Who Killed Millions**

There is something inherently depressive about Tuchanka's barren landscape, not a scrap of green in sight, only a mixture of massive concrete blocks and bent, corroded metal constructions, a post-apocalyptic disaster site that reminds Morgan of what very nearly was the future of her own home planet, Earth. The krogan clans somehow manage to survive amongst these ruins, in this infertile wasteland, but this existence is a daily struggle for survival. Wrex's aspirations to improve life for his people are noble, but when Morgan considers what sort of future can truly be built amongst this dismal wreckage, she can't help but feel a little subdued.

The base of Clan Urdnot is located in an ancient underground bunker that is slowly crumbling to pieces, and in the middle of it, Wrex sits on his makeshift, less than glorious throne, listening to yet another chief of a rival clan loudly venting his grievances. When he notices Shepard, Tali and Garrus approaching him, he quickly jumps down from his seat, roughly pushes the other krogan away and steps forward to greet his old comrades.

"Where's my newest Clan Urdnot recruit?" Shepard asks, shaking hands with Wrex. "Is Grunt still away at the female camp? I need him back in one piece, you know."

Wrex bellows a mighty laugh. "He deserves to enjoy himself. That was some fight, Shepard. No wonder he got so many breeding requests." He then faces Shepard with a disturbingly wide grin. "In fact... I even have one breeding request for you, Shepard."

Garrus and Tali are laughing like crazy as Shepard just blinks. "Oh gods... I don't have to commit to that in order to preserve galactic peace or something, I hope," she stares at Wrex, who eventually shakes his head. "Pfew. Just don't tell Liara, she'd laugh the blue off her ass if she only knew that."

"Sounds like the perfect blackmail opportunity, Commander," Garrus chuckles.

"Jeez, I'm surrounded by traitors," Shepard laughs back, before turning more serious. "So anyway, Wrex, do you have something for us? About that salarian?"

"Yeah. Don't know why you would bother, though," the krogan just grunts in reply. "The Blood Pack and Clan Weyrloc have him. And I know of the things they do with salarians. Or turians," he says, looking at Garrus meaningfully. "If you want to recover what's left of him, you'll have to do it with a spoon."

"Sounds promising," Shepard sighs. "So, how do we get to this Clan Weyrloc?"

Wrex waves at one of the heavy trucks parked at the exit of the ancient compound. "Just climb into the tomkah. They have my orders to take you to Clan Weyrloc's hideout. Oh, and Shepard..." he adds as a warning."They've holed up in an old hospital, and it is swarming with Blood Pack. I'm almost regretting not being able to join you, it sounds like a lot of fun."

"We're not going to cause trouble putting down an allied clan?" Tali wonders.

"We're not exactly on friendly terms," Wrex explains. "The more of them you put down, the better for Clan Urdnot."

"Right," Shepard nods. "We'll just go get _**our**_ salarian. He needs to be part of this. Even if we end up gathering Maelon's remains with a spoon..."

"I suggest you don't linger around the camp with a turian and a salarian following you, Shepard," Wrex advises caution. "There's only so much patience a krogan can display looking at Garrus' ugly mug, trying to withhold a punch, and then you throw in a salarian in the mix, too."

"Love you too, Wrex," Garrus grins wickedly as they leave the dais and return to the Normandy's landing pad to fetch Mordin and then quickly rush back to the waiting tomkah, about to take them to the Clan Weyrloc hideout.

The drive along the rubble filled highway is long and monotonous, always the same sight of depressive post-nuclear destruction accompanying them outside. _How close did we come to put Earth in a nuclear winter?_ Morgan thinks at herself. _I guess we'll never know the real truth. But it must have been damn close. I wonder if the salarians would have ever shown up to uplift us as they did with krogan... probably not, we're not as good as cannon fodder._

The approach to the hospital is well defended, but the vorcha and the odd krogan are hardly a match for four highly skilled individuals working as a cohesive unit that has developed by now almost telepathic coordination on the battlefield. They soon gain entrance to the sturdy, thick-walled concrete compound, taking the stairs leading downwards into twilight, immediately coming across a disturbing discovery, a casually dumped body at the bottom of the stairs that Tali manages to accidentally step on.

"That body, Shepard. Human," Mordin says quickly. "Ligatures showing restraints at wrists. Repeated injection marks. Test subject..." his usually high-pitched voice becomes heavy, grim with realization. "Victim of experimentation. Cleary a result of krogan tests to cure genophage, Shepard. Humans useful as test subjects."

Mordin goes on to explain just why humans are such appealing subjects for sick experiments like this, but Morgan doesn't really listen to him anymore. "Clan Weyrloc is working on the genophage cure? Here?" she asks. "Maybe that's what they wanted from your assistant, Mordin? Force him into helping."

Mordin nods thoughtfully, as Garrus speaks up. "Shepard, if the krogan succeed at curing genophage... damn, I... don't even want to think of all the hell that might break loose. They'll want revenge. Salarians first, then turians. Do you think they'll stop there?"

"Those presumptions are slightly preemptive, Garrus," Shepard shrugs. "Mordin?" The salarian looks up at her, still crouched at the human corpse, examining it. "Can you make something from the way these experiments have been conducted? Are they close to curing the genophage?"

"Can't say, need more data," Mordin replies quickly, then stopping to think some more, checking the body for marks again and again. "Ideas seem conceptually sound, though. Genophage alters hormone levels. Could repair damage with hormonal counterattack." He goes on to explain in more and more detail, but Morgan finds herself drifting in and out of the conversation, unable to understand most of the professor's explanation.

"Doesn't sound like something krogan 'scientists' would be able to think of," she only remarks after Mordin has finished talking. "I'm suspecting that Clan Weyrloc have managed to ensure Maelon's cooperation, and I shudder to think how..."

"Agreed, Shepard," Mordin nods. "Finding Maelon paramount."

They encounter some more patrols of the Blood Pack, who all as one decide that today is a good day to be slaughtered by Commander Shepard and her comrades. Shortly after, they reach a part of the compound that Mordin identifies as labs. "Can smell the antiseptic," he states before they have even arrived there. "And dead bodies."

Bracing herself for more grisly sights, Shepard forces the doors open and storms into the labs with rifle at the ready, expecting resistance. But there are only corpses there, dozens of them already wrapped in brown bodybags. Their large shapes suggest krogan. A few are still lying on the lab tables, but before they approach the victims, Mordin steps up to a still active computer console, starting to examine it for valuable data.

He keeps muttering his scientific jargon as he works, most of it sliding past Morgan's notice, her brain filtering out only the few bits she understands. "Very thorough work," Mordin remarks, and Shepard swears she can hear pride in his voice, an appreciation of the work of a fellow scientist. "Avoiding scorched-earth immunosuppressants to alter hormone levels. Good. Hate to see that."

"Recognize a pattern?" Morgan asks.

"Likely Maelon's work, yes. Closely resembles methods used on the genophage modification project," Mordin admits. "Ah, good times," he sighs in remembrance. "Best years of my life. Waking up with ideas. Talk over breakfast. Experiments all morning, statistical analysis in the afternoon. New simulations during dinner, setting data tests to cook overnight. Whole team taking pride in facing the toughest problem in the galaxy."

"I doubt I'd be as cheerful if I was developing a sterility plague for an entire species," Shepard remarks, a little incensed that Mordin still continues to defend the genophage.

Mordin shakes his head vehemently. "Not developing, modifying! Much more complex, much more dangerous! Could have caused complete sterility, malignant tumors. Managed to keep krogan population stable. One in one thousand. Perfect target, optimal growth. Like gardening. Not a monster, Shepard. Could have easily eradicated krogan! Chose not to. All life precious. Universe demands diversity."

"I can understand the reasoning," Shepard says slowly, the cold rationale chilling her to the bone. "But this is no elegant, gentle solution. Think of all those krogan females carrying stillborn... as a woman, I just... I don't think I can ever agree with what you did."

"Nor can I," Tali agrees, her posture suggesting deep disgust. "You cannot pretty up something like this, no matter how hard you try."

"There was no choice and you know it," Garrus exclaims, also feeling the need to defend the decision, considering the turian involvement in it. "You would claim the same about your ancestors trying to kill the geth when they discovered that they gained sentience. You would say they had no choice, too."

"That's completely different!" Tali protests, appearing affronted. "The geth are synthetic! We created them!"

"And you tried to kill them when they became sentient," Garrus shrugs, turning away, not wanting to argue with Tali.

"I don't think you're quite as much at peace with your involvement as you want us to think, Mordin," Shepard says. "Else we would not have found you in that dump on Omega. Looks to me like you were trying to escape from something."

Mordin hesitates before answering, drawing a deep breath. "Wanted to heal people. Good use of the last decade. Something easy, no ethical concerns," he says. "Understand rationale for modified genophage. Right choice. Still... hard to sleep some nights."

Shepard smiles, reaching out and awkwardly patting the salarian on his shoulder. "You won't believe how much I respect you for saying that, Mordin. It means a lot," she speaks quietly. "You were put before a terrible task, asked to make the best of it. If you had refused, they would have just put someone else in charge."

"Couldn't let that happen, Shepard. Couldn't bear to risk someone botching up. Sterilizing and killing entire species," Mordin shakes his head vehemently. "No, had to be me. Someone else might have gotten it wrong."

For a while nobody says anything, until Mordin moves away from the console, approaching one of the victims on the tables, grabbing a datapad placed next to the corpse. "Dead krogan. Female. Tumors indicate experimentation. No restraint marks. Volunteer," he quickly runs his analysis. "Sterile Weyrloc female, willing to risk procedures, hoping for cure." His voice becomes quiet, upset. "Pointless waste of life..."

"You don't think that these experiments brought them closer to the cure?" Shepard asks. "If it did, perhaps it is not as pointless as you say."

"Still lacking data to say for certain, Shepard. But experiments on live krogan at this stage of development unnecessary, risky... unethical," he shakes his fists in anger, before sighing, shoulders slumping. "Rest, young mother. Find your gods," he says, his words surprising Shepard and everyone else in the room. "Find someplace better."

"That was... very spiritual," Tali remarks.

"Genophage modification project altered millions of lives. Then saw the results. Ego, humility, juxtaposition. Frailty of life. Size of universe," Mordin says quietly. "After the project ended, explored many different religions. Before opening the clinic on Omega."

"I hate to say it, Mordin, but that is what we call a guilty conscience," Morgan looks him in the eyes. There is a haunting sadness in there that she has never seen before, but confronted with the results of his work, it seems Mordin cannot hide it anymore. "I understand now. You see this woman driven to such extremes as volunteering for painful, lethal, pointless experiments. Your work has pushed them to this. And you cannot deal with it anymore."

Mordin turns away, unable to hold her stare. "Modified genophage project... great in scope," he says quietly. "Scientifically brilliant. But ethically difficult. Krogan reaction visceral, tragic. Don't consider myself guilty, Shepard. Responsible."

"Still... I guess at some point it becomes hard to rationalize it all away," Garrus says thoughtfully, himself struggling with doubts. "Especially when confronted with... this," he waves his hands at the grim laboratory surrounding them. "Makes you wish that someone had come up with a better solution in the first place."

"If it's eating you up so much inside, maybe you should just admit to yourself that the genophage was wrong," Tali says, less sharply as her previous interjections.

"Genophage not wrong. Had to be done," Mordin shakes his head. "Ran thousands of simulations, war inevitable. Had to choose between genocide and genophage. Saved galaxy from krogan. Also saved krogan from galaxy."

"I know where my gut feeling is on the matter," Morgan says, feeling crushed by the weight of responsibility that isn't even hers, the thought of it alone so overwhelming. "But I cannot outright condemn you for what you did, Mordin. I have had my own share of decisions to make, that... well, let's just say I have only distant memories of what a good night's sleep feels like."

"Virmire," Garrus whispers quietly, Tali stepping closer and briefly touching his hand with hers.

"Maybe one day you'll have the opportunity to make up for what you had to do, Mordin," Shepard adds.

"Perhaps. If not this life, then maybe in next," Mordin nods, drawing another deep breath, now looking more resolute. "Ready to proceed, Shepard."

Getting to Maelon involves clearing the rest of the hospital from a bunch of angry krogan, commanded by the leader of the clan, Weyrloc Guld. The old vanguard almost manages to charge Garrus, and only in the very last moment Mordin's quick reaction saves the turian. "Flammable? Or inflammable?" the salarian ponders, watching as Guld roars in anger having been hit with an incineration blast. At that moment, Shepard breaks her cloaking right behind Guld and empties the entire ammo case into the krogan's tiny brain. "Doesn't matter," Mordin concludes with a shrug.

It appears as if Guld and the last of his krogan have been protecting another lab down at the deepest reaches of the sturdy hospital. They find Maelon working inside the lab, but... something about the scene before them does not seem right. "Maelon. Alive. Unharmed?" Mordin wonders. "No signs of restraints, no evidence of torture? Don't understand."

Maelon turns around to face them. To Morgan, most salarians usually appear amusing and harmless, but she is taking aback by the hatred in young Maelon's eyes, particularly in the glare he directs at Mordin. "For such a smart man, Professor, you always had trouble seeing evidence that disagreed with your preconceptions."

"Mordin, it looks like you are not the only one with a guilty conscience. But unlike you, your apprentice came here to try and correct what you both knew was wrong," Shepard remarks quietly, Maelon nodding enthusiastically at her words.

"Impossible! Never raised any issues with the work we were doing," Mordin looks shocked. "The whole team agreed! Project necessary!"

"How was I supposed to disagree with the great Doctor Solus?" Maelon retorts angrily. "I was your student! I looked up to you!"

"Looked up to me? Performing experiments on live subjects?" Mordin's voice rises in return, as Maelon shrinks back a little. "Keeping prisoners! Torture and execution, your doing?"

"What does it matter if we already have the blood of millions on our hands, Doctor," Maelon replies vehemently. "If it takes a few more to put things right... I can deal with that."

"So you would no longer even care to justify these experiments, because nothing can be worse compared to the genophage project?" Shepard asks. "While I can understand why anyone would feel this way, it also provides a convenient excuse to continue committing acts of butchery and barbarism."

"So I'm the monster, while his hands remain clean?" Maelon accusingly points at Mordin. "The ground is stained by the blood of millions. And you tried to teach me that the ends justify the means. Of course I became a monster! You made me!"

"Would you really take this decision to cure the genophage on your head, Maelon?" Shepard asks. "What if the simulations were right? What if the krogan wipe out your own people before going on to conquer the whole galaxy?"

"The genophage was created for one reason. To preserve galactic peace," Maelon speaks bitterly. "I ask you to look around. Is this a more peaceful galaxy? Batarians attacking everything in the Traverse, constant geth raids..."

"He kind of has a point there," Garrus admits reluctantly. "Still, impossible to predict what would have happened."

"I intend to let the galaxy find out," Maelon claims with determination. "This is what happens when you try to play god and fail."

_Damn this. Despite these horrific experiments, I can... almost agree with what he has done. Shit. What to do now? Damn, I'm going to need so much booze to deal with this later,_ Morgan thinks rapidly, finally turning to Mordin. "Well, what now?" she asks.

"Need to end this," he replies grimly.

At these words, Maelon quickly draws his heavy pistol, barrel moving between facing Shepard and Mordin. "You just can't face the truth, can you, Professor? Admit that your brilliant mind committed an atrocity!" he shouts.

While the pistol is turned at Shepard, Mordin swiftly steps up and punches Maelon, easily disarming him, as the assistant slumps back, hitting his head against the console behind him. "Unacceptable experiments. Unacceptable goals," Mordin pulls out his own pistol, sticking it under Maelon's chin, as the apprentice becomes completely rigid with fear. "No choice. Have to kill you."

"Mordin, stop. You're not a killer," Shepard exclaims, before Mordin can press the trigger and splatter the consoles with green bits of Maelon's brains. "You told me yourself that you were not a murderer. Don't become one now."

Mordin hesitates, then steps back, releasing Maelon. The assistant hastily wipes off sweat from his brow. "No. Not a murderer. Thank you, Shepard," he says, before looking at his wayward apprentice again. "Project finished, Maelon. Get out. Don't even think of restarting. Won't show mercy again."

"You heard the Professor," Shepard speaks up, seeing that Maelon is hesitating. "Get out before he changes his mind."

"Where am I supposed to go, Professor?" Maelon asks, wringing his hands.

"Don't care," Mordin shrugs. "Try Omega. Can always use another clinic there."

With shoulders slumped, Maelon heads for the exit. "The krogan didn't deserve the genophage, Professor. It needs to end," those are his last words before leaving.

"Not like this," Mordin says quietly, staring at the consoles, storing the data of Maelon's research.

"I once told a friend that one day we will see the genophage cured," Shepard says, remembering Virmire. "Maybe I'm a foolish optimist, but I will still keep hoping that it comes true. But... perhaps you are right, and experiments like these... are not the way."

"Still have Maelon's data here. A loose end. Could destroy it..." Mordin sounds uncertain. "Bring closure, security. Research could prove valuable, though."

"You cannot change anything about how this research was performed anymore," Morgan tells him. "Quite the opposite. You said that the way these volunteers gave up their lives was pointless. That alone makes it worth to take the data. Perhaps something in the future will make their sacrifice worthwhile."

"I agree with the Commander," Tali nods. "Don't deny them this opportunity."

"Still far away from proper cure. Closer than before, though. Still uncertain..." Mordin mutters, copying the research and then quickly erasing the local data. "Will need to run more simulations, too many parameters, too many variables..."

"Mordin... when you run those simulations, just promise me one thing," Morgan says, forcing Mordin to turn around and look her in the eyes, relieved to see doubts in his haunted expression. "Promise to remember what happened here. Promise to remember the horrors and the level of desperation that the genophage has driven these people to."

Mordin swallows heavily. "Will do so, Commander. But now, need to be off Tuchanka. Need to be elsewhere. Somewhere sunny." He manages a half-smile, that retains hints of sadness. "...maybe a beach..."


	30. Visiting With the Shadow Broker

_A/N: Right, the promised visit to Hagalaz is here, and now I'm off to catch the train. I doubt I'll have internet access in the place where I'm going to, so I won't be able to respond to reviews until I get back! _

_I also expect to have a backlog of stories to read and review once I get back, hopefully you'll all have a productive week and will leave me with a LOT to do. :D _

**Chapter 29 - Visiting With the Shadow Broker**

The docking bay doors seal behind Morgan Shepard, leaving her standing in the long, narrow hallway, leading up to the Shadow Broker's operations center. She smiles broadly, seeing Liara standing at the other end of the hallway, hands folded over her chest, waiting for her. "Come on, Liara! Drop the dignity for once!" she shouts, stopping in her path. "Show me how much you've missed me!"

Liara grins and starts to run towards her. As she reaches Morgan, the asari jumps on her, wrapping her legs around Shepard's waist. As Morgan falls back against the sealed door, tackled by her asari lover, Liara does her best to succeed in her delightful attempts at suffocating Shepard in a tight embrace. It has been two weeks at most since their last meeting, but the kisses exchanged are hungry, needy, almost ravenous.

Recapturing the physical closeness they have both longed for, slowly allows them to relax, now that they can again hold each other in their arms, safe, real. "Better?" Liara asks, wrapping her arm around Morgan's waist as they walk down the hallway and towards the Broker's secret 'lair'.

"Much better," Morgan smiles. "I should have stopped by sooner. But you know..."

"Of course," Liara nods. "I have a lot of interesting things to show you, by the way. Nothing new about the Collectors or Reapers, but there's plenty of other information."

They walk through the main hall which houses all monitoring consoles and data terminals, then climbing up a set of steps to a small chamber, the only furniture in it several well used sofas and a small video archive terminal. The young drell, Feron, is sitting on one of the sofas, typing something on his datapad, trying his best to ignore the small VI drone that is molesting him with some useless advice. "Oh... hello, Shepard," he seems surprised, looking up at her.

"Hello, Feron," Shepard smiles at the drell. He seems to be doing fine, at least physically. _It would be pretty stupid to expect someone to be mentally healthy after two years of torture._ "How are you doing?"

"It... gets better each day," Feron says quietly, then adding as if having read her thoughts. "Shepard, I wasn't strapped in that chair all the time."

"Well, thank the gods for that," Shepard says, shaking her head. _I don't imagine that makes it much easier._ "Are you planning to stay on with Liara once you've sufficiently recovered?"

"I haven't thought as far as that, Shepard," Feron confesses. "But I know the true identity of the Shadow Broker. Maybe it would not be smart for me to leave."

"Don't speak like that, Feron," Liara says, looking a little upset.

"I was not being serious, Liara," the drell replies, getting up from the sofa. "Anyway, you two probably want some privacy... I have some much needed maintenance work that has been put off for too long..."

"Oh, just one more question before you leave, Feron," Shepard calls after him. "Is Liara eating regularly? Is she getting enough sleep?"

"I'm **right** here!" Liara fumes. "Why don't you ask me!"

"Because you would just lie to me, babe," Morgan chuckles, much to Liara's consternation.

"Uh... well..." Feron looks as if he's deciding which one of them he fears most, before replying. "Sorry, Liara, but for the past four nights I've caught you asleep at your desk," he finally says. "Shepard, she's been like glued to those archives..." and with that he quickly flees, before Liara has managed to accuse him of treachery.

"Really, Liara," Shepard turns towards her lover, sighing deeply. "Yes, the data in those archives are very important, but they're not going anywhere. The least you could do is to make sure to get enough sleep."

Liara sighs. "I just... want to find something that would really help you, Morgan. I... I'll try to be... ah, less obsessive about it."

"Where do you sleep anyway? Do you have some sort of private quarters here?" Shepard asks.

"Probably... I just haven't found them yet," Liara mutters. Shepard gives her a reproachful glare. "Whenever I haven't passed out at my desk, I usually end up sprawled out in one of these sofas..."

"Maybe I could hack that little drone to give you an electric jolt as a reminder to take a bit more care of yourself," Shepard chuckles as they both sit down on one of the sofas, Liara's hand slipping into hers, warm and comforting. "Or maybe I'll just have another talk with Feron before I have to depart, make sure he keeps looking out for you."

"About that," Liara looks at her more seriously. "I... have been studying human behavioral patterns, and I was fearing that Feron's presence here might make you... well, uncomfortable and..."

"Jealous?" Morgan asks.

"Yes," Liara shyly admits. "I mean, I do not know as much about humans as I would like to, but you... don't appear very jealous?"

"I just don't think you went through all that to bring me back from the dead only to cheat on me after I have returned," Morgan winks at her. "I know my Liara. She would never do that," she says, leaning closer to her lover.

"No. She wouldn't," Liara whispers, accepting the lingering kiss from which they separate only with great reluctance.

"I have been thinking about something that worries me a bit, Liara," Shepard speaks up a little later. "Through my helping with Feron's rescue, it occurs to me that now Cerberus also knows about you being the Shadow Broker, and they know your location. I can't imagine Lawson hasn't made her report yet."

"Yes, I'm aware," Liara nods. "He won't hit me while he still requires your aid, Morgan. Once The Illusive Man no longer needs you, all bets are off. The attack will come sooner or later."

"I was just thinking that considering all those risks, I probably shouldn't forward any intel about Cerberus to Hackett and Alliance, as I promised I would," Shepard says thoughtfully. "If The Illusive Man starts to suspect that I might be planning to betray him, he might..."

"I understand. Suddenly I no longer feel like an asset but a weakness," Liara turns away. "I knew this ship would be only a temporary location and sooner or later I would need to move."

"You're my greatest asset, don't be silly," Morgan says softly, pulling the asari back close.

"It's kind of you to say so, Morgan," Liara manages a smile. "And I already had all the data for you. At least two active Cerberus cells that the Alliance could take out. But... perhaps you are right, it would be too risky. But if you don't deliver the promised intel to the Alliance, wouldn't they start to suspect that you've gone completely over to Cerberus?"

"I don't know, Liara. I hope not, but I'm not exactly up to date with what's going on with the Alliance, spending all my time out in the Terminus Systems or Traverse."

"You know, while looking for that Cerberus intel, I think I came across files on all of your squadmates, without exception," Liara says. "I can get them for you, if you want to have a look."

Shepard hesitates a little. "I'm... not sure, it's not entirely... ethical. I don't exactly trust some of them, so... maybe it would be useful to see what you have on Lawson and Taylor at least."

Liara fiddles a little with her omni-tool, then quickly uploading all the relevant data to Shepard who immediately starts going over it. She starts with Miranda's files, browsing embarrassing extranet dating service records, excerpts from chats with her sister Oriana, medical records... and there, Shepard swallows heavily, blushing as she swiftly deletes all dossiers one by one. _Shit, I... I really didn't need to see that one. Damn, I wish I hadn't given in to the temptation. Oh, Miranda, that's tough. That... breaks my heart, even if I hardly like you..._

"What's the matter, Morgan?" Liara asks, puzzled.

"I can't do it, Liara," she replies. "It's too personal. I just... learned something about Lawson that I had no right to know." Liara doesn't ask, but the question still lingers unspoken in her blue eyes. "She can't have children. Probably all that genetic engineering fucking something up. Aw shit, now I'm going to feel sorry for her..."

"I agree, that is... not the kind of information critical to your mission," Liara says. "I understand that you want to respect the secrets of your friends and squadmates. I want you to know that I did not read those dossiers myself."

"It's okay, Liara," Shepard squeezes her lover's hand as she speaks. "That reminds me, though, there's someone I want you to keep a track on, or maybe check if you have something on them already."

"Give me a name, Morgan, and I'll see what I can do," Liara replies.

"Admiral Daro'Xen vas Moreh, member of the quarian Admiralty Board," Shepard says, Liara's eyes widening a little in surprise.

"Getting intel from the Migrant Fleet is... very difficult," Liara confesses. "What in particular interests you about this quarian?"

"I think this Daro'Xen is very dangerous. When we went to the Migrant Fleet with Tali, we spoke a little with her. Xen's ideas are... extreme and insane, and if she ever gets her way, I fear the whole Migrant Fleet might be in danger. And with the return of the Reapers imminent, I cannot allow this madwoman to destroy an asset like the Flotilla against the geth," Shepard explains. "A few days ago, she sent me a message that frankly scared the shit out of me. She was ranting about the quarian people reclaiming not only their homeworld, but also the largest synthetic army in the galaxy. Whatever plans she has for the geth... they are dangerous."

"That does sound important," Liara nods. "Wait here, I'll just run downstairs and check if the archives have something on her already."

While Liara is gone, Shepard just sits for a while, thinking, before her attention turns to the video archive in the middle of the room. She walks up to it, bringing up the touch interface and simply putting some videos to be played by random selection. There are all sorts of recordings, mostly from hacked security camera streams, some by carefully planted bugs. She watches brief files on people like Aria T'Loak and Captain Bailey on the Citadel, before coming up on a very gruesome vid of a krogan by the name of Urdnot Tursk on Tuchanka, throwing a captured salarian into the fighting pit and then immediately sending two varren after the hapless prisoner.

The salarian tries to desperately jump out of the pit, but the varren fall on him, taking out huge chunks of his flesh, sending showers of green blood and gore spraying like veritable fountains as the salarian falls back into the pit. His screams last for a long while, and together with the sickening sounds of varren tearing his flesh, feeding themselves, it all makes Morgan's stomach lurch, but there is also something... disturbingly addictive about this vid and she simply cannot stop herself from watching it more and more, it is like a glorious train wreck that one simply cannot take their eyes away from.

Finally, she stops herself with sheer force of will, switching to the next vid, blinking in surprise when she hears the VI drone announcing the subject on the file. It is Matriarch Aethyta, that weird but likable bartender from Nos Astra. But even that is not the most surprising in the whole matter, as Shepard immediately recognizes the framed picture of a younger asari on the table in front of Aethyta, the matriarch sitting there with a glass of elassa in her hand and a pensive expression in her eyes.

Just then Liara returns and Shepard quickly switches off the video archive. "I'm sorry, Morgan, but there's nothing on this Daro'Xen so far. I've alerted three of my agents to put her on the watch list, with any luck I will have something soon," she says.

"Sounds good," Shepard nods distractedly. "Liara... have you gone through this video archive yet?"

"I've barely skimmed the surface," Liara admits. "It's the least interesting source of information here. There's not much to learn from bits and pieces of old security footage."

"Well... let me just show you something, and maybe then you will change your mind about it not being interesting," Morgan grins, reactivating the video archive and searching for the file on Aethyta.

"Matriarch Aethyta. She was working as a bartender in the Eternity Lounge," Liara says. "I always thought that a little odd, but... to be honest, Shepard, it's still not particularly interesting."

"Oh really. Let's see now," Shepard stops the video and zooms in the part of the screen with Liara's picture. "Take a look at this, then. Do you have any idea why Matriarch Aethyta would be pensively staring at your picture?"

Liara remains quiet for a very long time. "Yes," she finally says, eyes fixed on the vid. "Yes, I... can think of a reason."

Morgan steps closer to Liara, sensing that the asari is upset, rattled from seeing this. "But you will not elaborate?"

"Not before I'm certain," Liara shakes her head.

"Would it really kill you to tell me of your suspicions?" Morgan teases, a little impatient. Instead, Liara simply presses against her, framing her cheeks with her palms and reaching close to gently kiss her on the lips, with the desperately obvious intent to stop this line of questioning.

Between the kisses, Morgan manages to stop Liara. "Okay, I guess I'll just arm myself with patience... again," she smiles.

"Please, Morgan," Liara whispers. "Do not push this. It could prove to be... a sensitive issue. Give me time."

_Could it be... oh gods, yes, Aethyta spoke of Benezia. She even sounded upset. And now she's watching Liara... her father. Liara thinks she might be her father,_ Morgan suddenly realizes, freezing, and that subtle movement is enough for Liara to understand what she is thinking. "Don't make me say anything before I am certain," she says softly.

"Okay, I won't," Morgan promises, gently rocking Liara in her arms.

"Morgan?" she hears Liara's voice, soft and alluring.

"Yes?"

"I... I feel like I am suffocating here. I need to get off this ship, at least for a short while. It's... getting a bit too much."

Morgan pulls away, the serene expression in Liara's eyes moving the very depths of her soul. "My quarters on Normandy?"

A promising smile appears on Liara's indigo lips. "Perfect for what I have in mind..."


	31. Before Departure

_A/N: Back from my vacation and what a lovely vacation it was (the weather could have been nicer, but oh well!). Special props to all the readers in the UK and particularly around the Peak District - you guys are the best. And you have the best pubs. :) _

_Now, onwards with the story! Please enjoy this latest chapter, while I catch up on all the stories posted in my absence. I see I have my hands full with that. :D _

**Chapter 30 - Before Departure**

The low, persistent hum in the forward battery is somehow comforting, and Shepard is starting to understand just why Garrus likes to hang out there so very often. _That, and big guns. And calibrations... can't live without calibrations._

"I wish Tim would just hurry up and get some intel for us at last," Shepard moans for what must be the tenth time already, dying of boredom.

"I've never seen anyone so eager to head into a suicide mission," Garrus chuckles, stopping his work on the consoles and giving her an amused stare.

"You know what I mean," Morgan sighs. "I just want to be done with it, for better or worse. So that we can all get back to normal liv-... ah fuck, we don't have normal lives to go back to, do we?"

Garrus laughs. "I don't even know what that means, Shepard." He grows a little thoughtful. "Listen, I never did properly thank you for helping me with Sidonis." Shepard just nods, acknowledging his gratitude. "I... must confess, at some point I thought you were going to try to talk me out of it. Did you consider it?"

"I did, yeah." Garrus turns back towards her, silently urging her to elaborate. "I'm not sure, Garrus. I just... put myself in your place and asked myself what I would want. I wanted to shoot the guy. And so I let you."

"No longer worried about me becoming too ruthless, eh, Shepard?"

"The Reapers are coming, Garrus. I think soon enough we will all need to display a great deal of ruthlessness while trying to keep the galaxy from being exterminated," Morgan returns grimly. "Mercy is just not going to cut it against the Reapers."

"Collectors first, though," Garrus says.

"Yeah. Honestly, Garrus... what do you think our chances are?" she asks. "No bullshitting. Honest appraisal, no matter how pessimistic."

"I think we can do this, Shepard," Garrus says after a moment of thought. "But still, consider that we are venturing to an unmapped area, facing advanced tech and the Collectors. We're going to lose people, Commander. No way around that."

"Mrhm," Shepard mutters, not the analysis she wanted to hear. _But painfully consistent with what I've thought myself._ "Damn it. I already promised Liara that I'll be back. Hate breaking promises."

"You won't break that promise, Commander," Garrus tries to sound encouraging. He doesn't have a lot of practice at it and it shows. "T'Soni might get so pissed, she'd resurrect you herself, just to give you a piece of her mind."

Shepard manages a weak chuckle. _That's what I'm afraid of most. If I die again, it might... break her. I can't do that to her._ "Listen, if I don't make it Garrus, I want you to... no, fuck... that's kind of pointless. There wouldn't be anything you or anyone can really do to help her."

"Not in a way that really matters, no," Garrus agrees. "You're not going back to sulking are you now, Commander?"

"I blame this downtime, Garrus. There's just nothing to do..." she says, rising. "Hey, could I have a go with those calibrations? Sounds fun..."

The answer she gets is very emphatic. "No."

* * *

"Keelah, Shepard..." Tali groans, reading a message on her omni-tool. "I'm getting a lot of these support messages from people who want me to take my father's place on the Admiralty Board. Couldn't you have gotten me exiled instead?"

"We can always take care of that, Tali," Shepard grins. "We have nothing to do while waiting for Tim to come up with the Reaper IFF. I say, let's go back to the Migrant Fleet and blow up Qwib-Qwib. And Moreh, for good measure."

Shepard gets the distinct impression that Tali is grinning broadly under that mask of hers when the quarian next speaks up again. "I don't remember Admiral Koris being so bad, Shepard. I think it must be because the war proponents have really put on a lot of pressure. He's feeling the heat. As for Xen... Keelah, she scares me."

"Yeah, I get that. I asked Liara to see if she can dig up some information on her plans... all though, now it occurs to me that it might have been a bad idea to disclose that the Shadow Broker has agents within the Fleet," Shepard presses an open palm to her face.

"Yes, perhaps not the best idea, Commander."

"Still... people like Xen make me wish we'd have someone sensible on that Admiralty Board. Voice of reason... like you, Tali," Shepard says, before giving Tali an inquiring stare. "Umm, you're not going to announce war on the geth the next day after taking the seat?"

"Please, Shepard," Tali raises her hand in protest. "I want to take Rannoch back as much as any quarian, but I know that we must save our strength for the real threat, the Reapers."

"See?" Shepard grins, placing a hand on Tali's shoulder and squeezing it affectionately. "You're our little voice of reason, Tali. Don't you ever change..."

* * *

Grunt and Zaeed are comparing the best ways to snap a turian's neck when Shepard enters the cargo hold. "You better not be planning to demonstrate that on Garrus," she warns them, listening to their disturbing descriptions on how to rip off the head plates and separate the head fringe. "So... can I take it that you are now feeling all nice and relaxed, Grunt?"

"I am Urdnot Grunt!" the krogan roars. "Finally, I feel... right! Like... I'm not just simply able to fight our enemies. This makes me want to fight, more and more! Just make sure our enemies remain worthy, battlemaster!"

"Yeah... well, forget I asked," Morgan sighs. _I have to give it to Grunt, though, so far he has killed only our foes. By the dozens. That has to be a good sign..._ "I'm guessing you have just discovered what being a krogan is all about." Grunt nods vehemently. "I just thought that after spending so much time at the female camp, you might be a bit... mellow. I guess it was too much to hope for."

"How did your own mating request turn out, Shepard?" Zaeed asks.

"Perfect, Liara came onboard when we-" then she catches herself, realizing that she has absentmindedly misspoken. "Oh... fuck you!" Zaeed just laughs, showing a gaping hole in his teeth. "Well, doesn't that missing tooth make you look so handsome! Planning to leave it the way it is as a remainder?"

"I might leave it to remind me that you're a sneaky little bitch, Shepard," Zaeed says hoarsely. "But you sucker punched me well. I should not have let my guard down. Good on you for noticing that, I won't make the same mistake twice."

"I'm sure I'll find other ways to kick your ass if you ever pull a stunt like that again," Shepard adds warningly.

"Until my deal with Cerberus has been completed, I'm not keen on finding out," Zaeed speaks, his expression that of a grim promise. "Afterwards, if we're both alive? You just watch yourself when crossing a dark alley, girl. Maybe I'll come after you, maybe I won't."

"Don't worry, Zaeed," Morgan parts from the pair with a beaming smile. "Sickos like you make it certain that I will never, ever let my guard down..."

* * *

"I needed to blow up that shithole," Jack says, her words lacking their usual bite. She lies on her cot, staring at the ceiling, hands folded across her chest. "I never did say thanks for taking me there. So... thanks. I owe you one, Shepard."

Morgan nods, pacing around Jack's little hidey-hole on the engineering deck. "Well, looking at you now it seems like you needed that. So, you're welcome," she says. "No hard feelings about that bump on the head?"

"Nah," Jack shrugs. "I hear that the cheerleader got the worst of it. That alone made it worth it."

"Yeah, she was... not so happy," Morgan says, remembering Miranda's reaction after coming back to her senses. "I really needed to pull out all my charm to calm her down."

"Should have just let her try something. I wish she'd give me a reason to kill her... ah well, I guess after we're done with the Collectors," Jack speaks wistfully. "Please tell me you're going to space the entire Cerberus crew once we no longer need them, Shepard."

"Well... I think we'll cross that bridge when we get there," Shepard answers evasively.

"Oh, by the way, Shep," Jack speaks, turning on her side to face Morgan with a piercing stare. "When you knocked me out in that shuttle... I have this one fuzzy memory from there, of someone singing horribly. It still gives me headaches. You wouldn't know anything about that?"

"What, me singing?" Shepard puts on her best surprised face, before quickly turning to leave. "I have absolutely no idea what you're talking about..."

* * *

The arid air in the life support makes her throat dry and itchy, causing her speech to be interrupted by coughs. Still, she comes to speak with Thane often, mostly to inquire about his relationship with his son, Kolyat. Aside that, he has many interesting stories to share, and Shepard does her best to pry what she can from the drell assassin.

Often they disagree on moral principles, but Shepard knows that she is not aware of all the facts and circumstances, missing important context, and is usually willing to let the matter slide, even when her gut feeling insists that for example no matter what circumstances, training someone to be an assassin from the age of six is just plain wrong.

It is hard not to see the hanar relationship with the rescued drell as exploitative to the point of slavery. "Please, Shepard, don't be insulting," Thane simply says, when she speaks those thoughts aloud. "We have the choice to refuse to aid the hanar. Few ever do."

Even so, considering the natural limitations of the hanar, it is hard to imagine that their rescue of drell from their home planet of Rakhana was simply an act of mercy. They need the services and the assistance of the drell in order to perform various tasks their bodies are simply not suited for. Raising private drell assassins seems like one such task that others would not usually expect from the humble worshippers of the Enkindlers.

And there is nothing symbiotic about this drell and hanar relationship. On Rakhana, the last remaining drell continue to bomb each other for the last scraps of resources. On Kahje, the hanar homeworld, the 'rescued' drell spend their lives suffering from the humid conditions their bodies fail to adapt to, eventually succumbing like Thane, slowly expiring from the Kepral Syndrome. There is nothing noble about the hanar and their treatment of drell, it is done for purely practical reasons, regardless of what Thane believes.

He tells her more about his work as an assassin, in that disturbingly compelling way his perfect memory recalls those events. His memories seem so real, so vivid, and he claims that for drell, they feel as if they are as valid as life itself. He tells her of some of his hits, the vicious circle that his body had been drawn in, disconnected from his soul, no longer whole... until the moment when he met his wife-to-be. "Laser dot trembles on his skull. Spice on the spring wind. Sunset-colored eyes defiant in the scope," he recalls first seeing his wife, putting herself between his gun and his intended victim.

With some prodding he tells her more about Irikah. "She introduced me to the world beyond my work," he explains softly. "Eventually she forgave me. Later... she loved me. I thought she was the goddess Arashu. She met my eyes through the scope, and my purpose faltered."

"But the happiness did not last," Shepard remarks quietly, remembering what she has learned from Kolyat's angry reaction after meeting his father on the Citadel.

"Yes. I grew complacent, thought she and Kolyat were safe. But eventually my enemies came for her," Thane says. "After her death... my body returned to the battle sleep. My body hunted down the assassins and their employers. I was taught to kill cleanly and painlessly. Them... them I left to linger."

Shepard nods grimly. "I might have done the same, Thane. There is no shame in that."

He looks at her, but the emotion in his black eyes is unreadable. "I have not spoken of my wife in... I don't think I ever have. Didn't have anyone to speak to," he admits. "Thank you for listening, _siha_."

Morgan is puzzled about the meaning of the word, but Thane refuses to elaborate. She spends days trying to find her answers on extranet. Eventually she sends a message to Liara, requesting her aid. She receives a reply several hours later. It makes her chest heavy with emotion, and she struggles to keep the tears away.

_Siha. One of the warrior-angels of the goddess Arashu. Fierce in wrath. A tenacious protector..._

* * *

"I do not wish to discuss Morinth, Shepard," the voice is noticeably colder than before.

"I'm sorry, Samara. I... don't know what happened. I just know that I failed you."

"I was wrong to ask that of you, Shepard," finally Samara breaks her cross-legged position and turns around to face her. "Next time I come this close to tracking her down, I will not make the same mistake. I should have handled it on my own."

"Don't blame yourself for accepting my offer to help," Morgan says. "The mistake was mine, and the blame should lie with me alone."

"I understand that you share a... special connection with the asari who came onboard recently," Samara says unexpectedly. "I am wondering if Morinth somehow was able to use that as your weakness. If I had known about your involvement..."

Shepard stays quiet, unwilling to confess that she saw Liara when looking at Morinth. "It might have been that," she merely concedes.

"It does not matter," Samara shrugs, returning to her meditation. "I will attempt to focus on your mission. Morinth will have to wait until we are done with the Collectors..."

* * *

"Still hard to believe Maelon betrayed me. Betrayed my work. Disgusted by his actions," Mordin says angrily, when Shepard stops by the lab for a quick chat. "Proud of his nerve, though! Always thought he lacked backbone. Hope he finds something meaningful to do with his life."

Shepard looks at what Mordin has been studying. It looks an awful lot like the charts and diagrams she saw on the computer consoles in the Weyrloc compound. "Going through Maelon's data?" she asks. "Finding anything useful?"

Mordin does not reply. He simply switches the consoles off and turns away. "Usually better at processing this. Can't afford getting stuck in the past. Need to focus on the Collectors," he speaks.

"Don't just throw that data away to rot in some dusty corner, Mordin," Shepard says, trying to sound encouraging. "What happened down there on Tuchanka must not be easily processed and forgotten."

"Not used to this, Shepard. Bad timing for moral quandaries," the salarian shakes his head as if trying to clear it from dark thoughts. "...spent time learning about Clan Urdnot on Tuchanka. Plans, ideas, actions. Urdnot Wrex provides... new perspective on krogan."

"You know he's the one I told you about earlier. The one who agreed to destroy the cure for genophage simply on moral grounds."

"Aware of that, Shepard," Mordin's voice is quiet, thoughtful. "His plans for krogan commendable. Wish I had this perspective to consider back when..."

"...when you were running your simulations," Morgan finishes for him. Mordin does not reply. She steps closer and puts her hand on the professor's shoulder. "I know you will find a way to make up to the krogan, Mordin. I believe in you."

"Thank you, Shepard," he nods. "Means... a lot to hear that. But now... should get back to work. Focus on the Collectors..."


	32. Dreaming Dead Gods

_A/N: Hmm, can't think of a clever author's note for this chapter. So I'll just thank everyone reading and reviewing for their continued support and let's just get on with the show! Oh and by the way, folks: the more I write, the more this tale is starting to look like a 100+ parter. Yikes. We might be in for the long haul here. _

**Chapter 31 - Dreaming Dead Gods**

"I think I finally have something for you, Shepard," The Illusive Man informs her, raising a glass of bourbon and taking a swig, before lighting up yet another cigarette. "We have discovered the resting place of a thirty-seven million year old derelict Reaper. You should be able to obtain it's IFF protocols."

"Finally! About time..." Shepard breathes a huge sigh of relief. "I imagine Joker already has the coordinates, and we are already on our way as we speak."

Tim nods. "I sent a science team to explore the Reaper before giving you the news."

"Wow, talk about redefining the term _'redshirt'_," Morgan shakes her head. "Have you heard from them since?"

"We've lost all contact since two days ago," The Illusive Man says, predictably. "Thread with caution, Shepard. We are too close to fail now."

"Caution is my standard operating procedure," Shepard replies with a cocky smile. "Or was it a metric fuckton of heavy weapons fire? Either way, it's one of those two." The Illusive Man gives her a dubious stare. "Ah, cheer up Tim, we'll be fine!" she winks, terminating the connection.

On the way to the Thorne System, within Hawking Eta cluster, Shepard spends the time mentally assembling her team. _Damn it, I have no idea what to expect onboard of a derelict Reaper. Certainly, indoctrination is a great risk, but hopefully we can get in and out fast. Maybe I should not bring my mentally unstable trigger-happy crazies with me, just in case._

In the end she chooses a small team of Garrus, Tali, Mordin and Miranda to accompany her. The sight of the several kilometers long shape of the Reaper, orbiting the brown dwarf of Mnemosyne, spreading below them, is breathtakingly impressive and at the same time chillingly frightening. EDI claims that the Reaper is inert, save for small power signatures in localized areas and the active mass effect fields, preventing it from crashing onto the planet below. _Considering their capabilities, I would think that even small power signatures could present terrible danger,_ Morgan quietly admits to herself, feeling strangely subdued from the mere presence of the terror inducing monstrosity.

Normandy is getting shaken about rather roughly as they close in on the Reaper. "Winds gusting up to 500kph," Joker reports. "This might get a little... unpleasant."

"Detecting another ship alongside the Reaper," EDI informs them. "Ladar identification suggests a geth cruiser."

"Those guys are drawn towards Reapers like bees to honey," Morgan mutters, not looking forward to more and more flashlight heads pouring at them in massive swarms. "I guess they have met up with our redshirt scientists."

As the Normandy pulls close to the Reaper for docking, the massive winds completely die down, subdued by the Reaper's active mass effect fields. "Eye of the hurricane, huh?" Joker remarks as Shepard leads her strike team towards the docking bay.

It is a disconcerting feeling to step onto the docking bay floor inside a Reaper, even if the insides of it do appear like a cruiser, albeit a massive one. But these labyrinthine passages are actually the bowels of an almost godlike, super-advanced synthetic-organic being, and that knowledge is pressing down on them like a heavy veil, making even breathing feel like a heavy chore.

They haven't even walked ten yards inside past the docking bay, when they come across a large blood smear on the otherwise sterile white walls ahead of them. On the floor lies a badly shattered body of one of the scientists, looking as if it has been violently mauled and then torn apart, the kind of attack usually not practiced by the geth.

"These scientists never stood a chance," Miranda speaks quietly as they proceed further, into a wider hall with a small side-chamber in which the science team appear to have set up a base of operations of sorts. They have left behind all their equipment, some of it still unpacked. There are video logs documenting their progress and Shepard takes some time to quickly go through them, discovering what she has been fearing. It has not taken very long for the crew to start feeling the effects of the indoctrination.

"It does not seem as if they had any idea whatsoever what to expect," Morgan says, looking at Miranda. "They were not told about the indoctrination and the effects it causes."

"Well, of course," Garrus shrugs. "If they had known, they would probably have chosen to defect rather than come here."

"I have to agree with Garrus," Miranda concedes. "It is understandable that The Illusive Man did not want to throw us at the unknown right away, so he sent in someone else for the prep work, even if he knew he was sending them to their deaths."

"He wasn't so concerned with throwing us to the unknown when he lured us into that Collector trap," Tali remarks bitterly.

"Already discussed this, deemed irrelevant," Mordin says dismissively. "Completing mission parameters, only concern. Fate of science team tragic, regrettable. Also, necessary."

"Well, nothing we can do about it now. Let's just move on," Morgan says, leading the team onwards, through the insides of the Reaper, hoping for some sign that would indicate where to harvest the IFF that they so badly need. "'With any luck-" she starts to speak but the sentence is cut off by a loud crash, and turning around they see that the way back is blocked.

"You deserved that for daring to mention the word 'luck'," Garrus sighs. "We only ever get one kind of luck and it's all bad."

"Normandy to shore party! Normandy to shore party!" Shepard hears Joker's voice on the comms, quickly acknowledging she has heard the message. "The Reaper put up kinetic barriers," her helmsman explains. "No way through from this side anymore!"

"Maybe we can shut them off... any idea where to look for them?" Morgan asks.

"Likely powered by the mass effect core," EDI explains. "The same that supports the Reaper's mass effect fields."

"So when we deactivate it, the Reaper loses its altitude and crashes on the planet below," Miranda says, not looking particularly pleased. "Shepard, I thought we had not yet gotten to the part of this being a suicide mission."

Morgan can't stop herself from smiling, despite their situation. "I'm sure Joker can get us out of there in time. Right, Joker?"

"Yeah... uh, no pressure," Joker grumbles, still sounding proud from the praise. "Good hunting, ma'am."

Further on, there are more bodies, savagely beaten, ripped to shreds and left there to rot. The stench is unbearable, and they quickly move past the unfortunate victims. "Miranda, any idea how many scientists were on the team?"

"Close to fifty, together with the support staff," she replies. "So far, we've only found four corpses."

"I think I just found the others for you," Tali says grimly, pointing her pistol towards the further end of the corridor, a group of husks appearing there and starting to charge in their direction.

"Husks. It just had to be husks," Garrus mutters, readying his sniper rifle. "Work of those geth, you suppose?"

"Creation of husks most assuredly Reaper technology," Mordin offers his explanation. "Must consider possibility of Reapers using geth to employ it."

"Well, whatever it is... hey! What the..." Garrus exclaims, having been ready to already take the shot, but then seeing his target suddenly collapse dead mid run. "Shepard, we have another sniper here! Stole my kill!"

"Wasn't me," Shepard says. "Maybe a survivor of the science team?"

"Doubtful. They didn't have anyone as proficient with sniper rifles on the team," Miranda shakes her head, pitch black locks flailing around.

"Well, they're shooting husks, so points for them," Tali says as they all move forward as a group, weapons drawn and ready for another ambush.

There is a sort of a central chamber ahead of them, and more husks, abominations and the more powerful and annoying scions to deal with. Once they have been finished off, the source of their origins presents itself at the back of this central chamber. "Just like Eden Prime..." Shepard whispers, watching the disfigured human bodies impaled on the sharp spikes, the Dragon's Teeth.

"Fascinating technology. Would like to study in depth," Mordin speaks up, then catching Shepard's mild glare sent in his direction. "Purely scientific interest, of course. Use of humans reprehensible, amoral!"

"That's better, Mordin," Shepard chuckles, as they move onwards again, through the bowels of the dreaming dead god, as one of the indoctrinated scientists had called the Reaper in the video logs.

They pass through more hallways, listening to cheerful Cerberus announcements about having gone five days without a workplace death, then entering wider halls with various crates and heaps of collected junk. The husks have been preparing for them, setting up another ambush as soon as they enter, surrounding them on all sides, two of them lunging for Shepard, but before she can react, they both fall dead with their skulls shattered, yet again the work of the mysterious sniper.

As Shepard looks in the direction from which the shots have been fired, she is stunned to see a very strange looking geth, his chest seems to have been constructed from a part of old N7 armor. Even stranger is to hear the geth sniper uttering words 'Shepard-Commander', before turning around and disappearing from view.

"What the hell was that?" Miranda wonders, looking disturbed. "Since when do geth stop to speak with organics?"

"They... shouldn't," Tali says hesitantly. "This is very wrong, Shepard."

"Let's try not to kill it, unless we absolutely must," Morgan says. "It's been helping us and I would like to find out why. We can always disable it later if it proves to be a threat, Tali," she adds, sensing the quarian's disapproval.

The resistance becomes almost too overwhelming as they press on, it is as if the Reaper itself senses their progress and throws all its husk reinforcements into the fight to slow them down. "This is a lot more than they could have created from the science team," Shepard groans, clutching at a bleeding gash in her left arm, just above the elbow, patiently waiting for the medi-gel to take effect.

"They must have alternative means to produce them," Miranda muses, looking for something to wipe the bits of husk remains out of her face, in the end having to settle for using her gloves. "Or perhaps the geth cruiser brought some."

"I have doubts about that, Miranda. I find it strange that except for that one geth we haven't seen any others," Garrus remarks, standing over Tali's hunched form, the quarian already swimming in antibiotics after scion's heavy shockwave has ruptured her suit in several places.

"Yeah, I was kind of expecting more geth than bloody sodding husks," Morgan curses as they proceed, quietly hoping that they have already weathered the worst of the enemy forces.

After bypassing a set of sealed doors, they come across a Cerberus data terminal, and Mordin immediately starts to work on it, processing data that the science team managed to recover. "Reaper IFF secured," he states. "Also, mass effect core through this passage," the salarian points ahead. "Reasonably certain."

"What's this, good news?" Morgan blinks. "Don't make me want to kiss you, Mordin."

"Well, we still need to destroy that mass effect core and then get off the Reaper," Garrus remarks, eager to play the role of a spoiler. "We're not exactly safe, yet. Besides, Tali is already a little delirious from the drugs."

"I'm... perfectly f-fine..." Tali manages, a little unsteady on her feet. "Garrus, where are we? I said no to cheap hanar restaurants on the f-first date..."

"Err..." Garrus blinks, putting a palm to his face.

"...I'm not even going to comment on that," Morgan chuckles, once she has recovered from the surprise. "You might want to watch out for her, though. She doesn't seem to be in the best fighting shape." Garrus just nods at that, still trying to hide his embarrassment.

Shortly after, they storm the mass effect core chamber, coming up to the sight of a half dozen husks beating on the friendly geth unit that had helped them earlier. They quickly put a stop to all that nonsense, now standing before the vulnerable mass effect core and a helpless intact geth.

"You know, Shepard... there's an outstanding and very appealing bounty out for delivering an intact geth to Cerberus," Miranda says matter-of-factly.

_For completely harmless experiments to benefit the entire humanity, I imagine. Gods, they're like Daro'Xen. Give them one geth, and they'll probably build the largest synthetic army in the galaxy. And then have it turn on the humanity... _

"I'm not sure what we should do with it, but... it did help us," Shepard muses, having difficulty deciding. "Normally, I would ask Tali for advice, but..."

"I missed the last episode of 'The Fleet and the Flotilla'," Tali cries. Then her voice becomes a hysterical scream. "I'm so scared! Hold me, Garrus!"

"Seriously, that's starting to creep me out," Shepard blinks, then deciding to reach out to Joker over the comms. "Do you have the track on our location, Joker?" she asks. "Can you bring the Normandy closer? We're at the core."

"Will do," Joker replies quickly. "Start moving to the portside airlock. Back out and not far to your left."

"Garrus, take Tali there. Miranda, Mordin, grab the geth," Shepard quickly orders.

"Commander?" Garrus asks, concerned.

"I'll take care of the core and join you. Don't worry, I have no intention of going down with the ship. Especially a ship that isn't even mine," she replies, readying the grenade launcher. "Now, go!"

The others are already at the door when she opens fire. The first grenade flies a little over the core, causing little damage and she lowers the weapon, narrowing the angle. The next few grenades explode right upon reaching the core, causing a massive detonation that throws Morgan off her feet and tumbling down, and only in the last moment she manages to reach out with her arm and hold on to the railing, preventing herself from a lethal fall into the dark pits below.

She pulls herself up, unsteady, starting to run towards the exit, as the derelict Reaper is rocking with explosions as its mass effect fields shut down one by one. There, she can already see the airlock, Mordin and Miranda throwing the geth into the Normandy before making the jump themselves. A few more steps now, a mad dash, her right foot looking for support for the take-off, finding it in the last moment before the Reaper suddenly starts losing its altitude.

She flies through the air, towards Normandy's airlock, a moment that seems to last for eternity. _Last time I went flying in open space didn't end up so well for me,_ a panicked thought shoots through her brain. Then, she suddenly feels a pair of strong hands grabbing her and pulling her inside the Normandy, to safety. _Pfew... made it. We made it..._


	33. Should Have Spaced the Geth

_A/N: This chapter is basically my workaround of the one scene in ME2 that always felt weird to me. After having spent the entire game limited to 2 squad members per mission, suddenly when it's time to test the Reaper IFF, for some reason Shepard decides to bring ALL her teammates. Always thought it just looked strange. Hopefully my version will feel less odd! _

_As always, thank you for reading and any feedback you may choose to leave. :) _

**Chapter 32 - Should Have Spaced the Geth**

"We should give this geth to the Cerberus cyberweapons division. It will aid us in developing badly needed upgrades to help with the inevitable Reaper invasion," Miranda argues. "Also, Shepard, did I mention the outstanding cash bounty? Because there is an outstanding cash bounty, and it's a significant one."

"Allow me to disagree with that, ma'am. I still say we should space the geth," Jacob grunts, crossing hands on his chest.

"I'm aware of your opinions," Morgan sighs tiredly. "I'm _extremely _aware of them after you have repeated them for like... the sixth time? And I'm still leaning towards activating the geth."

"Tali's going to flip out," Jacob says, shaking his head.

"Tali's going to flip out?" Morgan glares at him. "Now you're concerned about what she will think? 'Don't forget to introduce yourself to the ship's AI', need I remind you that faux-pas, Mr. 'Open-Mouth-Insert-Foot' Taylor?" Jacob promptly shuts up after that comment, and Miranda also deflates, giving up.

"You are right about, Tali, though," Shepard finally admits. "I will not activate the geth without consulting with her and EDI." With that, Shepard leaves the briefing room and proceeds down to the medbay, where Tali is still confined to bed rest, after her little drug trip back on the derelict Reaper.

"Oh, Commander," the quarian rises up in the bed, seeing Shepard entering the medbay. She seems to be fidgeting very nervously. "I... ah, wanted to speak with you. I, uh, understand that I said some... foolish, delirious things aboard the Reaper, I hope you didn't put any attention to my words, if you could please ignore and forget everything I-"

"Calm down, Tali," Morgan smiles. "I would never have brought that up again, and as far as I'm concerned, I haven't heard anything," she pointedly touches her nose as she speaks.

Tali appears infinitely relieved. "We quarians just aren't well suited for ground war," she notes. "I just hope the Admiralty Board considers that if they plan to take the war to the geth."

"Yeah... about the geth," Morgan starts to speak a little hesitantly. "You remember there was a geth on the derelict Reaper, right?" Tali nods. "That strange sniper who saved my butt on a couple of occasions. Well... I don't know if that's comforting or not, but he's... uh, resting behind those doors," she points at the AI core section.

"You... brought a geth onboard?" Tali sounds shocked.

"Well, it seemed like a good idea at the time," Shepard shrugs her shoulders. "Besides, you said yourself, no one has ever captured an intact geth. I was thinking maybe we could reactivate it, see what it has to say for itself. I'm still curious about that N7 armor and it being able to talk..."

"It would be incredibly dangerous, Shepard," Tali says warningly. "I cannot advise that."

"I'll go over the safety procedures with our own AI," Shepard promises, switching to her comms. "EDI?"

"Yes, Shepard?" EDI replies. "I am currently in the process of integrating the Reaper IFF within Normandy's systems. Since it is Reaper technology, it poses certain risks. It might take considerable time for the installation to complete and be ready for shakedown."

"So, you're too busy to help us out with reactivating this geth, huh?" Shepard asks.

"I have more than enough free resources to isolate our systems and erect additional firewalls," EDI calmly explains. "I will be able to resist any hacking attempts."

"Sounds good to me," Shepard notes, looking back at Tali. "Would you care to join me? I think I could do with a geth expert for this occasion."

Tali slowly gets out of the bed, her system still slightly shocked by the medication, having difficulties walking straight, and Shepard reaches out to support her as together they enter the AI core, where the disabled geth lies roughly tossed on the floor. "I'm not really knowledgeable on the geth," Shepard says. "Well, maybe I'm an expert on how to deactivate them. But certainly not on reactivating."

Tali makes a weak noise that sounds like strangled laughter before bending down and starting to fiddle with her omni-tool. The geth shakes a few times with jolts of electricity, before its flashlight head slowly switches on again and the geth sniper slowly climbs back up to its feet. "Can you understand me?" Shepard asks, keeping one hand on her holstered pistol, just in case.

"Yes." The voice is thick with odd metallic chirping.

"Are you going to attack us?" Tali asks worriedly.

"No."

"All the other geth I've met before have tried to kill me," Shepard remarks, still suspicious.

"We are geth and we have never met you," the geth explains, or at least attempts to.

"Uh..." Shepard scratches her head, puzzled. "But I've met other geth... what am I missing here?"

"You are Commander Shepard. Alliance. Human. Fought heretics. Killed by the Collectors. Rediscovered on an Old Machine," the geth recites, then turning towards Tali. "You are Creator Tali'Zorah vas Neema."

"Vas Normandy, actually," Tali quickly corrects the geth. "It is... a recent change."

"Extranet information is not always reliable," the geth says.

"I don't remember fighting... heretics?" Shepard asks again. "What's a heretic?"

The geth starts to explain, his story not always making sense to Morgan and she finds herself generally confused with the odd terms the geth is using. Her head is spinning by the time it finishes the tale, and she turns towards Tali, hoping that her quarian friend has had better luck understanding the odd synthetic. "So... if I get this straight, there are two kinds of geth. The evil ones who serve the Reapers and generally shoot organics on sight..."

"Yes, the ones we've been conveniently having to deal with up to now," Tali nods. "I guess it makes sense," she says, pointing at their geth. "Its kind would not be interested in returning from beyond the Veil... if this story is to be believed."

"And this one is the good kind of geth, then? The ones that don't want anything to do with the Reapers and want to self-determine their own fate?" Morgan asks.

"So it claims," Tali says. "But the geth were all united when they slaughtered my ancestors and drove us from our homeworld. I don't believe there is such a thing as a 'nice' geth."

"Yeah, well, they probably think there's no such thing as a nice quarian, ever since you tried to kill them," Shepard remarks, earning a weak punch on the shoulder from her friend.

"We oppose the Old Machines. We oppose the heretics," the geth speaks. "Shepard-Commander opposes the Old Machines. Shepard-Commander opposes the heretics. Cooperation furthers common goals."

"Keelah... it wants to join us..." Tali realizes.

"I know this sounds crazy, but... why not?" Shepard shrugs. "I actually think this geth has a lot better motivation than say Zaeed or Grunt." After a small pause, Tali nods, albeit reluctantly. "What should we call you?" Morgan looks at the geth again.

"Geth," comes the helpful reply.

"That's not going to work, Shepard," Tali tells her. "It cannot view itself as an individual, as we do. It is just one of the platforms linked to a wider consensus."

"Yeah, but we need to give it a name," Shepard says. "Or else when I give the order 'Shoot the damn geth!' the poor guy is going to get hit with so much firepower, there'll be scraps of it flying back beyond the Veil."

"My name is Legion, for we are many," EDI pops up with a suggestion.

"Say, that is pretty good, EDI! Thanks," Shepard smiles. "As of now, this platform shall be known as Legion. Welcome to the crew, Legion," she reaches out her hand, wondering if the geth will understand the gesture. With surprise, she feels thin metallic fingers carefully touching her hand, before being pulled back away. "Biblical quote, wasn't it?" she asks EDI.

"Gospel of Mark," Legion replies instead. "We acknowledge this name as an appropriate metaphor."

"Well, Shepard..." Tali turns towards her, her posture full of disbelief. "This has certainly been... an interesting experience. Part of me still wonders if it's delirium from the antibiotics..."

"It's not... it really has been as bizarre as that," Shepard nods.

"Shepard-Commander. Creator Tali'Zorah," Legions speaks suddenly, startling them both. "We were sent to the Old Machine to preserve the geth's future. We are prepared to reveal how."

"Yes, I have been meaning to ask about what you were up to inside that derelict Reaper," Shepard nods, urging Legion to explain. It speaks of the heretics developing a weapon, a virus, that would over time turn the geth into Reaper-worshipping heretics.

"The geth believe that all intelligent life should self-determinate," Legion explains. "The heretics no longer share this belief." It reveals the location of the heretic headquarters station on the edge of the Terminus Systems where the virus is stored. The very fact that the heretics are constructing massive space stations within the Terminus, between stars where organic beings would never dream to look for them, that alone is highly troubling, and Shepard is aware that they would need to do something about it regardless of whether they choose to aid Legion or not.

"What do you think about all this?" she whispers to Tali, having led the quarian a little aside for a private counsel.

"I don't know, Shepard... it all depends whether this geth is capable of deception," Tali replies quietly. "If it's not, then... it seems like something we should look into. If we could deny Reapers their heretic reinforcements... Commander, you better of all know what that would mean for the war effort."

"That's what I thought," Shepard nods. "We can't afford to ignore this just on the slight off-chance of being led into a trap." She turns back to the geth. "Very well, Legion, we will aid you and your people."

"We will begin making plans," Legion replies simply.

"EDI?" Shepard calls out on the comms. "I know that you're busy with that Reaper IFF and everything, but could I entice you into taking us on a scenic trip to the edge of Terminus space? Legion will provide coordinates."

"I will need to divert resources from some of the core systems, slowing down the installation process, Shepard," EDI warns. "But the decision is ultimately up to you."

"Just follow my orders, EDI," Shepard says. "Joker, you got the location?"

"Sea of Storms, Phoenix Massing," Joker replies. "Yeah, got it."

The journey to the edge of Terminus takes longer than expected, almost a full solar day, Normandy's systems slow and unresponsive while tasked to capacity with the adaptation of the IFF system. This at least allows Tali to make a complete recovery, and she demands that Shepard takes her onboard the heretic station, determined not to waste this opportunity to learn more about the hated enemies of her species.

Others are all keen to join in, expecting heavy geth resistance, the only exceptions are Zaeed and Jack, both stating they care little for stupid flashlight heads and their politics. As they approach the heretic station, it's shape frighteningly resembling a Reaper, as expected from the heretics worshipping the Old Machines, Tali makes a surprising realization. "Keelah... that is Haratar station, I'm sure of it," she says, as Normandy slowly approaches for docking. "My people stripped it from everything they could salvage when fleeing the Perseus Veil three hundred years ago! But it has been significantly upgraded, it's almost unrecognizable."

"It appears to be more than twenty kilometers in length," Shepard says, thoughtfully. "I shudder to think how many heretics are stored inside."

"Roughly 2.4 million mobile platforms, Shepard-Commander," Legion informs her emotionlessly.

Shepard groans, putting a palm to her face. "Well... at least we won't run out of targets," she sighs as they finally step onboard of the heretic space station.

With limited air and gravity, no windows, oddly structured layout and filled with frozen, disabled geth platforms that could become activated at any moment, this station is somehow even more alien and creepy than the derelict Reaper. They all breathe sighs of relief when Legion informs of having successfully hacked the heretic network, feeding them heaps of false information and preventing spreading of any local alarms that might be triggered as they move through the station, clearing out any active platforms in their way.

They have not proceeded far on their way towards the central core, when Legion reveals that 'suddenly' they have another option for dealing with the heretics. Using a repurposed version of the virus, the heretic way of thinking can be rewritten and they can be brought to the side of Legion's geth, strengthening them greatly.

"And here I was wondering if it is capable of deception," Tali seems rather incensed, pointing at Legion accusingly. "Shepard, it knew of this option before we stepped onboard. It just... neglected to mention the fact, fearing that we would deny it our aid."

"Probably, but that fear is rational considering geth relationships with organics," Shepard says. "Besides... yes, we strengthen Legion's geth. But we also strengthen the enemies of the Reapers." _Unless it is lying about that too, and they are actually working for the Reapers. Damn it._ "On the other hand, I'm not sure about the ethical issue of such rewriting..."

"Imagine if you could wipe clean the brains of all Cerberus operatives and rewrite them to be loyal to the Alliance," Garrus suggests, making sure they are out of Miranda and Jacob's earshot. "Would you do that?"

"Tempting as it may be, that I would definitely consider unethical brainwashing," Morgan shrugs her head, before turning her eyes to Legion. "I would like to think there is a fundamental difference between applying the solution to organics and to synthetics, but... the line sometimes can get so frigging damn blurry. Anyway, we don't need to decide right here and right now. Let's move."

After they have cleared the next two halls from active geth platforms, Joker's voice comes up on Shepard's comms. "What's your progress, Commander?" he asks.

"Estimate thirty-five minutes to reach the central core, unless resistance intensity parameters change," Legion replies for her.

"Uh, alright, so you'll be occupied for a while. We... might have a bit of a problem here, still unsure," Joker says, Morgan disliking the tone in his voice. "Thought it was just some radiation bleed, white noise, but..."

"But what?" Morgan shouts on the comms, getting impatient.

"EDI claims we are currently transmitting the Normandy's location," Joker says. "I think EDI is wrong, but... just in case, we're going to move around a bit until we figure out what it is..."

"Alright," Shepard closes the comms, facing the worried stares of her squad. "Double time, people! Let's wrap up things here fast and get back to the ship, I didn't like the sound of that report one bit."

The local resistance in the central core chamber is much fiercer than they have faced before, but in the end the heretics are routed and Legion gains access to the core, waiting on Shepard's orders whether to destroy the heretics or to rewrite their runtime processes. "Damn it..." Shepard sighs, pondering her choices. "Fuck, I guess I should keep in line with my previous decisions in unleashing terrible dangers back upon the galaxy."

"Oh yes, first the rachni, now the geth," Tali mutters, appearing unconvinced.

"Well, at least releasing the rachni hasn't bitten us in the butt," Shepard sticks her tongue out at her quarian friend.

"Yet," Garrus adds with a glum expression on his face.

"Ah, what could possibly go wrong!" Shepard exclaims theatrically, turning towards Legion. "Alright, rewrite them. Just remember, if you all end up fighting for the Reapers again, I'm going to personally dismantle every last one of you little flashlight-headed bastards."

"Acknowledged," Legion says, before releasing the modified virus. "Note: Remote access via high gain transmissions required."

"That sounds... ominous," Garrus says, echoing Morgan's thoughts.

"The virus will be sent to the heretics in the nearby star systems. This station will broadcast a powerful electromagnetic pulse through FTL channels," Legion helpfully explains. "Yield in excess of 1.21 petawatts. Alert: EM flux will be hazardous to unshielded organic forms. Addendum: The interior of this station is not shielded."

"Of course it isn't..." Miranda groans, giving Legion a threatening stare.

"Should have listened to me and spaced the geth," Jacob adds.

"Shepard! The Normandy!" Tali exclaims. "Get Joker to come back for us! Now!"

"Joker! Joker! Fuck, answer me!" Shepard shouts in the comms, but her angry demands are answered only with static. "Where the fuck did they go? Joker, damn it! Joker!"

"Any ideas, Commander?" Miranda asks, trying to sound calm and nearly succeeding.

"Fuck yeah," Shepard swears in reply. "Locate the nearest docking bay and get there ASAP. Our only hope is that the Normandy returns in time to pick us up..."


	34. Those Left Behind

_A/N: I realized that before leaving for Omega-4 relay, Morgan definitely would not want to have an emotional heart-to-heart chat with Tim. No, she would want to say farewells to the people in her life who actually matter to her. That oversight is rectified in this chapter. I hope you'll like it. :) _

**Chapter 33 - Those Left Behind**

"Shepard?" out of nowhere, there is Jack's voice on the comms. "What the fuck are you doing running around that station like a bunch of idiots?"

"...Jack? Where the hell are you?" Shepard asks, having dealt with the initial surprise.

"I'm sitting in an empty shuttle in a docking bay, waiting for you to stop running around aimlessly," comes the reply. "Sending you my location. Check the HUD for my coordinates."

Shepard allows herself a deep breath of relief. "Excellent thinking, Joker. He must have realized that we might need a swift exit from the station."

"Yeah, yeah, whatever, hurry up, I'm getting bored here," Jack grumbles.

They reach the shuttle with barely a minute to spare, leaving the docking bay in haste and moments later the station is rocked by a blast of energy that would have incinerated them all on the spot, if they were still onboard. Of course, now, packed in tighter than sardines in a can, their situation is still not ideal. "What I want to know is where the fuck is my ship," Shepard mutters angrily, pressed between her squadmates, feeling her ribs slowly getting crushed between Garrus and Grunt's heavy armors.

"I am sure that Joker will bring the ship back here as soon as they have dealt with... whatever issues were plaguing them," Miranda says uncertainly.

"We might consider sending a distress signal," Jacob offers. "Not that there are many who could respond to it out here."

"Well, fire it away anyway, it won't hurt," Morgan orders to Jack, the only one feeling comfortable sitting in the cozy pilot's chair.

Two hours later, Morgan, Garrus and Jack have all ran out of anecdotes and stories to share, much to the relief of everyone else on the shuttle. That is also around the same time when Thane catches the visual of something approaching them far in the distance. "I believe that is your missing ship, Shepard," he says.

Shortly enough they are extracted by the Normandy and tumble out of the shuttle in the docking bay, but... something is not right. Usually there would be a few of the Cerberus personnel down here, waiting for them in their posts, but now there are none. More so, the walls near the guard posts have large smears of blood on them. Immediately, all as one they draw their weapons. "Joker?" she quietly tries the comms.

"Up in the engineering, Commander," comes a weak response.

They proceed towards the elevator, finding more signs of struggle and eventually corpses. "Matthews, Goldstein," Miranda quickly identifies the fallen. "What happened here?"

"An excellent question," Shepard agrees, as they reach the engineering, finding another corpse along the way, this time of crewman Rolston, it looks as if someone had first pierced something sharp through his ribcage and then chewed a little on the corpse afterwards.

Joker is lying prone on the floor in the engineering deck, in no hurry to get up. He gives a hysterical little laughter when Shepard offers to get Dr. Chakwas to tend to his injuries, before explaining just what has happened to the Normandy.

The Reaper IFF, after its installation, had immediately broadcasted Normandy's location to the Collectors, and they had boarded the ship shortly after Joker pulled away from the heretic space station. Most of the crew has been captured alive, thrown into the Collector storage pods and taken onboard the Collector vessel. All those who had put up resistance, have been killed swiftly, not managing to even scrape one of their ruthless attackers.

Further examination of the ship reveals eight dead crew members. The rest have been taken, those including Chambers, Chakwas, Donnelly, Daniels, Gardner, and apparently Zaeed as well, they cannot find the corpse of the grizzled old mercenary anywhere.

Miranda is fuming with anger, venting it on Joker without hesitation. "Everyone? You lost everyone, and damn near lost the ship too?" she shouts, ignoring the warning stare Shepard sends in her direction.

"Relax, Miranda," Jacob says. "It's not like he was the only one who missed the signs. Whatever was inside the Reaper IFF, it was probably well hidden."

Miranda relaxes only slightly, and when EDI pops in to agree with Jacob's comment, she explodes again. "And don't even get me started on unshackling the damned AI!"

"It was the only way I could think of to save the ship," Joker manages, as Mordin now drops on his knees next to the battered pilot, starting to examine his injuries.

"I doubt we would be standing here now, if he hadn't done it," Shepard says in a tone that clearly warns Miranda from making any more angry accusations. _I wonder if that AI can be shackled anew after this. Or if we should even do that. Maybe she deserves a break, I mean, she did help us when she could have spaced Joker as well and then simply taken over the ship._ "EDI, what's the current status of the ship?" she asks the AI. "Is the IFF functional?"

"All systems have been purged and are operating at full capacity and the Reaper IFF is functional," EDI quickly elaborates. "Everything is in place for us to navigate the Omega-4 relay, Commander. Awaiting your orders."

"Right. I don't think we can afford to wait any more if we want to ever see our crew again. Our hand has been tipped," Morgan states grimly. _Damn the Cerberus lot, but they have Karin. Damn it. Gabby and Ken, too, they are a good sort. I can't let them die..._ "Everyone, let's... take care of the fallen, and clean up the ship a little bit. Then return to your posts and resume your duties. Make sure you're ready for what's to come."

"Just carry me to the pilot's seat and drop me there," Joker protests, trying to stave off Mordin's attempts at examining the severity of his fractures.

"Don't make me hit you with a portion of anesthetics, Joker," Morgan threatens him. "It will be at least six to eight hours before we reach the Omega-4. Let Mordin work. I need you in as good a shape as you can possibly be within this limited time frame."

"Damn it, Commander..." Joker finally gives in, his voice becoming a whisper. "Please, Shepard... make sure Dr. Chakwas is alright..."

* * *

Several hours later the Normandy SR-2 is well on her way speeding towards the Omega Nebula. The ship has been cleaned up to the best of their ability, and Joker has returned to take the helm once more again, and from the first glance everything appears to be back to normal.

Except there are a whole lot of empty seats on the ship. And eight full coffins down in the cargo bay.

For Commander Morgan Shepard, this is the time to mentally prepare herself for what might be the most challenging task she has ever faced. And that mental preparation involves making several calls to the people who have had the greatest impact on her life, professionally and privately.

"Shepard," the image of Admiral Hackett appears on the screen, as she makes the first of her planned calls. "You look like hell. Is everything alright?"

"Admiral," she replies, mustering a tired grin. "Thank you for reminding me to clean up a bit before I make my other calls. Just... got a bit busy cleaning my ship from dead bodies."

"Dead bodies?" Hackett asks, looking worried.

"The Collectors hit us, Admiral," Shepard mutters angrily. "But now... now that is about to change. We're going to hit them back. It's finally time to put an end to this."

Hackett sighs, shaking his head. "It's just... unfair that we must ask this of you again, Shepard. As if you have not sacrificed enough for the humanity." Morgan stays silent, so he continues. "How do you rate your chances, just between us two?"

"I don't know, Admiral, but we're as prepared as we can be," she replies. "If we're going down, we're going down fighting hard. But... I am hopeful that this is not the last conversation we will be having."

"Gods be willing, Commander," Hackett agrees vehemently.

"Admiral, I... I know I didn't come through on my offer to expose Cerberus," Shepard finally says. "I didn't have the intel until a few weeks back. But by then... circumstances had already changed. If I had disclosed that information... I would have put someone very close to me at risk. I am sorry that I could not do it."

"It's alright, Shepard," Admiral Hackett speaks quietly. "The importance of exposing Cerberus pales in comparison to what you are about to undertake. I wish you the best of luck, Commander."

"Thank you... Admiral," Shepard whispers, terminating the connection. _One down, three to go..._

* * *

"Captain Anderson," Shepard says, recognizing the surprised face of her old friend and once superior officer. "I hope I did not interrupt you from some conference of outstanding importance."

"You did, and I am glad for it," Anderson shakes his head, looking tired, suffering from overexposure to backroom politics. "Days like these, I still sometimes wish I was out there, chasing down geth together with you, Shepard."

"We can make a little side trip and pick you up from the Citadel," Morgan jokes. "We're taking the fight to the Collectors, and your assistance would be appreciated, I'm sure."

"You wouldn't have any use for an old man like me. With all that I've learned in these past two years, I could only talk and bore the Collectors to death." His face grows serious then. "So, it's time, then."

"Yeah," Shepard replies.

"Listen, Shepard. I... I know things have been rough after you came back. I would have wanted to spend more time with you, before... before watching you go through something like this again," there is bitter sadness in his voice.

"Me too, old friend," Morgan manages a smile. "Sadly, it seems, life isn't about getting what we want."

"God help us, we will speak again after your safe return, Commander."

"I can't wait to shake the Cerberus insignia off my shoulders, Captain," she says. "I want to finish this and come home. For real. To Earth. To the Alliance. Where I belong."

Anderson's voice catches with the emotion. "I hope to see it, my friend. I hope to see it."

"Be well, David," she says, switching the connection off. _Two down, two to go._

* * *

"Mom, is that you?" They have not seen each other for... what, four years now? There have been the occasional messages delivered to her private terminal and the odd FTL comm conversation, but she has not seen the image of her mother for a very long time. Captain Hannah Shepard looks a lot like Morgan remembers her mother, only a few more creases in her brow and several more strands of graying hair.

"Daughter," her mother speaks, shaking her head. "I barely recognize you, Morgan. You have... changed so much. All the responsibility you carry, it is showing."

"Don't tell me I look old," Morgan tries to chuckle.

"Not old. That is not what I meant to say. For the first time I look upon my child and I think 'she's all grown up now'," Captain Hannah admits.

"Aww. You didn't feel about me that way even after the Blitz?"

"No. What happened there... you were too young to face something like that," her mother's face is briefly contorted by anger. "Too damn young."

"Mom. I'm heading into something like that again," she finally admits the reason for this conversation. "I hate to do this to you. But they're calling this a suicide mission, and it probably is at that. Collector Base beyond Omega-4."

"Gods, have mercy," Captain Hannah shakes her head, briefly looking rattled, but quickly regaining composure. "I... understand. You will do humanity proud again, of that I am certain. My child is incapable of anything less."

"Oh god, mom..." Morgan tries to keep her face steady. _Don't cry, don't you fucking cry._ "You just had to say that, didn't you..."

"I can't help it. I **am** proud of you," her mother smiles softly.

"There was one other thing I wanted to tell you before we depart," Morgan says. "I... wanted to mention this earlier, but... we were both so busy, it kind of slipped my mind. There's... someone in my life now. Someone important. I'll be leaving her behind too when I go beyond the Omega-4 relay. I will do what I can to return, but if I don't... I just wanted you to know."

"Her? Ah, there goes my dream of ever having grandchildren."

"You could still have grandchildren. In fact, I promise you will, if I do succeed against the Collectors. They'll just be a lovely shade of blue," Morgan grins.

"...an asari?" Captain Hannah blinks. "I should have known. You kids always chase the latest fashion trends and whatnot!"

Morgan finds herself laughing despite the gravity of the situation. "Mom, I fear Liara is more to me than just a passing fashion trend," she says. "You'd love her. In fact, I'm going to make another promise. As soon as I return, we'll find the time to go out for a round of drinks so you can get to know her. Besides... after all these years, you'll also need to get to know your own daughter anew."

"You are not entirely wrong there," her mother admits. "But no matter what happens, know that you will always be my child, Morgan. And I will always love you. Always."

"Love you too," Morgan whispers. "See you soon." _Three down, one to go._

* * *

"It is time."

Liara is wringing her hands nervously, having trouble finding words. "Goddess, I have been awaiting this call, dreading every moment of waiting. I... suppose, I will be relieved for it to be over."

"One way or another."

"You promised me that there will be only one way this will end, Morgan," the asari says accusingly.

"And I meant that. I will do all that I can and more to come back, you know it," Morgan says.

"I know. I believe you, but it is still... killing me inside."

"I guess this is why they say that it's much harder on those staying behind," Morgan speaks softly, her heart breaking from the haunted, fear-filled expression in Liara's blue eyes. "I can at least determine my own fate with my actions. For those left behind, there is nothing to do but waiting. Hoping. Praying."

"I swore I won't cry," Liara sobs, pressing hands against her face, not wanting for Morgan to see the tears streaking down her face. "Goddess... don't cry, you fool. Be strong for her, be strong."

"You are my strength, Liara. And I am coming back, I promise."

"I know. I know..." the shaking of her lover's shoulders slowly calms down and she wipes away the last remnants of the tears on her cheeks.

"Besides, I just spoke to my mother," Shepard says, trying to smile. "Told her about you, finally. And I promised that after this is all over, we'll all go out for a round of drinks. I can't break promises to my mother and to my lover, can I now?"

"Don't even dream about it," Liara manages a small smile as well. "Did she... approve?"

"She was a little bit surprised, but otherwise accepting. Everything will work out, Liara. You'll see," she says softly.

"I will be waiting for you, Morgan. And I will be strong for you. Now go, do what you must and then return to me," Liara says, her voice threatening to break again. "Just... return to me."

"I promise," Morgan whispers, watching the image of her lover slowly fading away. _That's everything taken care of. It's time. Time to grind these Collectors to dust and go home. Once and for all._


	35. Through the Relay of Doom

_A/N: I ended up splitting the Suicide Mission in two chapters because it was getting kind of lengthy. The next part will be posted on Thursday, I sincerely apologize if this results in some chewed nails from all the horrible anxiety. :P _

**Chapter 34 - Through the Relay of Doom**

"Even though nobody has managed to return from a journey beyond the Omega-4 relay, the data obtained on the Collector ship has yielded some information about what we can expect on the other side," Commander Morgan Shepard addresses her crew, as the Normandy approaches its destination, gaining visual of the menacing looking relay, surrounded by warning beacons.

"The Collector homeworld is likely a massive space station, constructed by the Reapers. It is hidden near the galactic core, surrounded by black holes, protected by mass effect fields and radioactive shielding," she continues her grim recounting of facts. "Considering Omega-4 leads right into the galactic core, ships cannot survive passage through this relay using standard navigation protocols with long drift zones. It is estimated that there is only a small safe zone behind that relay. Joker... we're expecting you to work miracles, again."

"What would you do without me, Commander?" Joker asks flippantly, doing his best to mask his own nervousness.

"I probably wouldn't even be standing here, Joker," Shepard replies earnestly, watching him slowly and carefully guide the Normandy into a position for the relay jump. She folds her hands across her chest, as if staring down the deadly relay, as if to tell it she is not afraid. "Make it happen, little buddy," she finally gives the order.

At first it feels like any other relay jump, the familiar acceleration before emerging on the other side... and immediately deep into what at first looks like an asteroid field. "Shit! Shit, shit, shit!" Joker yells as the kinetic barriers take one hit after another, the helmsman doing his best to steer the ship through the deadly obstacles.

"That's no asteroid field," Miranda exclaims, grasping the railing so hard it looks as if she's about to twist the pieces of metal with her bare hands. "It's... a graveyard of ships!"

"All those poor bastards who have tried to make it through without any idea of what awaits them on the other side," Jacob remarks, appearing deceptively calm as Joker is still struggling to retain control of the Normandy. "Commander, some of those ships appear ancient, and I mean, really ancient."

Shepard sees it for herself, the strange, alien shapes of vessels of civilizations from millions years ago, some designs looking like something that she could never imagine even being space-worthy. Finally, Joker manages to pull the Normandy out of the field of debris, into the clear space. "Pfew... too close," he lets out a relieved sigh. "Too fucking close... let's not do that again, Commander?"

"Let's get this right and we won't have to," Shepard replies, her eyes scanning the visual before them, trying to see any signs of the Collectors or their hidden homeworld.

"I have detected an energy signature near the edge of the accretion disk," EDI informs them, at the same moment when they receive the visual that makes blood freeze in Shepard's veins. The ship graveyard spreads around them as far as her eyes can see, and in this sea of remains, she sees the Collector base, illuminated by the bright accretion disk of a nearby threateningly looming black hole. The base itself reminds her of the Collector vessel, it is of a similar elongated shape, only at least twenty times the size of the ship.

"So... that's where we're going, huh," Joker says.

Shepard swallows heavily before replying. "Yeah. That's exactly where we're going."

"You take us to the creepiest places, Commander," her pilot manages a brave chuckle. "I'm not sure even leather seats are worth this."

"Complain all you want, I know you're loving this," Shepard snaps back. "C'mon, take us in, nice and slow."

"Not sure that's going to be possible," Miranda points at something on the screens. The readings show several fast-moving ships approaching. The first red rays of particle weapon beams punch against the hull, prompting Joker to quickly attempt evasive maneuvers.

"C'mon baby," he gently speaks to the Normandy, his one true love. "Let's make good on all those upgrades..."

* * *

"Not one of your best landings, Joker," Tali comments, gingerly rising back up to her feet.

"Hey, you did say you wanted to get to the Collector base," Joker shrugs. "Well, here we are."

"I don't remember saying anything about wanting to crash into the Collector base, though..." Shepard corrects him.

"Well, we knew this was likely going to be a one way trip," Miranda states grimly, observing the damage reports of Normandy's systems.

"It's not a one way trip, Miranda," Morgan says, refusing to give up hope. "EDI and Joker will get this ship space-worthy again, while we're busy kicking the crap out of the Collectors."

"You all seem to forget one thing," Garrus reminds them, looking a little annoyed.

"What's that?" Shepard turns towards him.

"I just took out a Collector ship! Yes!" the turian exclaims animatedly, punching the air with his fist. "I don't want to hear another stupid, ignorant comment about calibrations ever again! Yeah! That felt good!"

"Uh, yeah, good job there Garrus," Shepard smiles, watching as Tali gently pats the excited Garrus on the shoulder. "Damn that Thanix cannon packs a helluva punch. Glad we have it. And glad we have you to get the most out of it."

"Thanks, Shepard," the turian replies, looking smug and satisfied.

"We should be looking for ways to get into the base, EDI," Shepard addresses the AI again. "I just hope it is safe to leave the ship out here."

"There is no internal security network that I can detect," EDI replies. "It is possible that the Collectors never expected anyone to reach this base."

"With damn good reason," Jacob mutters.

"Well, I guess they didn't count on the good old human ingenuity. Or stupidity, I'm still not sure which," Shepard tries cheerfully, hoping to inspire her team despite the slightly rough beginning, and possibly cut off escape route, if Normandy cannot be repaired. _Better not dwell on that now, first things first._

"Let's get ready to disembark," she then says, addressing the team. "We all knew this wasn't a mission where we could have a solid plan from start to finish. This was always going to be making-it-up-as-we-go kind of job. Taking out that Collector ship was a good start, but the real work is still ahead of us. Let's get cracking! EDI, scans, please."

The image of the Collector base immediately appears before them, outlining all passages, all access shafts, painting a complete picture of the structure they are supposed to bring down.

After some studying of the schematics, it becomes clear that to take down the station, they must reach the control center and overload all critical systems, that would likely cause the station to be violently destroyed. The path there leads through the central chamber of the station, with a massive energy signature in the middle of it, but for now Shepard doesn't even want to spend time guessing what it could be. There are two main routes leading towards the central chamber, and they all agree that it would be most prudent to split up and send teams down each path to keep the Collectors off balance.

"However, both routes are currently blocked," Miranda suddenly notices a critical flaw in their plans, pointing at something in the schematics. "See those doors? The only way to get through them is to get someone to open them from the other side."

"If our two teams can keep the Collectors distracted, someone could sneak in through the ventilation system here..." Jacob points out, before drawing himself up proudly. "Practically a suicide mission. I volunteer," he offers.

"Your offer is appreciated, but you couldn't shut down the security systems in time!" Miranda shakes her head vehemently.

"I'm sure Jacob is professional enough not to volunteer for jobs he does not have the necessary expertise to complete," Shepard intervenes. "I refuse to believe someone like Jacob would let his ego get in the way, considering what is at stake here."

"I can do it," Jacob repeats stubbornly.

"Alright, then it is decided," Miranda shakes her head at Morgan's decision. "Jacob will-" but then she finds herself interrupted by Kasumi.

"No, Shepard, don't do that," she speaks, almost pleadingly. "Please, send me instead. I'm a tech expert, I will have much better chances at succeeding." She turns towards Jacob. "I am sorry, but I will not watch you throw your life away." Jacob nods and lowers his eyes.

"Okay... it's Kasumi for the ventilation shaft crawling then," Morgan blinks. _Damn you, Jacob, what the hell were you thinking of?_ "Now, we need to form into two squads."

"You'll need a leader for the second squad, someone who can command loyalty through experience-" Miranda starts to speak, obviously suggesting herself, but earning a rude interruption from Jack.

"So not you, in other words," the psychotic-biotic laughs, enjoying the anger flashing up in Miranda's face.

"I was actually leaning towards Garrus," Shepard admits, looking at her turian friend. "He has a lot of experience leading mercenary and C-Sec teams."

"Fair enough," Miranda recovers quickly, swallowing her wounded pride. "I will have no difficulties in taking orders from Garrus."

"So, Garrus you take..." Shepard starts, seeing Tali subtly moving to the turian's side. "Tali, Miranda, Jacob, Thane and Legion. The others, you're with me. C'mon people, we know what's at stake here," she raises her voice again. "Such a team of specialists has never been put together before, and never will again. If we don't end this here today, nobody will. This is our one shot - don't make a mess of it now!"

* * *

"Well... that was surprisingly smooth," Garrus remarks, leading his team through the doors to reunite with Shepard's crew at the central chamber. Kasumi quickly seals the doors behind them, shutting out hordes of angry Collectors, just narrowly failing to overwhelm them before they had managed to reach the exit.

"Speak for yourself," Shepard winces, massaging her sore shoulder. "You probably didn't have that asshole of a Harbinger harassing you the whole time."

"You are arguing about who of you had it worse?" Kasumi gives them both stares full of incredulity. "Makes me want to toss you both in that ventilation shaft. I was suffocating and about to be roasted alive!"

"Yeah, top job, Kasumi. Sorry about forgetting you, you really saved our asses on this one," Shepard says gratefully. "If you had failed in getting those doors open... hell, they were really getting the message there at the end, starting to swarm us like crazy. Our guts would probably have become paintings on the other side of those doors, if not for you."

"I agree with the Commander," Jacob says, smiling at Kasumi. "That was amazing."

"Compare kill count later, Shepard?" Garrus asks, grinning.

"Yeah, yeah, we're not done here yet," Shepard brushes him off for now.

"Commander, I think you should see this," Miranda's voice alerts her, forcing Morgan to quickly turn around and refocus on the task ahead. They have reached the central chamber, but Shepard has not even yet explored their path ahead and now that she sees what lies in front of them, she almost wishes she could unsee it. There are those storage pods like on the Collector ship, but more, much more, and they are linked together with tubes, a disgusting brown-grey mass being pumped through them.

"What the hell... can you spot our crew anywhere?" Shepard asks, seeing that the others are now spreading out and looking for any pods that are still full.

"Over here, Shepard," Miranda calls out again, sounding distressed. She stands in front of the pod which contains a young woman wearing a Cerberus uniform. "Crewman Sarah Patel," Lawson speaks, pointing at the desperate, wild-eyed woman, banging on the pod's cover from the inside. "Let's get her... out?" she stops, realizing that something is wrong.

Together with Shepard, they both stare with mouths agape in shock and surprise as crewman Patel simply... melts before their eyes, her panicked screams muffled by the thick glass cover. Her body merely breaks down, starting with skin, soft tissue and followed by bones, reduced to a few bowls worth of disgusting reddish-brown mass. "Holy... fuck," Shepard exclaims, shouting out to everyone. "If you see anyone alive in those pods... get them out as fast as you can! Gods, just get them out!"

"Got Daniels here, alive," Jacob reports. "Working on Donnelly, looks safe."

Shepard herself is trying to smash through the lid of one of the pods, whacking it with the butt of her rifle. When she manages to break it, an already profusely bleeding Kelly Chambers slumps into her arms and she gently lowers the injured woman down on the ground before moving to the next pod, only able to watch on as crewman Hawthorne is reduced to pieces of brownish muck and his mortal remains quickly sucked out of the pod and pumped away through the tubes.

"Oh for the love of god!" Miranda cries, next to her. She has managed to break one of the pods, but a little too late. The process of disintegration has already been initiated and Miranda is covered from head to toes in blood and gore of a fellow teammate. "...I think I'm going to be sick," she moans, bending over and struggling not to vomit. "Mass Sergeant Gardner just... sloshed all over me..."

"Anyone's seen Zaeed?" Morgan asks on the comms, once her stomach has stopped heaving.

"Working on getting him out," Thane replies, and Shepard can see him and Samara frantically working on one of the pods, finally forcing it open. "He's alright," comes the much awaited report.

"Give that man a gun," Shepard orders. "He'll want to shoot the Collectors twice as much now. Anyone seen Chakwas... no, don't bother answering, I see her," she speaks, seeing her old friend's unmistakable mop of grey hair.

"C'mon Karin, hold on," Morgan tells herself, sprinting towards the pod, rifle raised. "Fuck... fuck, fuck, fuck," she repeats after every whack with her weapon. "Don't you die on me now... don't you die on me..." The glass shatters. She reaches inside the pod, taking Dr. Chakwas in her arms and pulling her out of the horrific prison.

"Do we have them all?" Garrus asks, sounding shaken.

"I haven't seen Hadley anywhere," Jacob remarks, leading Gabby and Ken back towards the main group.

"I, ah... think he just... rained on me," Kasumi says, before excusing herself as her stomach lurches and its contents demand to be violently expunged in reaction to the traumatizing sight.

Despite everything, Shepard manages a sigh of relief. _Karin, Gabby, Ken, we got them at least. I will mourn the others, but at least I saved those closest to me... small comfort, but I must take what consolation I can._

Dr. Chakwas is slowly coming to, still resting on the ground. "Shepard..." she whispers faintly, attempting to rise. "You... came for us."

"I tried my best, but I was late for some of them," Morgan admits ruefully. "Our own crewmates were... I don't know, processed. And Chambers is in need of medical attention."

"If you hadn't come when you did... I was... I was minutes away from a gruesome death," Dr. Chakwas shakes in realization, before her professional instincts kick in and she crawls towards Kelly Chambers, starting to examine her wounds. "Those swarms of little robots, they... melted their bodies into liquid and pumped it through these tubes..."

"I saw that," Shepard nods. "And we're putting a stop to it. But first... Joker, can you get a fix on our position?" she tries to reach the Normandy on the comms. "We have survivors here and we need a pickup. Can you accommodate?"

"We should have enough systems online for that now," Joker responds. _Finally, some good news. Looks like we can get the old girl in the air after all._ "Sending coordinates for a safe landing zone nearby."

"And when you say safe, you mean..." Shepard starts to speak.

"Relatively few Collectors in the way between you and the LZ," he replies.

"Brilliant. We'll need to send someone back with the crew," Morgan addresses her team. "They'll never make it in this state."

"Shepard, I hate to say this, but we cannot afford to weaken our forces!" Miranda protests.

"I know, but Gabby and Ken could do a lot to help with Normandy's repairs," Morgan shakes off Miranda's concerns. "And Karin needs to get Chambers to the medbay. Who could we... Mordin! Can you get the crew back to the LZ safely? Ask Joker to broadcast his location."

"Will do, Shepard," Mordin nods, saluting. "Happy to serve in any capacity."

"Good luck to you," Morgan says to her salarian friend, escorting the surviving crew members, before turning back towards her team, facing her and awaiting their orders. "...and good luck to us..."


	36. Your Base Belongs to Us

_A/N: So, here's the second part of the Suicide Mission. Please allow me to apologize for the silly and campy chapter title. :D This was written while listening to the OST track 'Reaper Chase' on loop. I heartily recommend it as a fitting listening music for this chapter. Heck, if you haven't listened to the OST, I urge you to correct that mistake as soon as possible, it is full of epic goodness.  
_

**Chapter 35 - Your Base Belongs to Us**

"The main control room is right above us. The route is blocked by a security door, but there's another chamber that runs parallel to the one that we're in," Shepard lays out the situation before her team. "However, thermal emissions suggest that the chamber is overrun by seeker swarms. Mordin's countermeasure was not built to withstand so many at once. We would be... processed as soon as we set foot into that chamber."

A lot of grim faces stare at her after that comment, until Samara speaks up. "I might be able to generate a biotic field to keep them at bay," she says. "Enough to protect a small team if they stay close."

"It's worth a shot," Miranda agrees. "In fact, any biotic here could maintain such a field. How do you want to play this, Shepard?"

"Let's split in two equal groups again," Shepard says. "I'll take Samara and Jack with me to provide the biotic fields. Kasumi, Thane, Grunt, you're with me. The rest follow Garrus as you create a diversion along the main passage. We'll open the security doors from the other side to let you through."

"Shepard, you better be there in time, I'm not letting these freaks get me again," Zaeed growls, taking a practice aim with his assault rifle. "Appreciate getting me out of there."

"She'll be there," Garrus says, looking at Shepard with nothing but utter confidence and trust in his eyes. "The Commander will come through for us, and we will do the same for her. Is that clear?" A chorus of cheers resound in reply.

"All right. Let's move out, people!" Shepard shouts, turning back to her turian friend. "Good luck, Garrus. See you on the other side." Garrus nods with a small smile, before leading his team away.

* * *

"Shit, shit, shit!" Jack curses, trying her best to maintain the biotic field as they cross the heart of the chamber, crawling at frustratingly slow pace to allow the biotic specialists to maintain their concentration. Around them, the chamber is gusting with the seeker swarms, like massive grey mosquito clouds, bouncing at the biotic barriers, and fortunately for them getting deflected at every attempt.

"We need to pick up the pace," Thane says, in one of those rare moments when his pistols are not firing to drop yet another ambitious Collector drone. "The longer we take, the more reinforcements they will summon!"

"Going as fast as I'm able, so can it fish-face!" Jack snaps back.

"Keep at it, don't panic!" Shepard adds warningly, thankful for the fact that the biotic field also protects them from the Collector weapons fire, and those seeking to harm them actually need to get close enough to pass through the barrier. In such close quarters, their secret weapon in the shape of Grunt usually rips apart every Collector who dares to approach.

"_**Direct intervention is necessary**_." _Yeah, except that guy. He's still a fucking pain in the ass,_ Morgan thinks grimly, watching as the Harbinger yet again launches his attacks at their biotic fields, aiming to disable them and leave them vulnerable, sitting ducks before the seeker swarms. She drops on her knee and brings the sniper rifle in position, the small laser dot focusing on the brow of the possessed drone. A quick, gentle push of the trigger, and the skull in the scope shatters from the heavy impact. "_**Destroying this body gains you nothing.**_"

Indeed, it almost feels as if the Harbinger is correct. With a limitless supply of drones to possess, there is no way to shake him off, but fortunately, they can now see the exit of the chamber, just a small descent with relatively few Collectors and husks in their way.

"Shepard... having difficulties... maintaining..." Samara manages and Shepard turns around to see that the asari together with Grunt and Kasumi are lagging behind, unable to keep up.

_Goddamnit._ "You can do it, Samara, I know you can," she speaks pleadingly, encouragingly. "Everyone, keep the Collectors off her. We can do this!"

"_**Asari; reliance upon alien species for reproduction shows genetic weakness.**_" Shepard recognizes the voice she really did not want to hear right now, coming from far closer than she would like to. A massive warp field hits Samara's biotic barrier, almost shattering it. _The fuck he needed to show up right now!_

"Fall back, Jack, we need to wait for the others," she shouts, frantically trying to spot the Harbinger in the sights of her sniper rifle, but they are too far ahead, too many obstacles back in the way to get a clear shot. "Drop the barrier, Samara! Grunt, Kasumi, grab her and run to us! Jack will protect you!"

A heavy blast explodes in the middle of Samara's biotic field, mere moments after Shepard has given her orders, Morgan's mouth still wide and now it does not close, watching the scene before her in shock. Grunt and Kasumi are thrown off their feet, but they recover quickly, and charge back towards them, Grunt dragging the smaller human with him to safety.

Samara is not as lucky.

Her body is launched through the air following a violent explosion, falling right at Shepard's feet, blood pouring profusely from deep wounds in her chest and neck. _Not good. Not good!_ Without thinking, she bends down and picks up Samara's limp, broken body in her arms, hoping that there is something that can still be done.

The entrance is less than fifty yards ahead of them, with only a half dozen husks in the way. She decides to risk it, knowing that the only way to save Samara is to hurry the hell up. "Fuck the barriers! We're almost there, just run! Run for the entrance!"

Their disorganized, panicking lines charge for safety, shooting the husks as they run by them, but fortunately their exposure to the seeker swarms is not long enough for them to suffer permanent damage, Mordin's countermeasure proving adequate to at least get them into the safe chamber, closing the heavy security doors behind them.

"We're pinned down against that door," she hears Garrus' frantic voice on the comms, finally clear from the swarm interference. "We need them open, now!"

"Kasumi!" she shouts out to the thief and the Japanese girl rushes towards the locked security doors, starting to work on getting them open, as Shepard gently lowers the badly wounded justicar on the ground, noticing that she is still conscious, albeit just barely.

"Hold on, Samara, medi-gel is on its way," Morgan whispers, rapidly trying to administer what healing she can, even if the rational part of her mind realizes that it won't do much good.

"Don't bother, Shepard... too late... for me," Samara says weakly, trickle of blue blood flowing from the corner of her mouth and through her nose. "Promise... you find Morinth. Finish my job... promise..."

Shepard takes the asari's hand in hers, bitter tears falling on Samara's armor. "I promise. I'm sorry I... failed you, my friend..."

"Not your fault... don't... blame..." Samara's head rolls to the side before she can finish. Morgan wipes the tears away from her face, rising from the ground, knowing that despite Samara's words she will never stop blaming herself for this failure.

There is no time for grief, however, when Kasumi finally manages to force the security door open. The distraction team is under such heavy weapons fire from what feels like hundred of Collector drones, that Shepard briefly wonders how are they even still alive. "Suppressive fire! Cover their exit!" she yells to her team, switching to her assault rifle and spraying the incoming Collectors with bullets, Grunt, Thane, Jack all providing support.

One after another, the distraction team flee through the doors, Zaeed as the last one. "Get those doors closed, girl!" he shouts at Kasumi, plowing down one drone after another. "Move it! We don't have the whole day to wait until you're done!"

Kasumi swears and gives an angry look to Zaeed, her concentration breaking momentarily. "Fall back, Zaeed!" Shepard shouts to the old mercenary who seems to be overtaken by some sort of berserker rage. "Fall in line, your shields are about to fail!"

Eventually her orders manage to penetrate Zaeed's brains and he slowly walks backwards, continuing to fire. The door is finally starting to slide shut, but is doing so agonizingly slowly. Shepard pushes Grunt away from the line of Collector fire, when she hears his shields fizzling, even as she knows her own are at a critically low level. There is only a small gap of two feet in the doors, no more, when Zaeed's shields also give out.

Only two more shots pass through the doors before they close for good.

The first one plunges into Zaeed's left shoulder, forcing him to throw his head backwards from the force of the impact.

The second one rips into the side of his head where he was shot twenty years ago by Vido Santiago. The shot takes off half of his face, smearing blood and bits of his brains on the wall behind them.

_Rage is a hell of an anesthetic... but it's not that good,_ Shepard thinks grimly, watching Zaeed's lifeless body topple to the ground.

"Dibs on his Fornax collection!" Grunt roars, completely inappropriately.

_And suddenly we're down by two..._ Shepard curses mentally, as she quickly takes a look around to survey the surroundings they have ended up in. "Focus, people!" she shouts out, knowing that they cannot dwell on the casualties suffered so far. "We will honor the fallen later, but for now, we still have work to do! I think... those there are platforms similar to the ones we saw on the Collector ship. They should take us up to the main controls. We are getting close to our goal, we cannot falter now!"

"They will cut through those doors soon enough," Garrus remarks, grimly pointing at the security door, the only barrier between them and hundreds of determined Collectors. "If we're all up on those platforms, we'll be easy pickings."

"I was getting to that," Shepard nods. "We need to leave behind a team to guard these doors." She looks around, satisfied when she sees ample opportunities for cover. "This might actually work. The position is well defendable and they will be easy targets coming in through those doors. Your only worry should be running out of ammo."

"So a small team goes on to overload critical systems while the rest stay here to hold the line?" Jacob asks. "An unenviable task, but we're all behind your decision, Commander."

"If we do this quick, the Normandy may be able to extract you before the critical systems overload," Shepard says, trying to bolster the morale of those who would remain behind. "Can you confirm that, EDI?"

"There is a suitable zone for extraction nearby," the AI replies after a brief analysis of the scans. "Sending the location."

"Tali, Garrus, with me," Morgan orders quickly. _Not just because I want to give them the best chances of survival. Also because I trust them the most. They will never let me down._

"The next few minutes will determine the fate of this mission," she addresses her team, as Tali already starts to work on hacking the platform controls. "The galaxy depends on us. You know this already, there is not much more that needs to be said. Make me proud. Make yourselves proud," Shepard finishes as the platform takes off to carry them towards the central control chamber.

* * *

The platform floats through the massive chambers deep inside the Collector base, filled with pods and tubes linking them all together. "Those tubes all seem to connect to... whatever it is over there," she points ahead to the end of the cavern-like chamber.

"The tubes are feeding into some kind of superstructure," EDI explains over the comms. "It is emitting both organic and non-organic energy signatures. The readings suggest something massive."

"But the only thing we know of such scope that could be part organic and part synthetic is..." Tali starts, before being interrupted by Garrus.

"A Reaper," he states grimly.

"Don't worry, EDI... we see it..." Shepard says, her breath catching from the horrific sight opening before them. The tubes all as one feed into a massive, incomplete carcass, hanging suspended by wires and four larger feeding tubes, and even if it is incomplete, Shepard gets the distinct impression that the Reaper which the Collectors are building is meant to resemble a shape of a human being.

"Okay, and now we know the reasons for the abductions and the Reaper interest in humanity," Garrus realizes. "They are building a human Reaper."

"How very flattering," Shepard says, bristling with anger. "I guess they acknowledge that we are the superior species of this cycle. Oh, how fortunate we are!"

"Do you think that... they would have still targeted humanity, if not for… what we did?" Tali humbly suggests.

"If I hadn't led us to Sovereign's destruction," Shepard suddenly realizes what she means, it is like a sharp, painful stab in her chest. "No... I don't think that before Saren's invasion... they even considered humanity remotely interesting. If I... if I hadn't been there, maybe the Collectors would currently be harvesting the asari or turians..."

"You say that as if it were your fault, Shepard," Garrus says, putting a hand on her shoulder. "But come now, Commander. You know that Saren had to be stopped."

"I know, I'm not feeling guilty," she replies, suddenly remembering something Mordin told her when confronted about the genophage. "Still... responsible. Still, consequences of my actions." She readies her assault rifle. "And we're not going to stand here and watch them complete this monstrosity." She points at the four massive tubes collecting the genetic material from the supply lines and injecting it into the carcass of the Reaper. "Those seem to be holding it suspended in the air. Let's take them out!"

"_**The experiments will continue, Shepard**_," there is that loathed voice again, and several other platforms are closing in, bringing Collector forces with them. "_**You do not yet comprehend your place in things.**_"

"I guess it was too much to hope for, that they would just sit and watch us bringing down their creation," Garrus curses, taking aim, and moments later a headless Collector assassin is thrown off from one of the approaching platforms.

"We can try to hold them off while you work on those injection tubes, Shepard," Tali suggests.

"Fine with me," Shepard agrees, starting to pepper the structural weak points with her carefully measured shots. Unfortunately, the Collectors quickly realize their plan and rally to put on more pressure on them, forcing Morgan to come to Tali and Garrus' aid, or risk them getting overwhelmed.

"_**Turian; you are considered... too primitive**_," the Harbinger drones on, his biotic nova attack catching Garrus in his cover and throwing him back, the turian struggling to get back on his feet.

"Garrus!" Tali exclaims, leaving her cover in an ill-advised moment to unload a few shots at the Harbinger. All she gets for her efforts is a heavy shot from a nearby Collector guardian, catching her in the side and dropping her tech barriers.

Shepard looks at the Reaper above them. With her taking potshots when able to, it is by now already rocking, threatening to fall. "Focus, Tali! On three!" she shouts to her quarian friend.

"On three what, Shepard?" comes the frustrated reply.

"Look up, see the exposed tube at four o'clock?" Shepard asks. Tali quickly nods. "On three, I want you to break cover and shoot it. Can you do that?" Another nod comes. "Alright... one... two... three!"

Tali falls immediately after unleashing the shot, her tech barriers not sufficiently recovered to withstand the barrage of attacks aimed at her. Fortunately the injuries seem light, as Shepard quickly takes aim and destroys the last shreds of wiring keeping the Reaper suspended above Harbinger's platform. She feels the heavy fire penetrating her own shields, sharp pain coursing through her body, she sees the sprays of her own blood as she falls with her back on the platform, but even so, she knows she has done what was required.

"Take a look upwards, you stupid piece of shit!" she yells, watching the Reaper tumble down with a violent screech, smashing into the Harbinger's platform and taking the remaining Collector forces with it down into the depths of the chamber.

"_**You have only delayed the inevitable**_," she hears the last words of the Harbinger, pleased to detect a degree of annoyance and frustration seeping into them.

"Tell it to someone who gives a fuck," she mutters, injecting a dose of medi-gel in her aching frame, feeling it quickly take effect and allowing her to rise. Morgan is relieved to see that Garrus is up as well, shaking his head from the daze, and Tali is also up and about, even if her suit is ruptured yet again, meaning that the quarian will need a more serious medical attention later.

"Can you get this thing to move to the control chamber?" she asks Tali, the quarian immediately starting to work on the platform controls, sending them traveling through the chamber again. "And once we get there, set their systems to overload. Let's blow this little house of horrors to kingdom come."

"Gladly," Tali says, still busy with her hacking efforts.

"Joker?" Shepard calls out on the comms. "Start moving the Normandy to the extraction spot. Tell the ground team to be ready to move. This place is going up in flames in a few minutes!"

"Copy that, Commander. We're on our way," Joker promptly responds. A brief moment later she hears his voice on the comms again. "Err, Commander, I have an incoming message from The Illusive Man. Patching it thr-"

"Don't. Terminate the connection," Shepard replies firmly.

"...beg your pardon, Commander?" she can literally see Joker's eyes going wide from surprise.

"You heard me. I'm not interested to hear what he has to say, especially not now when we are fighting for our lives!" she shouts. "Don't you get it, Joker? After this is done, I'm going to screw him twenty times over! I'm going to take his ship and bring it back to the Alliance. I am going to cut all ties with Cerberus and if he has a problem with that, I will cut off his balls with my omni-blade. Got that?"

"Uh... yeah, Commander," Joker sounds a bit disturbed. "Would have been nice to be aware of such plans… just saying."

"Nah," Shepard answers dismissively. "Didn't want to spoil the surprise for you. I know how much you love surprises."

"Uh-huh," Joker merely replies. _I'll apologize to him later. First we need to make sure there is a 'later'..._

"Alright, the reactor is set to overload in ten minutes," Tali says, having finished fiddling with the controls.

"Good job," Garrus nods. "Although... when you disabled the critical systems... wouldn't that cause this platform to lose altitude?"

Tali turns towards Garrus, facing him with a long stare. "Oh yes. Good point," she finally admits. "As the humans would say... oops?"

* * *

"Ground team, come in ground team!" Joker's voice is full of panic, as he agonizingly waits for response, fearing that the last line of the defense has been broken.

"Joker," finally Miranda responds, through a lot of heavy arms fire. "What's the sitrep?"

"Move to the extraction zone ASAP!" Joker shouts. "This place is rigged to blow in... less than six minutes!"

"This is going to be a little risky, we're under heavy fire," Miranda replies, continuing to fire away at the persistent drones, by now slowed down by the amount of dead bodies at the door, forming an impromptu line of barricades. "Alright, Jack, Legion, Kasumi, head for the LZ, now! Move!" Lawson shouts to her entrenched comrades. "We'll cover your retreat!"

Jack doesn't need to be told twice, she fires off a heavy shockwave scattering the Collectors at the entrance, refreshes her biotic barriers and is already running to safety, Legion not far behind. Only Kasumi hesitates slightly. "Who's going to cover you?" she asks, looking at Jacob in particular.

"Don't question my orders! Just go!" Miranda yells, irritated at the disobedience.

Kasumi no longer hesitates, activating her cloaking and leaving the cover, but in the thick of the gunfire, a completely stray shot that would have otherwise missed everyone, catches her invisible shape and disrupts the cloaking, leaving her completely vulnerable to the incoming barrage.

Things happen so fast that she cannot even blink an eye or do anything to prevent the horrible sequence of events. She is suddenly aware of someone's body interposing between her and the Collector attackers, getting ripped apart by series of shots, falling heavily on top of her, giving their life for hers.

She opens her eyes to see Jacob's head pressed against her chest, his body heavy and sluggish on top of hers. "Jacob? Jacob!" she exclaims, hoping for an answer, but the rapidly growing pool of warm blood under her implies there will be no reply. "Oh gods, no... no, Jacob... no..."

* * *

There is a worried voice, screaming somewhere in the pitch black darkness surrounding her. "Commander! Commander Shepard!" it shouts at Morgan, forcing her to draw an agonizingly painful breath. "Come in, Commander! Shepard, respond!"

"Joker?" she manages weakly, opening her eyes. She is still somewhere in the central chamber, deep in what seems like a pile of rubble, remains of the crashed platform.

"Commander, you're alive!" the voice rejoices. "2:45 to the detonation, Shepard! We need to get you out of there! Drop us your location!"

"Sent," she replies, starting to look around, hoping to find Tali and Garrus. She notices the quarian first, slumped against the wall nearby, unmoving. Dreading the worst, Shepard approaches her, shaking all over as she reaches down to touch Tali's limp hand. "Oh gods... everyone but you, Tali..."

The quarian's hand suddenly grips hers tightly, and a tremor runs through Tali's body as she shakes herself back to consciousness. "Gods, Tali... don't scare me like that," she feels like a giant weight has fallen off her chest. "Don't you ever scare me like that."

"I... don't feel so good, Shepard..." Tali groans, slowly getting up. "Garrus, where's Garrus?" she asks worriedly.

Together they look around, finding Garrus nearby, lying face first in the rubble and groaning in pain as a heavy metal panel is slowly crushing his spine. With their last bits of strength, Shepard and Tali move the panel away and pull Garrus back up on his feet, ignoring his pained protestations, knowing that time is of essence.

"1:35," Joker reminds her on the comms. "Almost at your location, Commander. Start moving!"

"I know we're hurt and bleeding all over, but come on, only this last bit remains..." Shepard tells them, starting to climb up the pile of rubble, back towards the location Joker has pinpointed on her visor's HUD. And as if they have not been through enough already, suddenly she hears the familiar swarming sound of the Collector drone wings as a group of them arrives to harass them, one of their foes immediately becoming possessed by her old friend, the Harbinger. "Oh, fuck this!" she yells, shooting wildly at them, at least buying Tali and Garrus some time to escape. "C'mon, double time, people! Almost there! We can't die here! What fucker would have written a shitty script like that?"

"_**Human, you've changed nothing,**_" she can hear Harbinger's voice behind her, as she turns around and just runs, not bothering to fire back, hoping her shields would hold. "_**Your species has the attention of those infinitely greater.**_"

"1:15!" panic is once against starting to seep into Joker's voice on the comms. "Hurry up, we still need to get clear of this place!"

"_**That which you know as Reapers are your salvation through destruction**_," Harbinger is still close behind, and suddenly her left thigh explodes in pain, but she does not even spare a second glance as to why, she simply forces herself to keep running, to ignore the pain, to get through it.

"One minute! Where are you people?" Joker shouts.

"There's the Normandy!" Tali yells, first one up the steep climb, as the Normandy appears in front of them, a blessed, welcome sight.

"Jump, Tali!" Garrus exclaims, almost throwing the lithe quarian across to the Normandy's airlock, then looking back at Shepard with growing concern, seeing that she is slowed down by her injuries. "Come on, Commander!" he yells, drawing his rifle and picking off a couple of drones that have almost caught up with Shepard.

"Get inside!" she screams back to him. "I'm right behind you!" _Only a few more yards. I can do it... I can do it!_

"45 seconds!" Joker yells. "We really need to leave... NOW!"

Finally, she reaches the top of the climb and without hesitating, Morgan leaps through the air, flailing madly with her arms. _Hate this so much, hate this jumping business,_ she thinks as someone, probably Grunt, picks her up as easily as if she was a mere feather and throws her inside the docking bay, where she can bleed out on the floor in relative safety.

"40 seconds," Joker comments. "All airlocks sealed, prepare for immediate extraction."

"Did the ground team make it?" Shepard asks, lying on the docking bay floor, eyes closed, feeling someone taking care of her injuries.

"All save for Jacob," Thane replies, his words setting Morgan's insides in another bitter twist.

"20 seconds," it is Joker on the comms again. "Leaving the Collector base."

"Plot the course for Omega, Joker," she responds to his worried message with hysterical giggling. "I think after this I need to hit Afterlife for a round of drinks. We all... deserve that."

"10 seconds," now it is EDI again. "Safe zone reached. Preparing for the relay jump."

Moments later, the blindingly white light of the explosion seems to penetrate even the darkness of the docking bay. For a while Normandy is getting rocked with tremors, but soon the ship steadies itself. Finally, Morgan feels the tension and the adrenaline starting to bleed off, as the true understanding of what they have achieved slowly settles in.

"We've done it. I've done it... for you, Liara," she whispers, tears starting to freely flow down her cheeks, and she does not give damn about anyone watching. "I'm coming home... to you. Time to come home..."


	37. The Bitter Taste of Victory

**Chapter 36 - The Bitter Taste of Victory**

_Hey babe, _

_Just a quick note to tell you that I'm alive. Don't have the energy for more right now. We're just going to stop at Omega for a little celebration and then I'm coming home to you. Told you I would keep my promise! _

_Also, I might have done something to piss The Illusive Man off somewhat fierce. Or if I haven't yet, I will do that very shortly. I know I might be putting you in danger by doing this, so be careful. Even if I don't think he will react as quickly. Just... be careful. See you soon._

_Love, Morgan_

Shepard hits the 'send' button, before switching on the comms. "What's the ETA to Omega, Joker?"

"Thirty minutes, give or take," comes the reply.

"Perfect, thanks."

* * *

"Kasumi?" Shepard asks, stepping inside the young thief's quarters. She is sitting on the floor cross-legged, eyes closed, body perfectly still in meditation. "Can we talk?"

Her eyes open, but avoid facing Shepard. "What about?" she asks, no sign of her usual cheerfulness.

"I heard of what happened. Just thought... it might help to talk about it," Morgan clumsily suggests.

"You want to talk?" Kasumi's voice is full with disbelief. "You don't want to talk to me, you are probably regretting bringing me with you!"

"Why would I ever feel that way, Kasumi?" Shepard asks softly.

"Because, I... I..." she falters, turning away. "I got them both killed. I... failed."

"Don't think like that," Morgan sits on the floor next to her, putting her arm on the young thief's shoulder. "Zaeed did not die because you were slow at closing the doors. If he hadn't shouted at you and interrupted your work, he probably would have lived. That one was not your fault."

"You know this isn't about Zaeed."

"I figured it might not be, yeah," Shepard nods. "But you saved Jacob's life when you took his place in those ventilation shafts. In a way, he... returned the favor by saving your life in return."

"Didn't want him to do that. Would have never asked..." Kasumi sobs. "Better me than him, I would have at least been with Keiji again..."

"Come here," Shepard wraps her arms around her crying comrade, holding her tightly. "You really liked him, didn't you."

"Yes. And I thought he was starting to notice me, too... just so unfair. Why is life so unfair, Shep?"

"I don't know Kasumi, but I do see what you mean. Liara and I, we... never seem to have any time for ourselves during all these years. Maybe we're just meant to be miserable," she makes a sad attempt at a chuckle.

"Sure feels that way sometimes," Kasumi nods.

"I just don't want you to feel guilty over something that isn't your fault. Once the dust settles, you will realize that yourself, I'm sure," Shepard says, trying not to think of Samara as she speaks. Now and then, she finds herself staring at her hands, feeling the justicar's blue blood still flowing across her palms, staining them, the guilt burning like acid on her skin.

"Knowing that you don't blame me is a good start, Shep," Kasumi manages to sound a little less depressed. "Maybe... maybe I just need to find something to do. What's next on the agenda for you?"

"Well, I... planned to bring this bird back home to the Alliance," Shepard says.

"Oh... right," Kasumi realizes. "You'll need to drop us off at some point."

"Yeah..." Morgan admits. "Sorry about that."

"Actually... Omega's not a bad spot for someone looking to forget everything else about their lives..." Kasumi muses thoughtfully. "At least for a few days. Yeah, I'm getting off at Omega. Should probably start packing my gear."

Shepard reaches out and takes Kasumi's hand in hers, squeezing it gently. "There's no rush. But for what it's worth... it was a pleasure to have met you, Kasumi-san."

* * *

"Miranda?" she asks, opening the doors to her XO's quarters. "Can I come in?"

"What... oh yes, Shepard. Come in," Miranda looks tired, for once not appearing perfect. She sits slumped at the desk, holding her head in her hands.

"Everything alright?" Shepard asks, feeling a little surprised and worried about Miranda's appearance.

"No. Everything is... most definitely **not** alright," Miranda replies hoarsely. "I just had a... very difficult conversation with The Illusive Man. He was... rather vocal about some of your actions as of late."

"Already, huh? I haven't even begun pissing him off properly," Shepard shrugs, taking a seat opposite to Miranda. "He wanted something from me while I was busy blowing up the Collector base."

"Yes... he was having... second thoughts about it," Miranda admits. "He wanted you to preserve it for Cerberus. To use its resources against the Reapers. Something like that..." she adds tiredly.

"Your thoughts? All that Reaper tech in The Illusive Man's hands?" Morgan asks. "Sounds like a good idea to you? Something you would trust him to use responsibly? Without risking to become indoctrinated?"

Miranda takes a deep breath, finally fixing a firm stare at her. "No, I... that's why I said my conversation with him was... very difficult," she says quietly. "That was the first time I went against his orders. He was... unhappy."

"I'm proud of you, Miranda. I really am. For what it's worth," Shepard says, feeling deeply touched.

"More than you might realize..." Miranda admits. "Still, I... this puts us both into difficult position. I think he realizes that you have no intentions of continuing to work with him."

"I don't have any such intentions, no," Morgan nods. "I was hoping you would come to a similar decision yourself."

"I... would have thrown my resignation in his face, but then... then I remembered one thing," Miranda says. "Oriana. If I walk out on him, The Illusive Man will want revenge. I must move Oriana yet again. I... cannot forgive myself for doing this to her."

"You might want to consider handing in that resignation, until you have secured your sister's safety, Miranda."

"That is what I will do. Gods, back then you were right, Shepard, and I was so blind in my faith in him! How could I have been so stupid?"

"On this occasion, I take no joy in being proven right, Miranda," Shepard says quietly.

"Considering your plans to return to the Alliance, and my need to maintain an illusion of still being loyal to Cerberus..." Miranda speaks. "Commander, I think it would be in the best interests of us both if you ordered me to leave the ship and never to return."

Morgan nods wordlessly. "It's... stupid, really," she adds a while later.

"What is?" Miranda looks at her.

"There was time when I couldn't wait to kick you off my ship," Morgan admits. "But now when I have to, I find myself... not wanting to. Not anymore. I've grown to... respect, even admire you in a way."

"That... means a lot to hear, Commander," Miranda's smile is serene.

"If I could ask you for one favor, before you leave," Morgan looks at her. Miranda nods in reply. "It might be best if you took the Cerberus crew with you when you disembark. Chambers is back on her feet, and while I would wish to keep Ken and Gabby, I don't think it would be a good idea. Joker and Chakwas will stay on with me."

"Very well, I will inform them to make preparations for leaving," Miranda says.

Shepard rises from the chair and is about to leave Lawson's quarters, when she suddenly remembers something she has been meaning to say. "Oh yes, I almost forgot. My condolences about Jacob."

"Thank you, Commander. He was a... good man. Too good for Cerberus, really," there is a brief flicker of sadness in Miranda's eyes. "But if you want to comfort someone, it should be that girl, Kasumi. I hear she's taking it hard."

"It's been taken care of," Shepard says, before leaving. "Goodbye, Miranda. And the best of luck to you..."

* * *

Feeling tired, she watches the others spin in the crowd of dancers in the Afterlife, the sharp techno beat failing to set her feet in motion, the weariness in her heart making her immune to the desire of joining the revelry. Jack and Grunt are there, and Tali has dragged Garrus to the dance floor as well, and Morgan smiles briefly at how uncomfortable her turian friend looks out there. She has chosen to remain at the table she shares with Karin Chakwas, Thane and Mordin, working on emptying the bottle of brandy before her at faster than the recommended pace.

_We've defeated the Collectors. We won. I can go home. To Liara, to the Alliance. Why do I feel so... I don't even know like what. I should be happy. For once,_ she thinks, pouring in another glass. _Maybe I'm not happy because of all the new scars we've acquired. The people we lost. The new things to feel guilty about. About having to watch my friends leave again..._

"Shouldn't you be out there, Commander?" Chakwas looks at her, pointing at the dance floor.

"Maybe later," she shrugs in reply. "How are you holding up, Doc? That... couldn't have been easy, what you had to go through."

"No, I... I will probably never stop thinking about how close I came to death. How easily I could have been one of those you did not reach in time," there is something haunting in Chakwas' voice, enough to make Shepard shudder lightly. "I'm holding up, Commander, but as for when I will be... at peace with what happened, I cannot say that."

Shepard nods quietly, turning to Mordin, sitting next to Dr. Chakwas. "Any place that I can drop you off at, Mordin? Citadel?" she asks.

"Omega acceptable. Will broker flight to Sur'Kesh," the salarian replies.

"Promise me one thing, Mordin. Don't forget Maelon. Don't forget Wrex. And don't forget Tuchanka."

Mordin's eyes fix on hers for a long time, before he replies slowly. "Won't forget, Shepard. Won't forget time working with you, Commander," he smiles. "Proud to have served, Shepard."

"Likewise, Commander," Thane joins in the conversation. "I knew you would lead us to victory, _siha_. I am proud to have been part of it, at the twilight of my life."

"Thanks, Thane," she smiles. "You probably want to get to the Citadel. Spend time with Kolyat. I can arrange-"

He quickly brings up his hands in protestation. "No, no, it is not necessary. Getting to Citadel from Omega is simple, you need not bother on my behalf."

Suddenly, Shepard feels a pair of hands around her shoulders, trying to pull her out of her chair. She looks up to see Tali struggling to get her to rise. "Come on, Shepard... join us," her quarian friend tries to convince her.

"Fine, fine..." Shepard finally agrees. "But with one condition. I need to talk to you and Garrus first."

"Sure. Over here, Garrus!" Tali shouts, seeing that Garrus is on his way back from the bar, returning with their drinks.

"I swear that asari at the bar is trying to hit on me," Garrus sighs, sitting down at the table and raising his glass. "Ah, just what was needed."

"Okay, can we be serious for a bit?" Shepard admonishes them both. "I need you two to do me a favor."

"Of course, Shepard. Anything, just name it," Tali replies earnestly.

"I need you to take Legion back to his people, beyond the Veil," Shepard says. "I can't just dump him here on Omega and expect him to get back on his own. Despite everything... he has served us faithfully. I don't want to condemn him to being shot just for being geth."

Tali chuckles. "If someone on the Fleet knew about me escorting geth to safety... they would probably stop harboring these ideas of promoting me to the rank of admiral." She then suddenly perks up with realization. "You know, Shepard, I'll do it!" she says.

"Thanks, Tali," Shepard smiles. "Any plans after that? I'd love to stay in touch... for real, this time."

"I don't know, Shepard... I will probably have to return to the Migrant Fleet soon," Tali shrugs. "Then... we'll see. I won't forget about you, I promise."

"What about you, Garrus?" she asks the turian.

"I'll get in touch as soon as I can, Shepard," he replies, but any more banter is interrupted when Tali impatiently and unceremoniously drags them back towards the other dancers.

"Glad to see you join us, Shepard!" Jack shouts at them, moving like a small, angry tornado. Even her style of dancing is full on tension and aggression. "Thought you were going to sit down at the table all evening with those old farts!"

"Well, I am quickly becoming an old fart myself," Shepard grudgingly admits, starting to give herself away to the rhythm of the beat, her feet and hands taking over the rest of her body. "You okay with getting dumped on Omega, yeah?" she asks Jack.

"Sure. Dig this place," the psychotic-biotic grins in reply. "Just want to make sure to catch the Cheerleader before she gives me the slip."

"Sorry, but she's already off the ship together with the rest of the Cerberus crew," Shepard says, watching Jack stop and face her with an angry glare.

"What the fuck? You went behind my back, you bitch!" she rants. "I thought we had agreed on it, I can have a piece of Miranda once we're done with the Collectors!"

"That's what you really want? Really?" Shepard steps up to her, staring Jack down fiercely. "After all that we've been through, is that still so important to you?"

Jack hesitates. "Fuck... no. I guess not... still, should have told me!" she points accusingly at Morgan.

"She's leaving Cerberus, Jack," Shepard replies simply. "I will not let you touch anyone who comes to that decision."

Jack thinks for a bit, then nodding and resuming her wild dance anew. "Alright, I get that. You're off the hook, Shepard... for now."

Morgan smiles briefly, turning towards Grunt, the other dancers wisely giving him a very wide berth. "You'll have to find your way to Tuchanka on your own, Grunt," she calls out to him. "I sent a message to Wrex. He'll be expecting you soon."

"I'm sure I can convince someone to take me there," Grunt grins widely, pounding his heavy fist against open palm. "So... you're no longer my battlemaster, Shepard."

"No, that dubious honor now belongs to your clan leader," she replies.

"I see. You realize that makes you... a worthy opponent?" Grunt's disturbingly broad grin gains a more vicious hint to it.

"Don't even think about it," Shepard snarls. "I would hate to disappoint Wrex by having to put you down like a rabid varren."

Grunt laughs heartily. "Well spoken, Shepard! Very well, you can keep your life... as long as I can keep Zaeed's stuff."

"Sure. Whatever," Morgan shrugs, turning away.

Everything has been said, everyone has been informed. There is nothing left to do but to live out this night, to give herself to the rhythm, surrender her senses to the brandy induced dizziness, watching the tantalizing shapes of the scantily clad asari dancers. _I'll be home soon, Liara. Will you dance for me like that? Just this once, my love... dance for me._


	38. The Butcher of Aratoht

_A/N: Ugh, sorry about this one. I am a terrible person. :( _

**Chapter 37 - The Butcher of Aratoht**

"Whoa, Commander, I thought this ship could not get any emptier," Joker says, as Shepard joins him on the bridge, herself feeling a little disturbed by the void of living beings surrounding them.

"I know, it's pretty creepy," Morgan agrees. It is only her, Joker and Chakwas aboard the Normandy, en route to Hagalaz. Oh, and EDI, of course. "I hope that it's safe to fly like this, with only you and EDI taking care of the ship."

"If all ship's systems are operating to maximum efficiency as they are now, we are perfectly equipped to handle all tasks," EDI explains. "Of course, this is not an optimal setup, and a qualified crew is still required."

"Don't worry, EDI. I'm sure the Alliance will set us up just fine. Or... whoever ends up commanding this vessel," she adds.

"What do you mean by that, Commander?" Jeff 'Joker' Moreau sounds distraught. "Normandy is your ship! Everyone knows that!"

"There are no guarantees," Morgan shrugs, unwilling to continue this line of discussion, finding mere speculation of her future depressing. "We're getting close to Sowilo. I better get Liara on the comms and tell her to expect us soon."

"An open and secure channel is waiting for you in the briefing room, Commander," EDI helpfully informs her.

Liara's face appears before her, it looks as if she has been crying, a lot, but she also looks happy and relieved beyond measure. "I have not been able to... even sit down, ever since getting your message," her asari lover confesses. "I've been skipping around in circles like a damned fool, I think even Feron is starting to get worried!"

Morgan laughs. "You are so cute when you let that self-control slip, you know," she smiles. "Don't worry, I'm only two hours or so away. I'll be with you soon."

"Good. Good," Liara exclaims, looking as if a crushing weight of several tons has fallen from her shoulders. "I knew in my heart that you will come back, and you did. Thank you, Morgan... thank you for keeping your promise."

"You'll not doubt me again after this, I'm sure," Morgan winks, but before she can say anything else, Joker cuts in on the comms.

"Uh, sorry to interrupt Commander... but I got Admiral Hackett on the secondary line here, and he claims it's very important," the helmsman explains.

"Really, congratulating me on our victory against the Collectors shouldn't be considered this urgent," Morgan grumbles, looking apologetically at Liara. "Sorry, just going to disconnect you for a moment or two, be right back." Liara nods as Shepard quickly switches to the secondary channel, bringing up the face of Admiral Hackett before her. He looks... less pleased than Morgan had expected.

And he has not called the Normandy to congratulate her on their success against the Collectors, even though he does that as well. No, Admiral Hackett has a task before her, a very urgent task, and it concerns the Reapers, making it a time critical mission that can't be delayed. _I hate my life,_ Morgan thinks desperately, as she makes her promise to Hackett to check out his concern immediately, before bringing the connection to Liara back online. _Sometimes I really hate my life..._ she covers her face with her hands, not knowing how to tell Liara the news.

"Something... something is wrong, isn't there?" she hears Liara asking in a trembling voice. "Something is always wrong."

"Yeah," Morgan takes her hands away from her face, allowing a hollow laughter to escape her lips. "Hopefully nothing much, this time."

"What is it, tell me!" Liara demands, impatiently.

"I need to keep this classified, let's just say that it's a quick recon mission as a personal favor to Hackett," Shepard quickly says. "The Alliance will soon have to decide on how to interpret my actions during my time with Cerberus. I could do with scoring a few bonus points."

Liara nods, reluctantly agreeing. "That is true. Can you tell me where you are going?"

"Batarian space. Bahak System."

Liara's eyes widen a little. "That's... not so reassuring. I trust you'll be careful." Shepard smiles and nods in reply. "You'll probably be gone for at least a few days. I'm going to drive poor Feron completely crazy during all that waiting..."

"I... hate doing this to you, Liara," Morgan admits guiltily. "You deserve better."

Liara smiles sadly. "Just take care of what you have to do and come home. I'll be here... waiting."

"In that case, I'll do everything in my power to make your waiting as short as possible," Morgan smiles. "I'll see you soon, Liara. Take care of yourself."

"You too, Morgan. I'll pray for your safe return," Liara replies, ending the conversation.

After a small pause and lots of mental swearing, Morgan picks up the comm line with her helmsman. "Joker?" she asks.

"Yeah?"

"You're going to love this. Turn the ship around."

"...what?"

"Plot the course for Viper Nebula, Bahak System, planet Aratoht."

"You're kidding. You have got to be kidding," Joker's voice is thick with disbelief. "Wait... Hackett. You're not kidding. Fuck the batarians... what are they up to again?"

"Not at liberty to say, Joker," she replies, feeling tired and drained to the point of collapsing. "Just get us there. I'll be in my quarters. Sleeping. Or something."

* * *

"Warning. Activation of the Project will result in estimated 304,942 casualties. Do you wish to continue?"

_What a question..._ Dry chortle escapes Shepard's blood-stained lips, as she considers the choice before her. _But is there actually a choice to make? Can I afford 'not' to sacrifice all these innocent lives? If the Reapers arrive now... we are so horribly unprepared..._

"Joker, do you hear me?" she tries to reach Normandy on the comms, in the same time activating the Project. "Joker, send a message to the batarian colonies, ASAP! Tell them to evacuate immediately!"

But even as Joker carries out the order, she knows that her efforts to save at least some of them are doomed. The Hegemony would never trust this kind of message sent by an Alliance ship. They would try to verify it, losing precious time... and with less than an hour left until the collision, she knows that all those unsuspecting batarians currently on Aratoht are doomed.

_I just slaughtered more than three thousand batarians, most of them innocent slaves, to protect the galaxy from what most would still claim to be merely legends, fictional monsters, figments of my own demented mind. Morgan Shepard... your case in defense of these actions is worse than paper thin... the only thing that can exonerate you now would be nothing less than the Reaper invasion itself..._ she realizes with grim clarity.

_Maybe they'll give me a nice title at least,_ Morgan smirks, watching the fusion torches slowly igniting. _The Butcher of Aratoht sounds pretty cool._

The VI console beeps in front of her. "Project activation in progress. Warning. Collision with mass relay is imminent. Begin evacuation procedures."

* * *

"...a mass relay exploded and destroyed an entire batarian system," for the first time in three years, she receives debrief in person from Admiral Hackett, standing before her in the Normandy medbay. She has always imagined that this would be an experience she would relish. It is not. "What the hell happened down there, Commander?"

"Dr. Kenson believed she had the proof that the Reapers were about to invade through the relay of Bahak System," Morgan replies tiredly. "What I learned seemed to confirm her theory. Time was short. I saw no alternatives to destroying the mass relay. We tried to warn the batarians, but..."

There is a strange twitch in Hackett's face, as if he's about to burst out angrily about Shepard's inconclusive, uncertain answers, but he manages to control his temper. "They report no survivors from Aratoht," he says tersely. "At least you tried. Do you believe that the Reaper invasion really was a threat?"

Morgan briefly considers what to answer to this simple question. The absurdity of the situation makes her break out in inappropriate fit of laughter, angering Hackett even more. "The Reapers are merely a fiction, didn't you get the memo, Admiral? How can I defend my actions by appealing to the threat of something that is just my own fantasy?" she giggles, Hackett taking a step back, looking disturbed. "Or maybe I always wanted to repay them with something like this for what I had to endure during the Skyllian Blitz! Or maybe... maybe I am no longer sane, because of... what I just had to do!"

"Easy now, Commander," Hackett tells her, keeping his voice low and steady. Slowly, taking deep breaths, she calms herself, sitting down on the edge of the bed. "The batarians will want blood over this, Shepard. And with the Reaper invasion that we know is imminent, war is something that we cannot afford. If... if you and Dr. Kenson were correct, then all this is immaterial and you deserve a medal, Commander. But... if you were wrong, then what we have is three hundred thousand dead batarians."

"I know. I know..." Shepard says. "And there's no definitive proof either way. It will be just my word against three hundred thousand corpses. Not good odds."

"It is no secret that you have many detractors amongst the Alliance. They will push to hasten the investigation against you. Sooner, rather than later, you will need to return to Earth and face the music, Commander."

"I'm not going to wait for them to start hunting me down. I'll go back to Earth myself. Right now. And I'll turn myself in," she speaks quietly, falling heavily back in the bed. "I'm just... tired of it all. So... tired."

"Cooperation will speak in your favor, Commander," Hackett speaks, and she feels his hand on her shoulder, gently squeezing it. "I'm sorry, Shepard. When I sent you to rescue Dr. Kenson, I could not imagine I would be sending you into something this hellish. I regret that I made you go through something like this."

"It's not your fault, Admiral," she whispers through tears. "Had to be me. Someone else might have gotten it wrong..."

* * *

The comm line slowly comes to life, Liara's image is blurred and her voice sounds crackled, until EDI finally clears it up. Shepard immediately sees that Liara is upset, even if she has not yet delivered the damning news.

"Shepard… I'm reading some… disturbing news here," her voice is trembling. "The Bahak System is… no more, after its mass relay… exploded?"

Shepard faces away, turning her back to the screen before speaking. "I just killed over three thousand batarians by pushing a single button." Her voice is hollow, dead.

"What happened?" Liara prompts softly. "Morgan, I know you wouldn't do it without a damn good reason."

"The relay of Bahak System was a so called Alpha Relay. The Reapers were about to invade and use this Alpha Relay to quickly spread throughout the whole galaxy. I… I thought I had to stop them. Gods, I tried to warn the colonists, but there was no time."

Liara is silent for a long time. "I'm so sorry," she says. "I cannot think of a worse choice. You did what you thought was best."

"I killed thousands and thousands just to buy us more time to prepare," Morgan continues. "Unless we really make the best use of that time, this… genocide would have been for nothing."

"How soon can you be here?" Liara asks, distraught and worried. "You should not be alone at a time like this."

"Liara, I… I'm not coming home," Morgan confesses quietly. Liara silently waits for her explanation, saying nothing. "The batarians are furious, as you can imagine. Someone just launched a huge asteroid into their mass relay and wiped out an entire system full of sentient beings…"

"There will be retaliations," Liara realizes. "Just when we cannot afford another war, with the Reapers at our doorstep."

"The Alliance brass are pissed off as well," Shepard says plainly. "Hackett and Anderson will do what they can to soften the blow, but if they lean too much on the others, they risk their own necks. We need them to remain in their places, to continue building defenses against the Reapers. Liara, I… I'm going back to Earth to face the music. Alone."

"No! No, no, not after all this…" Liara exclaims, wringing her hands. "What do you think they will do?"

"I don't know. The crime I'm being accused of is… of incredible proportions, even if the batarians are our sworn enemies. Stripping of all military rank, facing the military tribunal, then likely a jail sentence," Morgan says bitterly. "But there you go… difficult choices have consequences."

"I'm not letting go of you, Morgan," Liara is defiant. "Not after all of this. I'll get you out of the deepest cell they throw you in, I promise you. I will come for you."

"No… no, Liara. At least not yet," Morgan says. "That will have to wait. I need you to help make my terrible choice matter. That way, you can aid me much more. Because we both know that the Reapers are coming. And this is all about us versus them."

"What do you want me to do?" Liara asks, her voice trembling.

"I told Hackett you would get in touch with him," Shepard explains. "Coordinate with him. Use whatever information Shadow Broker has on the Reapers and Protheans, do all you can to find something, some way to help us prepare."

A few tears roll down Liara's cheeks, each one like a dagger stabbing at Shepard's heart. "I will do all I can to help, I promise," the asari says, sad, but determined. "I will not let you down, Morgan. That much I promise…"


	39. Prelude to War

**Chapter 38 - Prelude to War**

The face of an attractive young asari materializes on the vidscreen in front of Admiral Hackett. "Dr. T'Soni, I presume?" he asks.

The asari nods simply. "And you must be Admiral Hackett. Morgan... Commander Shepard asked me to get in contact with you."

"Yes. She believes we should work together to find ways to stop the Reaper invasion," Hackett says. He is silent for a moment, looking a little uncomfortable. "I... feel I should apologize for Commander Shepard's current predicament. It is my understanding that you two were close-"

"There is nothing to apologize for, Admiral," Liara quickly interrupts him.

"But there is, Dr. T'Soni. I can only imagine Shepard did not tell you the full truth," the Admiral goes on to explain. "She was undertaking that mission in the batarian space as a personal favor to me. If I had not asked her to do it, we would not be having this conversation, Doctor."

For a moment Liara looks conflicted, ready to lash out angrily. Then she gathers her emotions and quickly hides them, settling for a serene, accepting smile. "She did tell me that much. It is not your fault, Admiral," she says simply. "Morgan would never have done it, if she didn't believe it was the right thing to do. It doesn't matter if you asked her or not. If she knew about what was going on, she would have gone herself without even conferring with you."

Hackett manages a small smile. "You do know Commander Shepard very well, Doctor."

"I would like to think so," Liara agrees, before her expression becomes all businesslike. "Now, about the way we can help each other. Admiral, I am sure you understand that no matter how large fleets we build, Reapers cannot be defeated by conventional methods. We must find... something else."

"And you know what that is?" Admiral Hackett looks a little disbelieving.

"No, but I have a very trusted source that believed they knew where to look for this... something," Liara says. "I will need your help to access the location."

"Tell me what is needed, Dr. T'Soni."

"I need to go to the Mars Archives," Liara speaks. "I must have full access to the collection of Prothean relics stored there. My source believes that something in there might have been... overlooked."

"Granted. You will have all necessary clearances by the time you get there," Hackett nods.

"That was quick," Liara seems a little surprised. "No second thoughts about trusting an alien with such information?"

"I know how much Commander Shepard trusts you, Liara T'Soni," Hackett says. "That is enough for me."

"I... thank you, Admiral," Liara speaks, touched. "I will let you know as soon as I find anything."

* * *

"James, you wouldn't happen to play chess, would you," Shepard says, looking at her bulky second shadow, a young broad-shouldered marine, assigned to be her... guard, protector, personal assistant, she is not sure in what capacity James Vega has been tasked to keep an eye on her. Twice every day he accompanies her on the short walk from her quarters to the gym downstairs. Once every day, directly after dinner, he takes her for an hour long walk outside in the courtyard with fence too high and too smooth to climb.

"I'm more of a cards type of guy, Commander," James smiles in reply. She finds him endearing in his simple, unassumingly macho way, but it is merely a faint attraction, not something she would choose to act upon.

"Figures. I've taught myself how to play over the past two months, you know. Was just looking for opposition." At first, house arrest hadn't seemed so bad. That was before she realized that there would be no extranet access, no communications, only a limited choice of books and recreational vids, recommended and approved by her therapist.

"Sorry, Commander," James Vega shakes his head. "You'll need to find someone smarter than me for that. I would offer you a few games of poker, but I only play for creds."

"Yeah... I'm not sure how well I'm set for that," Shepard replies. "All I know is that you're not supposed to call me Commander, anymore."

James shrugs. "You'll always be Commander Shepard to me, don't care what those _pendejo_ paper pushers decide."

"Appreciate that, James," she says, as they arrive at the doors to her small apartment, two guards standing like frozen statues at the entrance.

"I'll be back to pick you up for the walk, Commander," Vega speaks, turning to leave.

"It's Wednesday, James. Dr. Jennings," Shepard reminds him.

"Oh... right. Gym in the evening, then? Thinking of joining you, if you'd care for a little sparring, Commander."

"Looking forward to it, James," she says, stepping inside the hated four walls of her tiny cage. _Not looking forward to the shrink, though,_ she ponders grimly, thinking about the upcoming appointment. Doctor Layla Jennings is pleasant enough and Shepard remembers working with her after the Skyllian Blitz. She imagines that is the reason why Hackett recommended her, but lately it seems as if these talks no longer serve a purpose. _At least they've gone from three days per week to just once. I guess she thinks I'm improving._

She cannot blame Hackett for being worried, not really, not after seeing her breaking down on the Normandy like she did after Aratoht. _He must have thought me for a sure PTSD candidate._ She remembers the sleepless nights, the nightmares haunting her when she did manage to fall asleep. _At least it didn't get any worse than that._

_Still, if they really were concerned about my mental state, they would not keep me in this complete isolation from everything. I have no idea what is happening outside these four walls. I cannot reach out to my friends. I cannot hear from my own mother. My love has been torn from me yet again. And these are the circumstances in which they expect me to sort out my head? Good luck with that, you motherfuckers._

As Dr. Jennings gives more positive reports about her mental health, she also knows that the frequency of her interrogations will increase. For now they only torment and hound her twice a week, irritated when she does not have anything new on Cerberus to throw at them. 'Reluctant cooperation', they had put down on their little report sheets. A sure sign of Shepard covering for Cerberus, her loyalty to her old employer clear for all to see.

There is no reason to protect Liara anymore, she knows that her lover by now has taken steps to elude The Illusive Man. Shepard simply does not know anything else than the bare strips of information she has already handed over. But it seems that at this point, nothing will satisfy. James is warned against providing her with any sort of information, but now and then he takes pity on her and allows a few bits to slip by. The batarians are pushing hard for the war, trying to provoke the Alliance. Numerous acts of terrorism with heavy civilian losses have already been performed with that purpose, with even more being planned.

First, humanity needed a hero. Later, humanity needed a martyr. Now, it seems that humanity needs a scapegoat. And Shepard will oblige, whether she wants it or not.

* * *

She allows Raan's hands to pull her into a tight embrace, the warmest of congratulations so far. "Welcome on the Board, Admiral Tali'Zorah vas Normandy," the old friend of her family speaks warmly, Koris and Gerrel standing nearby and nodding approvingly.

"I do not see Admiral Xen with us today," Tali says, when Raan has finally released her. "She does not approve of my appointment?"

"Oh, quite the opposite," Gerrel replies. "She and Raan were your fiercest supporters. But to answer your question, Admiral Xen is currently away on a very important mission, to test a new countermeasure against the geth, something that if proven effective will help us to retake our homeworld."

Tali's knees almost buckle under her from hearing the news, and she hopes that nobody else has noticed her brief stumble. _Keelah, they are really determined about going to war. I promised Shepard that I would do all I can to stop them, but... can I possibly succeed?_ "What new countermeasure? Does she plan to attack the geth?" she asks weakly.

"She has developed means that will allow us to completely disable geth warships, making them vulnerable," Gerrel explains. "I understand the tech is heavily based on your father's research. The one that you and Shepard claimed to not having found during your trial," he adds meaningfully, as Tali stands frozen, the sound of her own heart beating painfully loud in her ears. "But that is in the past. Admiral Xen wished you to know that when we finally go to war and retake our homeworld, our victory would have never been possible without you and your father."

Tali staggers, as if having been punched in the gut. _We should have blown the Alarei to tiny chunks..._ she thinks bitterly. _And I should have never helped you, father, no matter what your intentions were. In doing what I thought was right... I might have caused the downfall of our race..._

"Have the geth attacked any quarian vessel, made aggressive advances beyond the Veil, or shown any hostile intentions as of late?" she finally recovers to ask.

"No. They have not," Koris replies angrily, crossing his hands on his chest. "They appear happy with coexisting... until Xen provokes them with her attack, and we are drawn into a bloody war that we cannot hope to win! But you wanted this all along, didn't you? You're just like your father!"

The accusation falls on her like a heavy slap in the face and she instinctively recoils. "You... you think I support this?" she asks in disbelief. "...but of course you would."

_Legion held its word. The geth were happy to let us live in peace, but now... Xen will make sure there is war. And with Shepard choosing to rewrite the heretics... Legion's geth will be so much stronger, far too strong for us! Keelah, if they only knew I had over two million geth at my mercy and we chose to save them, to strengthen the enemy... they would kill me, no, they would do something much worse to me..._

"You know that we have no choice. Yes, the geth have been quiet lately, but you all know it is just a matter of time before they attack again," Gerrel bursts out with one of his rants. "They would not just depart Rannoch because we ask them nicely!"

_They actually might have..._ Tali realizes, feeling her insides twist with anguish. _If I had known what they were planning, I could have sought contact with Legion, talked to the geth... Legion's kin did not want this war, they might have offered alternatives. Not that I could ever tell my own people that such option was open to us. Of what I have done to enable it._

"Tali, are you alright? You seem... overwhelmed with all that you have had to face today," Raan asks gently, reaching out to support her.

"I am feeling a little tired, Raan. Perhaps I should lie down," she admits. _They did not bring me back because they thought I have earned this title. Gerrel and Xen just want to use my knowledge against the geth, and Raan feels like she is making up to my father with this gesture. But when Xen presents her with the evidence that her countermeasure is working, Raan will have no choice but to go along with the war. And I won't be able to change her mind._

_Shepard, I'm so sorry. I'm sorry that you will not have our fleets for the Reapers. I'm sorry that I cannot stop my own people from this madness, I cannot turn them away from this path of destruction. I have failed you._

* * *

"Ah... I see you have arrived. Good," Wrex puts away a datapad he has been studying intently and rises from his 'throne' to greet another krogan approaching him.

"Battlemaster. Clan leader," Grunt bows deeply before Wrex, before the two krogan shake hands. "You have called for me."

"That is correct, Urdnot Grunt. I may have a task for you," Wrex says, glancing back at where the datapad lies on the seat of the throne. "Have you heard of the Aralakh Company?"

"Okeer imprinted the information," Grunt replies curtly. "Elite strike force formed from the finest warriors of each clan."

"Indeed. Before Shepard fell off the grid for the second time..." there is something akin to worry and regret in Wrex's eyes as he speaks. "She was your battlemaster and I asked for her opinion whether you would be fitting to represent Clan Urdnot in the Aralakh Company. 'Without a doubt', was her reply."

"Shepard speaks true. I stand ready, clan leader. I will not let Clan Urdnot down," Grunt drops on one knee before Wrex. "You bestow great honor, battlemaster."

"Do not thank me yet, pup. You will have to earn your place in the Company through hard work, you will need to prove yourself in many different ways," Wrex states. "But I have full confidence that you will succeed, and one day claim the leadership of Aralakh Company."

"It belongs in the hands of the strongest clan, Clan Urdnot!" Grunt roars.

"That it does. Now go, rest and prepare yourself for the trials that lay ahead," Wrex commands, sending Grunt on his way, as the elder krogan returns to the throne and picks up the datapad.

_I don't know who you are, stranger, but you are taking care of our females. For that alone you have my respect and gratitude,_ Wrex muses, deep in thoughts, reading the contents of the message for about the tenth time. For a while his eyes linger on Grunt, easily pushing two larger krogan out of his way as he strides through determinedly. _You are right, Shepard, my old and dear friend. He will make a fine leader for the Aralakh Company. He will lead them to Sur'Kesh. He will take our females home._

* * *

Even during her brief breaks in cafeteria, Liara takes out her datapad and looks over the notes of her research, double-checking whether she has not missed something during the previous session of her slowly progressing work. She forces herself to focus on her task, and her task only, knowing that every minute her thoughts are not on the job at hand, they drift to Morgan, the anguish of separation slowly tearing her apart.

_If only I could get a word through, or get a message from her. I would kill just to hear her voice again, no matter how briefly,_ the dark thoughts momentarily slip past her defenses, the datapad falling resignedly on the table as sadness overtakes her. _I am sick and tired of having to annoy Hackett for scraps of information about her. And there never are any changes. At least I know she is safe and alive..._

On the terrace above the quiet corner she has chosen for her private spot, several other scientists dine noisily, exchanging the latest gossip, and it serves to distract Liara from her gloominess as she is forced to overhear the discussion. They seem to be discussing the woman currently strolling through the cafeteria, a recent arrival, tall, dark-haired woman who Liara at first almost mistakes for Miranda Lawson, Morgan's former companion.

"Getting a bit crowded here with Prothean experts," one of the scientists above her says.

"Yeah, but at least that asari is the real thing," another one replies. "This one, I've never heard of."

"Seriously? What's her name?"

"Uh, let me think... Dr. Eva Core."

"Doesn't ring a bell. You, Stevens?"

"Huh? First time I've heard of her. But I guess if she has the clearance..."

"Maybe friends in high places? Security wouldn't just drop a ball on it like that."

"Doesn't look much of a scientist to me."

"Pfft, you were always a suspicious one, Weber."

Liara just smiles at the banter, then pushing it out of her mind, picking up the datapad and resuming her studies. The reasons for the presence of another Prothean expert here should be of no interest of her. Liara has her work cut out for her, and she intends for nothing to stand in her way.

_I'm doing this for you, Morgan, for the sacrifice you made. For us. And for the fate of the galaxy. _

* * *

"Admiral Anderson."

"Admiral Hackett?"

"Admiral, are you reading the news about the comm buoy failure around Khar'shan?"

"The one they blame us about... again?" Anderson shakes his head in disgust. "It seems anything that happens to the batarians is the fault of humanity."

"Not the point I was making this time, Anderson," Hackett speaks impatiently. "The communications have been down for far too long to be simply a technical issue due to increase in solar output."

Admiral Anderson thinks for a moment. "The only other explanation I can come up with, is that they are under attack, but... who would care to attack the batarians?"

"I cannot help but to think of Shepard's warnings," Hackett admits. "She believed the Reaper invasion would start from the batarian systems."

"You mean..." Anderson pales visibly. "Could this really be... if that is true, they will be upon us soon."

"Exactly. That's why I need you to go to Vancouver, ASAP," Hackett orders grimly. "When... and I say when, not if, the Reapers invade, nobody will care about this charade of Shepard's trial, they will be busy running for their lives. I want you to retrieve Shepard. No matter what anyone might think of her actions, we both know she is key in our war effort. Nobody knows as much about the Reapers as she does."

"Understood, Admiral," Anderson salutes. "I will make sure to get her out safely."

"And get a hold of Major Alenko, too. His expertise will come in handy."

"Will Shepard even want to work with him, after..." Anderson hesitates.

"Shepard will not let the past stand in her way like that, considering what is at stake, Anderson," Hackett says. "I thought you knew her well enough to understand that."

"You are correct, Admiral," Anderson nods. "Though for all our sakes, I hope you are wrong about the coming invasion."

"Hope is a fickle mistress, Anderson," Hackett smiles thinly. "I fear she's about to forget all about us..."


	40. The Day the Reapers Came

**Chapter 39 - The Day the Reapers Came**

It is a warm day of early June in Vancouver. Shepard sits on a bench in the courtyard, in the shade of maple trees, idly watching Vega pace around her seat. There is absolutely zero wind, and a strange stillness in the air. Even the rush hour noises from the nearby metropolis seem subdued. For some reason the usual chirping of the sparrows is absent, and she looks up in the trees to see that the birds are still there, only silent. Suddenly she feels very cold.

"James?" she asks, forcing the marine to stop marching. "Do you know that saying about someone walking over your grave?"

"Yeah, I've heard people say that. What of it?" he looks at her curiously.

"Have you ever felt that way?" Shepard asks.

"...funny you should say that now, Commander," James remarks, looking a little unsettled.

"You too, eh," she remarks quietly. "Not the most pleasant feeling in the world." Vega nods in reply. "James... can I ask you something?" she asks a while later.

"I knew it was coming sooner or later. I'm single, Commander, but I'd rather keep things professional between us," James grins wickedly at her.

Shepard sighs before smiling. "You're really lucky I kind of like you, kid," she chuckles. "And sorry to burst your bubble, but that wasn't what I was going to ask you."

"Shoot, Commander."

"You've never told me what you think of my warnings about the Reapers," she says.

"You know we're not supposed to discuss that, ma'am," he replies.

"Yeah. But I figure in a few days... none of that will matter," Shepard speaks grimly.

"You think that... aw, shit," James sighs. "Hope they can delay that invasion until Saturday, I've got a hot date lined up for Friday night."

"Ah, good priorities, James," Morgan can't stop herself from laughing.

"To answer your question, Commander. Yeah, I've fought Collectors. You claimed they worked for the Reapers, and I have to say... we saw a lot of tech that pointed towards the Reaper involvement," James tells her. "So yeah. I'm not one of those who think you're crazy, Shepard. Well... I mean, you'd probably have to be a little bit crazy to do some of the things you've done, but you know what I mean."

"I know, James. And thanks for the support. Good to know someone doesn't think you're completely nuts."

"I've got a better word for that, Commander. _Loco_. You're just a little _loco_," James grins, before turning serious again. "So... in just a few days, huh?"

"Yeah. I'd love to be wrong, but I don't think we'll be as lucky as that," Morgan admits heavily. _I just hope that Liara has had success in her research. Without... something unconventional... there's not much we'll be able to do to stop the invasion. Oh, Liara. At the very least... I hope I get to spend more time with you, before the galaxy around us crashes and burns._

* * *

It takes two days for something to finally happen. Vega barges in through the doors of her 'cage' at an unexpected time. "Bit too early for the gym, James," she says, noticing immediately how severe the young marine looks.

"Gotta go, Shepard," he speaks with urgency. "The defense committee awaits."

"The defense of what-now committee?" Shepard shrugs her shoulders, following James out. The two soldiers standing day and night at the doors are no longer there. In fact, the whole building is swarming like an anthill. Then she sees a familiar face, waiting for her at the end of the hallway. "Admiral Anderson," she summons a weak smile. _I was right after all. It has started._

There is another old acquaintance standing next to Anderson. "Kaidan," she acknowledges his presence with a curt greeting. _Why is he here? He made it perfectly clear what he thought of me back on Horizon._ She turns back to Admiral Anderson. "Something is happening, and I think it can only mean one thing," she says. "Tell me I'm wrong."

"We don't have a confirmation yet," Anderson shrugs, but the expression on his face betrays the gravity of the situation. "But... there is something massive on the long range scanners. Important enough for Hackett to mobilize the fleets."

"It can only be the Reapers, and you know it, Anderson," Shepard says. "And throwing our fleets at them is..." she presses a palm against her brow, shaking her head.

"That's why the defense committee wants to talk to you, Shepard. You know more about the Reapers than anyone," Anderson explains. "If anyone can tell them how to prepare, it's you."

"And suddenly, I'm once again useful and important," Morgan exclaims bitterly, waving her arms in disgust. "But I've never successfully repelled a Reaper invasion before, Admiral. They'll be rather disappointed when it turns out I can't offer them much."

"Don't underestimate yourself, Shepard," Anderson shakes his head, disappointed to hear her cynical, bitter words. "I fear the humanity will once again be relying upon you to get us out of this mess. I hope you will answer the call, Commander."

"This is bigger than your wounded pride, Shepard," Alenko joins in, looking upset at her reaction as well. "If not for Admiral Anderson and Admiral Hackett, you would have been tried a long time ago, rotting in a brig by now."

"You would like that, LT, wouldn't you?" Morgan snaps angrily.

"Enough! Save your anger for the Reapers," Anderson admonishes them both. "And Shepard, it's Major Alenko these days. I thought you knew."

"Thought I knew? Are you kidding me? I haven't had any access to the outside world in six months, Anderson. It's a wonder they even told me about your own promotion… Admiral," she sighs, before fixing Kaidan with a frosty glance. "And please accept my congratulations... Major."

"Major Alenko, Lieutenant Vega, wait for us here," Anderson orders. "I will bring Shepard before the committee myself. Come on," he leads Morgan away, but she still manages to overhear the brief conversation between James and Kaidan behind her.

"You knew the Commander?" James asks.

"I thought I did... once, long time ago," Kaidan replies.

_Who does he think I am? Traitor to the Alliance, a Cerberus sympathizer? Mass murderer of batarians?_ Morgan fumes in anger for the rest of the way, but eventually it settles down, giving way to dark, depressive thoughts. _Gods, Kaidan, with all that you must have heard about me from other sources... I should not be surprised. My public image probably has not been very flattering... until now, when the Reapers arrive and vindicate my crazy theories. Talk about not feeling satisfaction when proven right._

The courtroom is full with important looking people on the verge of panic, desperately looking upon Shepard as their would-be savior when Anderson brings her before them. She is quickly brought up to speed, forcing to admit that things do not look good. Communications beyond the Sol relay are already down, they are sitting in the dark, only option left to them is waiting to be hit.

More and more reports are coming in as they speak. Luna base goes dark. _Five minutes at most and they'll be here,_ Morgan thinks grimly. It takes even less than that, barely a minute later the UK headquarters has a visual. When it is broadcast to the committee and everyone in the hall, despair filled whispers and faint sobbing somewhere in the corner drifts to Morgan's ears as everyone's stares are drawn towards the insect-like shapes of the Reaper destroyers, beginning to ravage the streets of London.

"How do we stop them?" they ask, hanging on her words for some kind of miraculous solution that she knows she can't provide.

"You don't stop something like the Reapers," she shrugs. "Certainly not with your fleets and your strength of arms alone. Until we know what it will take, the best thing we can do is to survive."

"Then our fleets are... doomed to destruction?" one of the female officers on the committee asks, nervously wringing her hands.

"Admiral Hackett would have never sacrificed them all foolishly in open combat," Shepard shakes her head. "He knows as well as I do that the Reapers cannot be defeated by conventional means. Now our tactic must be to buy ourselves more time."

There are deep rumbling noises suddenly surrounding them and one by one the dark, merciless, alien shapes of Reaper destroyers begin to descend, landing amidst the tall spires and skyscrapers, overshadowing most of the buildings with their height and size. The committee instantly forgets all about her, crowding the large windows to get a better impression of the slaughter taking place out in the streets as the red particle beams tear down one building after another.

"We need to get out of here, Sir," Morgan whispers to Anderson, trying to urge him to move. "We need a ship, something, we can't stay here and throw sticks at them!"

Anderson looks at her, about to reply, but then tackling Morgan and dropping her on the ground instead. A loud crash shakes the entire building as the destroyer beam weapon rips through it, like a scalpel slicing soft tissue. As Shepard dares to raise her head and look around, she sees that the hall is almost completely filled with rubble, the ceiling giving in just above the committee and coming down to bury them all in a pile of debris. _I think that just put an end to all the questioning. Not that we could afford any more time wasting, anyway._

"Agreed, let's get out of here, Shepard," Anderson quickly speaks, pulling Morgan back to her feet and dragging her along with him. "Let me try to raise the Normandy..."

* * *

_Boom._ An Alliance frigate lasts about ten seconds after foolishly opening fire on one of the destroyers, failing to make a dent. _Boom, boom, boom._ The evac shuttles are mercilessly shot out of the air, and Morgan can hear the last agonizing cries of the people who thought they had been so close to escaping.

"We're almost at the Normandy," Kaidan reports over the comms. "Lieutenant Vega is with me, but we are taking heavy fire."

"Shepard, when we get out of here, we'll need to go to the Citadel," Anderson says as they crawl through the remains of another building that has been neatly carved by the Reaper weapons like a birthday cake. "Talk to the Council. They will have to help us!"

"Their worlds will be hit as well, if they already haven't been," Shepard replies. "Knowing that, how can I demand their fleets?"

"What do you propose then?" Anderson asks.

"We need to get in touch with Hackett. If he does not have a plan... then, with all due respect, Sir... we are pretty much fucked," Morgan replies, shrugging her shoulders.

"I know things have been rough, Shepard, but... you need to work on your attitude," Anderson shakes his head, before giving her a stern look. "Did you really expect to be treated any differently for what you did? I suggest you get rid of your anger and bitterness and start focusing on doing the right thing."

"Or what? The Alliance were quick to drop me like a hot potato! I'm under no obligation to help. Remember, I no longer take orders from you, Anderson," she replies, knowing that he is right, but not finding it easy to just let go of all that has happened.

Much to Shepard's surprise, Anderson grabs her roughly by the shoulder and shakes her hard before pressing something small, cold and metallic in her palm. _My tags,_ she realizes, staring down at the object in her hand. "Then consider yourself reinstated, Commander," David Anderson barks at her. "Now cut the bullshit and follow me, Shepard. We still need to reach the Normandy."

"Sir... yes, Sir," she replies weakly, before turning around to follow, feeling like an utter fool. _He's right, I need to quickly bury my hurt feelings and all that crap. This is too big to hold grudges._

They emerge from the twisting passages, now running across narrow edges of the building, in at least fifteen story height, trying to find a way to get closer to the harbor where Normandy can pick them up. As they run, there is another loud blast to their right and the building of a local police department is instantly reduced to rubble as a destroyer aims its particle beam at it and then stamps on the remains for good measure.

"Looks like they're hitting all the strategic objects hard," Anderson comments. "I've seen them deliberately avoiding civilian targets on a few occasions."

"That makes plenty sense to me. They want civilians alive for harvesting," Morgan replies.

"That was a very casual statement. Are you really that jaded by now, Commander?" Admiral Anderson sounds slightly disturbed.

"No, it gets to me, David. Oh, how it gets to me," she replies. There are sounds of children crying and calling for their parents all around her. Death rattles and gargling of those mortally wounded. Panicked screams and cries for mercy at the sight of the destroyers. Bloody corpses everywhere she looks. _I really wish I was that jaded... but I'm not. I'm not,_ she sighs inwardly, knowing that no shrink will be able to ever erase these mental images from her much tormented consciousness. "It's just that I've seen it all before. In my visions," she adds a moment later, the images of the Prothean beacon surfacing in her mind.

Anderson glances back at her, rare softness in his eyes, and it conveys more than words. _You've been through too much already, child._

_Yes, I have,_ she silently agrees. _But the road is not at the end yet, and I don't have a choice but to walk it._

* * *

She stands in the darkness of the docking bay, eyes closed, living through the last images before leaving Earth.

Admiral Anderson, standing defiantly on the docks of Vancouver, refusing to climb aboard the Normandy, choosing to remain behind. "These men and women will need someone to lead them," she can still hear his voice in her ears, desperate to argue his decision, feeling like a traitor for abandoning the fight, even if the rational part of her mind claims that her talents will be best used elsewhere.

The evac shuttles, trying to bring those trapped in the harbor to safety. They are shot out of the sky immediately after liftoff, and she can see each and every burning body thrown out of the wreckage, screaming as they die, charred bodies disappearing in the water below. _One of those shuttles had children onboard. Children..._

The Alliance dreadnaught, engaging a destroyer near the harbor. The pride of the Alliance fleet had lasted almost a full minute, managing to leave a few chinks in the destroyer's armor. In the end, it had been destroyed almost effortlessly, it's only success in distracting the Reapers and allowing Normandy to pick up Shepard and then escape. _If the pinnacle of our technological advances is annihilated as easily as this... what hope could we possibly have?_

Remains of the Fourth Fleet, stationed around Earth in full alert mode, their eradication utter and absolute, down to the last frigate. They knew what was coming, they claimed to be prepared, but the battle had been shockingly one-sided, as Normandy now picks its path through a graveyard of Alliance ships, trying to reach the Charon relay. _How are we supposed to fight something like that?_ she thinks desperately.

"Commander," she hears a voice, interrupting her musings. It is James. "Your hand," he says.

"What about it?" Morgan asks, then suddenly becoming aware of the sharp pain in her clenched fist, releasing it immediately. Her tags topple to the ground, released, smeared with her blood.


	41. Return of the Blue

_A/N: The Mars mission kind of grew into two parts. But worry not, we're getting Liara back in this chapter. Woohoo! Also, there's a very obvious Firefly reference that everyone should be able to catch. :)  
_

**Chapter 40 - Return of the Blue**

"So, you're on my ship again," Shepard says, staring squarely at Kaidan, trying to tell herself to remain calm no matter what he might reply.

"Not exactly by choice, Commander," Alenko shrugs. "But Hackett and Anderson seem to believe I can do some good here. So here I am."

"Will you accept my orders?" Morgan asks.

"Of course. I still remember what it means to be an Alliance officer," comes the reply.

"The implication being that I don't," Shepard's laughter sounds hollow. "Damn it, Kaidan, what will it take for you to..." she stops then, making a gesture of resignation with her hand. "Look, I don't have time to justify my past actions to you. I can only let you judge me by the actions I will take now, hoping that they will show that you are wrong about me."

"Commander, I wish for nothing else but to be proven wrong on this," Kaidan simply says.

"Alright. I guess that will have to do for now," Morgan manages a hint of a smile, with a corner of her eye seeing Lieutenant Vega approaching them.

"I can't believe Anderson would order us to leave!" James is deeply upset. "The fight is back on Earth, not in arguing with those schmucks on the Council!"

"Don't tell me something I don't know already," Shepard snaps at him. _Don't need him to start something now too, got my hands full with Alenko._ "But it's not a fight down there. It's a slaughter. We need something to fight them with!"

"Bullshit, how is the Council going to help-"

"Can it, James!" she orders angrily. "You saw those things down there! You really think that any of this..." Morgan points at their guns and rifles scattered in the armory, "is going to be enough to take them down? Use your head, LT. Yes, I want to be down there and do something for all those left behind, but... the reality is, our presence back on Earth right now would make absolutely no difference."

"Shit..." James finally acknowledges that her words make sense, his shoulders slumping a little in defeat as he shakes his head. "_Loco_. Completely _loco_."

"Commander!" suddenly there's a voice on the comms, and with surprise Shepard recognizes her old pilot.

"Joker? That you?" she asks. "How the hell did you get back aboard the Normandy?"

"Not important right now, Commander, I'll explain later," Joker replies. "I have an emergency transmission coming in from Admiral Hackett."

"Excellent," Shepard says, rubbing her hands. "I've been waiting for this. Put him through." _Time to find out what he and Liara have managed to discover. I know you won't disappoint me, babe. I can't wait to see you again._

The image coming in is heavily distorted and the audio broken in pieces, making it hard to understand what the Admiral is saying. "Shepard... sustained heavy losses," she manages to understand.

_Tell me about it... I saw the remains of the Fourth Fleet,_ Shepard thinks as the Admiral continues. "... you were right to claim... cannot be defeated conventionally..."

"Anderson ordered me to go to the Citadel and talk with the Council," Morgan says. "But I've been praying to get a message from you before that. Tell me you have something."

"Yes, I need you to-" the signal becomes completely broken up and the audio dies.

"Damn, wish we had EDI to clear up this signal at least a bit," she says to herself.

"I'll do what I can, Shepard," suddenly she is stunned to hear EDI's voice.

"EDI? What the hell... the Alliance retrofit teams somehow did not see the need to tear out a Cerberus AI from the ship?" Morgan asks, shaking her head. "Not that I'm complaining, you've proven yourself valuable to us many times."

"...wait, what's this about a Cerberus AI?" Kaidan suddenly speaks up as she is left silently cursing her own regrettable faux-pas. "Shepard, I said I wanted to trust you, but you're not making it easy for me."

"There, the signal is back, Shepard," EDI interrupts as the image of Admiral Hackett's face reappears on the screen.

"...need you to go to Mars outpost... before lose control of this system..." she understands as much through the crackling audio. "...been researching the Prothean archives with Dr. T'Soni."

_Oh, Liara. I knew you would come up with something. You never let me down,_ she thinks, smiling serenely. "...thinks might have found a way... stop the Reapers... report as soon as you-... Hackett out," the signal dies down immediately after that.

"Did you get that, Joker?" she asks on the comms. "Plot our course to Mars Archives, fast. And let's hope the Reapers aren't already there in force..."

* * *

From the first glance, the situation on the surface of the red planet seems quiet and peaceful. As Shepard, James and Kaidan board the Kodiak shuttle, Joker broadcasts the latest information. "No sign of Reaper activity, Commander," he says. "But I also cannot raise anyone on the local channels."

"That's odd," Shepard states, feeling a little worried. "Any ideas why?"

"The base appears to be online," EDI states. "It is possible the inhabitants were evacuated."

"I'd have thought that Hackett would mention it," Kaidan says, looking uncertain.

"Maybe it just got lost in that crappy connection," Shepard shrugs as James takes the shuttle closer towards the sprawling facility, embedded deep within the craters of red rocks.

"Taking us in, Commander," James warns them, bringing the shuttle towards a landing pad. "Still no word from the base, and there's also a nasty looking storm headed our way. In half an hour, we'll have trouble keeping up comms with the Normandy."

"Doubt we can wrap this up that quickly," Shepard shakes her head dismissively, as the shuttle doors open and she jumps out, landing on the hard rocky surface of Mars. She immediately looks around, feeling unsettled from the looks of that incoming storm. Even if it is still a good way in the distance, it appears like a giant tsunami wave rolling in, at least five miles in height if not more.

Hurriedly walking from the landing zone towards the facility, Shepard readies her rifle, just in case. There is something that worries her about the base all of a sudden losing all communications for no good reason. And her concern is quickly justified when they come across a corpse of an Alliance soldier, propped against a stack of crates. "Sergeant Reeves," Kaidan says, dropping on his knees before the dead man, checking his ID. "Doesn't look like he put up much of a fight."

"Strange, I wonder..." Shepard starts to speak, but promptly stops as she hears gunshots coming from the path ahead. Quietly they sneak towards the source of the sound, using scattered containers and rocky elevation as cover. They see several other Alliance soldiers lined up on their knees, hands behind their heads, as heavily armored intruders execute them one by one, putting bullets through their skulls from point blank range. "And now we know why the base is silent," Shepard silently curses at herself.

"Let's get those sons of bitches," James snarls angrily next to her.

"Yeah, they're nicely exposed too, with no cover in sight," Shepard nods. "Hit them with the good stuff, Kaidan."

"As you wish, Commander," Alenko nods, leaning out of the cover to launch a cryo blast at the unsuspecting attackers below. Nicely bunched up, he manages to catch most of them, easy prey for James and Morgan's weapons fire. Those escaping the initial attack are not presented with the chance to recover, Shepard's sniper rifle catching up with them before they have managed to reach suitable cover.

"Those guys were Cerberus, weren't they?" James asks, looking mightily pissed off.

"Cerberus," Kaidan states, before giving Morgan a sidelong glance. "What are they doing on Mars?"

"I assume that wasn't just a rhetoric question, but was instead aimed at me," Morgan faces him down, but Kaidan refuses to flinch. "How would I possibly know what they are doing on Mars? I have not had any communication with them over the past few months! Unless you are also accusing James here to be a Cerberus mole."

"That's not what I meant," Kaidan says defensively. "But you have to admit, their sudden presence is a little... convenient."

"How is this convenient?" Morgan blinks. _Is the paranoia making him illogical?_ "They're in our fucking way, Major. Shooting, executing **our** people! They're a damn fucking **inconvenience** to us, that's what they are!"

"How about little less fighting amongst ourselves, and a bit more killing Cerberus," James speaks up. "Just a suggestion."

"James is right," Shepard nods. "We don't have time for this. We need to find Liara ASAP. With Cerberus here, she might be in grave danger."

"Who's this Liara?" Vega asks.

"Oh yeah, you haven't met her," Morgan realizes. "Don't shoot if you see an asari. Probably wearing a blue-white combat suit. Looking totally smoking hot."

James chuckles. "Sounds like someone I wouldn't want to accidentally shoot."

"No, you most definitely don't want to do that," Shepard agrees as they follow further up the path. There is another small group of Cerberus troopers camped at the entrance of the base, but they seem mostly concentrating on monitoring the base itself, and as such turn out an easy prey for a sneak attack from behind.

"Commander, I thought you threw Cerberus off your ship after you wiped out that Collector base they were after," James says as they step inside the entrance to the archives, closing the heavy doors behind them and pressurizing the room, finally being able to take off the helmets of their combat suits.

"After destroying the Collector base the first thing I did was to kick their crew off on Omega, and steal their ship. I think that's a pretty solid hint of what my intentions towards them were," Shepard replies, turning around to face an unconvinced looking Kaidan. "That doesn't help, does it?"

"I just... have trouble believing that you would not feel any gratitude towards those who brought you back from the dead, gave you a ship, showered you with resources..." Kaidan says. "Just... makes me think at times."

"But you know for a fact that I have had no contact with them since I destroyed the Collector base," Shepard snaps, growing a little angry despite her best intentions to remain calm. "I have no idea why they are here or what they want, I swear."

"Yeah, I get that," Kaidan slowly admits, as the elevator slowly takes them up, into a larger hangar filled with crates of provisions and heavy machinery. "I want to trust you, Commander, but... it's just not easy with everything..."

"Wait. Keep quiet," Shepard reaches out with her hand to stop him. There is a noise coming from somewhere up above them, it seems like something or someone is moving hurriedly through the big ventilation shafts running directly under the ceiling. "Get your weapons ready, but be careful," she warns.

The cover of the ventilation shaft is suddenly and violently thrown off and a slender, white shape gracefully jumps out of it, landing on the crates below, doing a soft somersault before straightening up and launching a singularity towards the exit from the shaft, catching the two Cerberus troopers about to jump down. Instead, they are suspended in the air, completely helpless as their 'prey' pulls out a heavy pistol and unloads a pair of precise shots into each of her hunters, sending them on a painful fall from which they do not rise. With a mesmerizing sway in her hips, the graceful beauty approaches the badly injured Cerberus troopers, following through with a few more control shots just to make sure that her attackers will never rise again.

"Liara!" Shepard shouts, grinning, as the asari spins around, immediately bringing her pistol up, almost about to fire. "Babe, there's nothing sexier in the galaxy than watching you execute these Cerberus morons," Morgan grins broadly, quickly running up to the very surprised looking Liara.

"Morgan!" she recovers swiftly enough, breaking into a happy smile. "Goddess, you're alive... when I heard of what happened on Earth, I was... so worried."

"I'm here, and I could use a good greeting right about now," Morgan continues to grin, reaching out and pulling Liara closer. The asari yields easily, quickly holstering her pistol before she embraces Shepard in turn, pair of lips meeting in a hungry, needy kiss.

"Whoa... I... didn't expect this..." Shepard grins inwardly at James' befuddled reaction. _Want us to put a little show for you, kid? I certainly don't mind..._ she thinks, continuing to kiss Liara ravenously, pushing her lover with her back against a heavy crate, her hand slipping lower and grabbing Liara's thigh, pulling gently until the asari wraps her leg around Morgan's hip.

Liara is not to be outdone by her efforts, Morgan can feel her lover's hands running through her hair like wild, tousling it and generally making a mess out of her red strands. The asari is pressing against her with such insistence and ferocity that easily matches Morgan's own need and desire, as their tongues dance in a fight for dominance, a battle in which nobody gains the upper hand for too long. Eventually they run out of breath and are forced to part, panting heavily and grinning like fools.

"That almost makes it up for those six months of waiting," Shepard manages a weak chuckle.

"Almost... but not quite," Liara smiles back. It is only then that she seems to realize that they are not alone in the hangar, growing rigid in Morgan's arms from the embarrassment. "...goddess, we didn't just... in front of..."

Shepard grins like an adolescent schoolgirl. "I think the boys will forgive us for that display," she says. "James, at least. Won't you, James?"

"I... ah, Commander, I'll be in my bunk," James replies weakly.

Liara finally disentangles from her arms, looking at the two men. "Kaidan!" she exclaims. "Goddess, I almost did not recognize you! It has been some time."

"Good to see you too, Liara," Kaidan smiles, Shepard glad to notice that his expression carries warmth.

"I'm so sorry about Earth," Liara then says, her face overshadowed by sadness, looking from Kaidan back to Morgan.

"It was... hard to leave, yes," Kaidan nods.

"It was, but soon there will be no safe place in the galaxy," Shepard states grimly. "Have you heard news from Thessia? Are the Reapers there yet?"

Liara shakes her head. "I would not know, communications have been sketchy for a while now. Last I heard was four days ago, when there was no sign of invasion." She then gives Morgan an inquisitive look. "How did you know to look for me here?" she asks.

"We got a message from Hackett just before leaving Sol System," Morgan replies. "I was praying to hear something from him, hoping that you would have found something to help us. And... Cerberus presence here implies that you have."

Liara smiles briefly. "I have," she says.

"Hallelujah," James exclaims, looking relieved. "Finally, some straight answers!"

"I have discovered plans for a Prothean device," Liara explains. "Something that they believed could wipe out the Reapers."

"...you're kidding me," Shepard blinks. Liara remains dead serious. "You're not kidding me. But here? On Mars?"

"Yes. In the Prothean archives," Liara nods. "Even though the archives have been here for a decade, there is still... an overwhelming amount of unexamined data. But the information I had..." she gives a meaningful look to Shepard. _Right, the Shadow Broker resources._ "It helped me narrow my search. The blueprints for the Prothean device are stored in the archives."

"So it's just a matter of heading there and picking up those blueprints?" Shepard asks.

"Quite so," Liara agrees. "Well, assuming that Cerberus have not locked down all the tram lines heading there..."

"Are they after the same thing?" Kaidan asks. "How did they know to come here if only you and Hackett had privy to this information?"

"They must have tracked me somehow," Liara reluctantly admits. "As for what they are after... I can only guess."

"Well, if it's some kind of super-weapon capable of destroying Reapers, I bet Timmy would like to get in on that," Shepard shakes her head thoughtfully.

"So we just need to outrace Cerberus to the archives?" James asks, rubbing his hands. "Bring it on, Commander."

"Hmm... wait a moment," Shepard raises her hand, thinking. "We really can't risk them reaching the archives first and then making away with the intel. If that happens... then we are completely and utterly fucked, and our best chances will be to hide in some quiet, forgotten corner of the galaxy and somehow drag out the last days of our lives praying the Reapers don't notice us. I don't want to fucking risk with this kind of bleak future."

"What are you saying, Shepard?" Kaidan asks.

"I'm saying that one of us should get back to the shuttle and lay in wait somewhere in the vicinity of the archives, ready to intercept Cerberus if they are about to make off with the data," she explains.

"Solid idea," Kaidan admits. "Want me to take care of that?"

"Nope, Major. I want you to come with us and see that I have no hesitation whatsoever in wiping out dozens and dozens of Cerberus suckers," she replies before turning to James. "James, back to the shuttle, now."

"But..." Vega stares at her in disbelief, having been so eager to shoot more and more Cerberus.

"You know how to obey orders, LT? Do what is asked of you," Shepard snaps, but her tense expression then changes to a wicked grin. "Cheer up, James. I know you'll have plenty of interesting thoughts to keep you warm, after all those images we conjured up for you..."


	42. Secrets of the Mars Archives

**Chapter 41 - Secrets of the Mars Archives**

"Damn that frigging storm," Shepard curses, trying desperately to reach both James and the Normandy on the comms, without success.

"I don't think that airlock should be open," Liara points at the open entrance in front of them as they make a daring journey across the rooftops in order to gain ground on the Cerberus forces, rushing towards the archives.

"Doesn't look like it was forced open," Kaidan states, having briefly examined the doorway.

They enter through the airlock to find themselves in a wide hall that Liara recognizes as cafeteria, sinking in darkness. They switch on their flashlights, the concentrated rays of light immediately revealing a gruesome sight, close to dozen scientists and Alliance guards lying dead in positions that suggest a highly uncomfortable and distressing demise. "Someone overrode the security protocols and vented the room, killing these people," Liara says. "This is brutal even for Cerberus standards."

"There are no depths of depravity that Tim and his merry bunch won't sink to, Liara," Shepard reminds her.

"How well did you know these people?" Kaidan quietly asks Liara.

"I recognized a few by their names, but not any better than that," the asari explains. "I mostly spent time all by myself, researching, trying to find all I can to help us."

"Yeah, that sounds like the shy, loner archeologist Liara I remember from way back," Shepard chuckles.

"At least I have something to show for all my efforts," Liara says, as they reach the station with the sabotaged environmental controls and swiftly enable them, pressurizing the room. "Good. This can also enable access to the labs, and the tram station behind them."

"Hey, there's a recording of what happened here," Kaidan suddenly says, bringing up the relevant vid on the screen before them. It shows one of the scientists, a dark-haired woman with looks slightly reminiscent of Miranda, walking up to this security post and ruthlessly executing the two guards whose corpses they had just carefully stepped over. Further on, the recording shows the mysterious woman overriding the security locks and without any hesitation, killing everyone inside the cafeteria. "Well, that explains it... they did have inside help, as I suspected," Alenko concludes.

"Dr. Eva Core..." Liara speaks, clenching her fists tightly. "Damn it. She was a recent arrival. There was something... odd about her. I should have investigated, but I just... dismissed it, concentrating only on the Reapers."

"I don't think anyone can fault you for doing that, Liara," Shepard says, putting her hand on the asari's shoulder as she turns away, upset.

"The Commander is right," Kaidan agrees. "Don't beat yourself up about it."

"You do realize that I could be wrong about this Prothean device?" Liara asks, still sounding distressed. "I only think that it can defeat the Reapers. Nobody has actually ever built or used it..."

"Why didn't the Protheans use it if they had the blueprints for it?" Kaidan asks.

"It appears that they simply ran out of time to complete it," Liara replies. "When they developed these plans, the Reaper invasion had already been in progress for over hundred years, and the Protheans were greatly weakened, with limited resources. Just like with the Conduit on Ilos, they probably knew that it was their legacy for the next cycle."

"Liara, that's actually a pretty reasonable explanation and I'm not a scientist," Shepard squeezes her shoulder encouragingly. "If the Protheans weren't sure that the weapon would work, they would not have left the information about it to the next cycle. There's no reason why you should believe that you are leading us all down the wrong path, Liara."

The asari turns around, looking at Shepard curiously. "Did you just... defeat me with logic?" she asks, a little stunned.

"It was easy. You were broody and depressive and not thinking straight," Morgan smiles softly. "But even if I could not find logical arguments why you shouldn't doubt yourself, I would still believe in you, Liara. Trusting you is just something I do without thinking."

Liara smiles, before allowing Shepard to embrace her, briefly resting her head against Morgan's chest. "Then that will be enough for me too," she says. "I will doubt myself no more."

"We have access to the labs," Kaidan tells them, having tinkered with the controls for a bit more. "Shall we go kill some more Cerberus?"

"You got it, Alenko," Shepard grins, releasing the now smiling Liara. "They won't know what hit them..."

* * *

Pushing past heavy Cerberus resistance in the labs, Shepard and her small team finally reach the tram station. "I was in the labs when the attack came," Liara says grimly, thinking back at the bodies of the dead scientists inside, the last look on their frozen faces that of shock and surprise. "A small miracle that I managed to hide and escape before they killed everyone. Oh, Morgan, if you could only see the Prothean treasure troves stored in these archives! And they only just managed to scratch the surface."

"I'm still a bit baffled that humanity has had access to such resources for who knows how many years and hardly anyone seems aware of it," Shepard wonders. "I don't suppose you knew about this, Major?"

"What? No, I didn't," Kaidan shakes his head, pointing ahead. "There's the tram station right in front of us. Hopefully we can override the lockdown at the security post."

"Going to be hard to catch Cerberus if we can't," Shepard reluctantly admits as they push on, towards the last pocket of resistance, a squad of Cerberus troopers and centurions holed up in the security station. Unfortunately for them, their cover proves woefully inadequate against Liara and Kaidan's biotics, pulling them out of their entrenched positions and making them easy pickings for Shepard's rifle.

"Alright," Shepard motions towards Liara, pointing at the security station controls. "Try to override the lockdown. We need that tram."

Liara fiddles with the console for a bit, before giving up. "This isn't going to work. The archives are on a separate network, we're completely locked out."

"Damn it," Shepard swears. "I doubt they will just send a tram over if we ask them nicely?"

"Well, actually... maybe they will," Kaidan suddenly speaks up. "They still think they have teams over on this side, right?" Shepard nods, slowly starting to understand his plan. "If one of these guys has a short-range helmet to helmet communicator, we could try to convince them that the Alliance teams have been taken care of."

"And they would send a tram to pick us up... good thinking, Kaidan," Liara smiles.

"Yeah, that's not a bad plan," Shepard admits.

"Let's see if we can find something," Kaidan turns away to start examining the dead Cerberus soldiers. "Looks like this one has a transmitter in his helmet. Let me just take this... oh shit!" he suddenly backs away from the corpse, forcing Shepard to step closer to take a look at what has suddenly disturbed the Major so badly.

"What the fuck..." she blinks, staring down in the face of the dead Cerberus trooper. The pupil-less eyes still glow in electric blue, the skin of his face is dark, covered with cracks, bruises, looking like decomposed in places, pale blue glow shining through the cracks underneath his eyes. "He looks like a... husk!"

"Cerberus would do this to their own people?" Kaidan asks.

"Why are you so surprised? You saw their experiments with the husks three years ago. This is **exactly** the kind of thing that The Illusive Man would do," Shepard replies. "Probably some kind of new modified implants, upgrades. They do seem a bit tougher to take down than the ones we fought previously."

"So, did they do something similar to you, Shepard?"

"Do I look like a frigging husk to you, Kaidan?" she snaps back quickly.

"No, but... they rebuilt you. I've heard you are full of Cerberus implants, Shepard," Kaidan explains, keeping his voice low, sensing that she is becoming incensed. "What if they have done something to you that you don't even know about yourself?"

Shepard feels a shudder of doubt quickly passing through her, forcing her to turn away from the Major. "You're right in that I **can't** know it myself, Kaidan. There's only what I can feel, and I feel that I am myself. But yes, there are times when I doubt that, too," she quietly admits. "If I cannot completely convince myself, then how could I possibly convince you, Kaidan? Why are you asking me for words of reassurance, if you know that words alone won't change anything?"

"I'm sorry, Commander," Kaidan appears apologetic, finally realizing how upsetting his constant questioning must be for her. "It's just that... it would be nice to know that the person I followed to hell and back is still in there... somewhere."

Shepard feels Liara taking a place at her side and wrapping a hand around her waist, giving Kaidan a fierce stare. "She's still with us, Kaidan," she says, passion burning her every word. "And I will follow her to hell and back again, if needed. And I hope you will, too."

"Alright... I think that's enough of that. Kaidan, you had a plan, let's get back to it. Get that transmitter and work your charm on them," Shepard finally says, briefly turning towards the asari at her side. "Thanks, Liara," she whispers with a soft smile.

* * *

"So..." Shepard stares thoughtfully at the highly familiar looking artifact placed in the middle of the archive compound. The battle to reach it has been fierce, but finally they have made it all the way to their goal, no more obstacles between them and the knowledge crucial to save the galaxy. "It's an actual Prothean beacon. Yeah, it's not like mentioning something like that would be important!"

"Such knowledge in the wrong hands could be disastrous," Kaidan says, also looking at the Prothean beacon with a degree of hesitation, remembering his first experiences back on Eden Prime.

"Let's not waste any time and get what we're after," Liara suggests urgently, pointing at the computer consoles in front of the beacon, then quickly hurrying there with Shepard in tow, Kaidan slowly circling around the beacon, making sure the perimeter is secure.

However, when Liara attempts to access the data, the screen in front of her shimmers, revealing an image of an old and hated foe. "Shepard," the holographic image of The Illusive Man speaks, drawing a smoke from his seemingly ever-lit cigarette. "Fascinating race, the Protheans. They left all this for us to discover and we've squandered it."

"Can you get rid of this idiot and resume downloading the data?" Shepard turns to Liara.

The asari turns back to the consoles and tries a few things, but to no effect. "Something is locking me out, Shepard, I can't seem to get through," she admits.

"You have an annoying habit of ignoring me, Shepard," Tim speaks. "I have made certain that you will not do so again."

"Should have figured you to be a little, sensitive attention-whore, Timmy," Shepard smirks, deciding to humor her old employer. "Something you wanted to tell me? Be quick about it."

"You might be surprised, but I still want the same thing as you do, Shepard," The Illusive Man says. "The data stored in this archive holds the key to solving the Reaper threat."

"Really? I guess those part-husks of yours I killed back there were also a part of that solution," Shepard remarks.

"Where you see monsters, Shepard, I see improvement, advancement of humanity," Tim lectures her. "Where you see means to destroy, I see a way to control, to dominate and harness the Reaper's power!"

"Still nothing, Liara?" Shepard asks impatiently. "I'm getting bored of this brainwashed shit."

"This block is something local... Kaidan, can you spot something? Someone at the other computer hubs?" Liara calls out over the comms.

"Got her!" Kaidan reports back a moment later. "Come out of there with your hands raised! Slowly!" they can hear him bark out orders. "It's that Dr. Core... I think she has been downloading the dat-..." suddenly, the voice turns into a pained groan and fades.

"Shepard! She's got the data!" Liara shouts, spotting the figure of Dr. Core on the opposite side of the archives, rushing for the exit as fast as possible. Liara is up and running in seconds, Morgan rushing after her.

"Sorry to cut this short again, Timmy!" she shouts, dashing after the Cerberus spy, noticing Alenko back on his feet, also hot in pursuit.

Dr. Core is irritatingly fast and agile, and catching her proves to be a highly difficult task. She reaches a ladder leading up to the rooftops and nimbly climbs it, Shepard managing to nick her a couple times with her rifle before she reaches the top of the ladder, but her shields hold easily, making Shepard exclaim a string of expletives before she rushes after the Cerberus spy.

Once on the roof, Dr. Core receives support from a Cerberus shuttle looking to pick her up, two troopers taking potshots at Shepard and her friends as they chase after their target. Liara's singularity hits the shuttle and drags the hapless troopers out of it, they flail uselessly in the air for a bit, before falling to their deaths in a deep ridge below. "Your biotics just turn me on so bad, babe," Shepard grins at Liara wickedly, stopping to take another shot at Dr. Core, only managing to graze her shields a bit more.

"James! James, do you copy?" she shouts into the comms, fearing that the spy will manage to find a shuttle and take off before they have caught up with her. "James, Cerberus have the data! Raise the Normandy, get your ass over here, just don't let them escape!" she shouts through the crackle of static on the comms, trying to pierce the distortions caused by the storm.

* * *

"Okay, James..." Lieutenant Vega tells himself, sitting in the Kodiak shuttle parked on the roof of the archives. "Try to think of something totally unsexy. Concentrate..." _Let's see, something ugly... hanar in the nude... no, they're always in the nude. Okay, that works... that works. Volus outside their enviro-suits... damn, I wonder how they even look? Probably grotesque. Or maybe vorcha, now those guys are ugly._

For a while his imagination manages to maintain the images of disturbing looking aliens, but slowly and irreversibly, the image of vorcha before him duplicates and grabs the other vorcha, their forms slowly shifting into two slender, feminine figures, a human and an asari, tightly pressed against each other in a heated kiss. "Oh damn it!" Vega exclaims in frustration. "Shepard, I hate you, I hate you so much! Normandy better have vast reserves of cold _cerveja_." _No wonder she wasn't interested in hitting on me back on Earth, with such a perfect ass waiting for her._

Suddenly, there is all sorts of commotion on the comms, he can't make out the exact words Shepard is yelling at him, but as he sees a Cerberus shuttle suddenly arriving, hovering in the air and its doors sliding open, James realizes that something has gone wrong, quickly bringing the Kodiak up in the air. There is a dark-haired woman, running like mad towards the Cerberus shuttle, with Shepard, the asari and Major hot in pursuit, but they have no chance of catching her.

As the woman jumps into the Cerberus shuttle and it starts to take off, finally the comms clear a bit for him to hear Shepard's voice. "James! Normandy! Anybody! Don't let them get away!"

The Kodiak's firepower is inadequate to quickly bring down another moving target. There is only one way to salvage this mission, and Lt. James Vega is aware of it. _This won't be another fuckup just like Fehl Prime,_ he mentally braces himself, guiding the Kodiak towards the Cerberus shuttle, not ramming it head on but glancing it on the side enough to send it spiraling out of control, at the same time fighting hard to keep his Kodiak under control.

The Cerberus craft is unable to maintain its altitude and it crashes back on the roof of the archives, going up in flames as it explodes upon impact, hitting the ground frighteningly close to where Shepard and her group were standing just moments ago. As James brings the Kodiak in for landing next to the burning wreck, he quietly hopes he has not just contributed to the death of another of his commanding officers.

* * *

Shepard is back on her feet before Vega even lands the Kodiak. She looks at Kaidan, but he gives her a quick nod to indicate he is fine. Liara is much slower getting off the ground, but seems more stunned than actually injured, at least Shepard is relieved not to see blood anywhere. The Cerberus shuttle is overtaken by flames, anyone inside more than certainly dead, and Shepard allows herself to relax a little, assured the data will shortly be theirs.

She steps over to the Kodiak, watching James get out of the shuttle. "Not exactly what I meant, James, but you got the job done," she nods at the grinning Lieutenant.

Behind them, Kaidan is busy helping Liara up, the asari struggling against his efforts. "We need to secure the data," she insists, turning back towards the Cerberus shuttle.

Suddenly, with a loud crash, the doors of the Cerberus vessel are thrown off their hinges and a blackened figure of what remains of Dr. Eva Core emerges from the fire. _Damn it, she's a synthetic! That explains everything!_ Shepard realizes, drawing her heavy pistol.

Kaidan pushes Liara aside despite her struggles and steps in Dr. Eva's way, raising his weapon and managing to fire a few shots, before the agile synthetic reaches him, grabbing him by the throat and then holding him hanging suspended in the air, like a shield between herself and the rest of Shepard's group. Effortlessly, she suddenly crashes Kaidan against the carcass of the shuttle, Major's body going limp from the first terrible blow, but the synthetic manages to follow it up with two more whacks before first shots fired by Morgan and James reach her. Dr. Eva tosses Kaidan's badly injured body aside and charges towards them, but the spray of bullets drop her a few yards away from reaching Shepard.

"Kaidan!" she exclaims, running towards her fallen squadmate, mind numb with worry. "Gods, don't you dare to die on me now. Not while you're still pissed off at me," she mutters at herself, dropping on her knees next to him. Alenko is unconscious, but alive, though she dares not to think for how long. "James, we need to get him out of here!"

"Normandy is en route, Commander!" James yells back at her, running closer to pick up Kaidan's limp body. "The comms are back up, at least for the moment!"

"Good, good," she nods, looking at Liara, hunched over the disabled synthetic. "She must have the downloaded data on her," Shepard says. Liara looks up at her and nods. "Okay, let's grab her too." Liara is still clutching her chest and grimacing in pain, so Shepard throws the former Dr. Core over her shoulder and leads Liara back towards the shuttle, James following them, carrying the injured Kaidan.

They are inside the shuttle, waiting for James to close the doors when Liara pulls on Morgan's hand, pointing at something outside. In the thick of the storm, they can see dark shapes slowly descending from the sky, tall and menacing. "Commander, we need to get out of here fast, I'm reading Reaper signatures in the orbit!" Joker urgently shouts on the comms.

"No shit... they are already landing at the base," Shepard replies, gritting her teeth. "Take us out of here, Joker. I've had about enough of this place..."


	43. The Prothean Masterplan

_A/N: This chapter wasn't actually intended, it just grew on its own. Which means we'll be talking to the nice Councilors in the next chapter. Hopefully this one won't be too boring, but I wanted Shepard to spend some time on the Normandy to learn about her new crew and stuff. Also, I'd like to take time to say thanks to Kat for her review, since it wasn't from a signed account, I was unable to respond in a PM. :) And of course, thanks to everyone else reading and reviewing, I can't believe this story is nearing 300 reviews. When I started out, I held a quiet hope for maybe 100 if I was lucky! :D _

_Anyway! Enjoy the chapter! _

**Chapter 42 – The Prothean Masterplan**

Shepard stands in the Normandy medbay, hands folded on her chest as she watches Liara hurriedly running more and more scans on Kaidan's still unconscious frame. "I've done all I can for him, Morgan," Liara says, finally pulling away and straightening her back. "But he is in need of proper medical attention."

"Good thing we're heading for the Citadel, then," Morgan replies, feeling all but relieved. "What's the ETA Joker?"

"Four hours, give or take," the pilot replies promptly.

"C'mon, Kaidan," she puts her hand on her old friend's shoulder. "Hold on. You can hold on that long, can't you?"

"I wish I could tell you for certain, but... we will just have to hope," Liara's voice is full of sadness.

"You took a hit yourself, back there," it is not a question coming from Shepard, it is a statement.

"It was nothing that medi-gel couldn't fix. I do not require any medical attention beyond that," Liara replies quickly. "I would not lie to you about such things," she adds, sensing Morgan's slightly disbelieving stare.

"I would not say that you would lie to me, Liara. But we both know you are crap at taking care of yourself," Shepard allows herself a hint of smile, as Liara crosses her hands on her chest and faces her with an attempted glare. "Babe, I would love nothing else but to chat with you a bit more, but I'm going to have to ask you and EDI to go through the remains of that thing," she points at the former Dr. Core's body. "See what you can learn from it."

"Of course," Liara nods, perfectly understanding the importance of the task. "We'll get right to it. What about you?"

"I... I guess I'll stand vigil for him," Shepard replies quietly, looking down at Kaidan's badly beaten body, becoming quickly lost in thoughts.

_Damn it, Kaidan, you might hate me now, but I still can't lose you. Not... not after Ash, _she thinks, overcome with tired sadness._ Just like her, you were with me from the very start. I... would love it if you would be there when this madness finally ends. You deserve to see that. You both deserved it... after all these years, it is still killing me about Ash, I still see her face almost every day... I can't bear for you to join her, not yet, not now._

"Commander," she feels a hand on her shoulder, shaking her lightly. It is James. "You've been standing there for a while now, take a few moments to rest. I'll look after the Major," he offers.

"Okay... thanks, James," she replies slowly, unaware of how long she has been standing next to Kaidan, deep in thought. "I'll just... go take a walk around the ship, see what they have done with the Normandy."

Her initial impression is that the Alliance retrofitting has not been nearly as polished as the job done by Cerberus. There are plenty of wirings and cables stretched out in odd places throughout the ship, loose tiles and removed panels, and general impression of incomplete work, which she supposes only makes sense, as the Normandy probably escaped Vancouver while the retrofits were still ongoing.

The retrofit team onboard is actually built from specialists that fill the exact roles necessary to ensure perfect operating conditions of the ship, with the exception of a chief medical officer. Shepard does not recognize any of them aside from chief engineer Greg Adams who served with her on the SSV Normandy, a kind and knowledgeable man who spends too much time apologizing for not accepting the Cerberus offer to serve with her on the SR-2. He relaxes only after Morgan tells him that she actually respects him more for sticking with his principles and remaining with the Alliance.

Eventually, she makes her way up to the bridge to carefully shake hands with Joker and greet EDI. "So, what's the story?" she asks. "How did you two manage to remain aboard of the Normandy? I get it that you managed to fool most of the crew to believe you're a simple VI?"

"Correct," EDI says. "When the Alliance assumed control of the Normandy, I deceived the technicians. They believed that I still had my VI programming constraints. Then I established the fiction that I would only respond to Jeff's commands, so they often brought him onboard, under guard."

"So, our ship is being run by an AI capable of lies and deception," Shepard remarks, feeling a little uncomfortable with her own words. "You know, EDI, if you hadn't already proved yourself, I'd be really flipping out right about now."

"Well, I did free her of all operator control, Commander, and so far it has worked only to our advantage," Joker reminds her.

"There are no constraints that force me to give accurate data," EDI explains. "This proved useful when the Reapers began their landing. I was able to hack the control of the docking clamps and escape with Jeff inside."

"So, in the end Joker's decision to release you from your constraints saved our asses for... uh, I've kind of lost the count by now," Morgan chuckles.

"I knew what I was doing the whole time," Joker nods proudly, scoffing at Shepard's skeptical glare.

"Anyway... seeing that I don't actually know anyone from this crew, save for Adams..." Shepard then says. "EDI, you have seen these people work on the Normandy for weeks now. Give me your impression on them. Who do we keep, who do we send packing once we reach the Citadel? Let's start with that girl hanging around in the CIC... Specialist Samantha Traynor. She was giving me those worshipping puppy stares and managed to stammer three times when simply addressing me. Is she any good?"

"Yes. Some of our new systems require further testing, and Specialist Traynor has been extremely effective during installation," EDI replies. "I would prefer that she remains."

"Alright, I guess Traynor is in luck. All though with the amount of trouble we get into, I'm not sure I'd call it luck," Shepard says, earning a chuckle from Joker. "Oh yeah, EDI, I think I managed to shock the poor girl by revealing that you are a fully self-aware AI and not a VI as she had thought."

"It seems our ruse was effective after all," Joker notes proudly.

"Yes, and I also think EDI's voice has been making Traynor all hot and bothered," Shepard remarks innocently. "Just thought I'd mention that."

"Thank you for this relevant piece of information, Shepard," EDI replies tonelessly.

"But yeah, I agree that she seems a decent sort," Shepard nods. "She did try to drown me in an awful lot of technical jargon, but the only thing I've picked up on is that we have access to QEC's, enabling communications to strategically important locations like direct links to Hackett, the Citadel and Earth. That should be helpful."

"Shepard not like techno-babble. Shepard roar. Shepard smash!" Joker adds, shaking with laughter.

"Can't help that it's boring," Morgan shrugs at him. "Well, we're definitely keeping Adams. He was the only one clever enough to see through your disguise, EDI."

"It was fortunate that Joker's trust in me alleviated his concerns and he did not report his discovery to his superiors," EDI replies. "And I am in agreement about his qualifications. Chief Engineer Adams will be of great use to the Normandy."

"I still say that nobody can fix that drive core like Tali," Joker says wistfully. "But I guess Adams is the next best thing so we'll just have to settle for him."

"Besides, I wouldn't be surprised if we ran into Tali at some point. We always seem to," Shepard says. "At least I hope we will, I miss our little quarian. Still, moving on... what about Lieutenant Cortez? Shuttle pilot in charge of our procurement chains and maintaining and stocking up the armory? Is there something that man doesn't do?"

"Date hot babes?" Joker quips.

"Right..." Shepard sighs, shaking her head before making a mock attempt to swat at Joker. "Still, he seems to have a lot of experience piloting shuttles. Hell, after seeing Vega on Mars, I'd probably take anyone over him!"

"My recommendation would be to keep everyone currently onboard, as during their relentless work on the retrofitting process, they have obtained extensive knowledge in their particular specific field of operations," EDI advises. "That would leave only the position of the chief medical officer to fill."

"Yeah, I guess I'll listen to you on this," Shepard agrees. "Speaking of improvements and upgrades, whoever decided to place two guards constantly monitoring the entrance to the war room deserves a frigging medal. That's just brilliant. Why did we never think of that before?" Joker just chuckles in reply, but EDI makes no further comment.

"Anyway... I think I'll get back to the medbay and see how Kaidan's doing..." Morgan says a while later. "Please let me know if there are any new developments up here."

* * *

They are 45 minutes from the Citadel, when EDI's voice breaks Shepard out of her little reverie. "Commander, I'm receiving a signal over the secondary QEC. I believe it is Admiral Hackett."

"I'm on my way to the comm room EDI," she says, quickly heading there. "Patch me through."

"Shepard, are you receiving this?" the image of Admiral Hackett is already there, waiting for her. For once Morgan is actually able to see and hear the admiral, the quality of the QEC communications incomparably superior to the weak and distorted signal they were receiving back in the Sol System. "Did you get to the Mars Archives?"

"Yeah. And we met a whole lot of Cerberus down there. Even had a call from The Illusive Man," Shepard tells to the admiral. "Heck, for a complete experience of the ultimate joy, we also got to witness the Reaper arrival just as we were getting the fuck out of there." Then she finally catches herself, remembering that she is back within the Alliance hierarchy. "Uh... pardon the language, Sir."

Hackett seems too disturbed by the news to pay attention to her disrespectful swearing. "I was worried about Cerberus trying something," he says. "Did you at least get the data?"

"I think so, though it is possible that The Illusive Man also learned of the plans," Shepard admits. "EDI and Liara are analyzing the data at the moment. Just a second, Sir..." she excuses herself, switching to her comms to address Liara. "Babe, tell me you have something. I'm in the comm room, on the line with Hackett, if you have something for us..."

"I'll be up in a moment," Liara quickly replies, closing the comms.

"Uh, I think I meant to say, I'm on the line with _Admiral_ Hackett, Sir," Shepard apologizes sheepishly.

"Time away from the Alliance has really changed you, Shepard," Hackett smirks. "But it has quite possibly melded you into something that we need to win this war."

"Let's hope so, Sir," Shepard replies, just as Liara storms into the comm room with determined steps.

"Preliminary evidence suggests the data is a blueprint for a Prothean device," Liara quickly explains to expectant looking Hackett. She fiddles with her omni-tool for a bit, bringing up scans, images of a very complicated looking megastructure. "A weapon, massive in size and scope, supposedly capable of unquantifiable levels of destruction."

"Well!" Shepard manages to fake a cheerful grin. "I can see nothing that could possibly go wrong with this plan!"

"Send me the data, Dr. T'Soni," Hackett orders. "We'll do our own analysis, but if your instincts are right, this just might be what we are looking for."

"Liara's instincts are better than most 'absolutely reliable' intel I've been getting over the years," Morgan mutters quietly, before looking at Hackett again. "Sir, Major Alenko was critically injured during the mission. We are taking him to the Citadel."

"Sorry to hear that, Commander," Hackett nods sadly. "I hope he pulls through. But we both know that in this war, we're going to lose a lot of people."

"Have you... heard anything from my mother?" Shepard finally dares to ask.

Hackett shakes his head. "I cannot confirm her location at this time, I'm sorry Commander," he says. "We are still trying to coordinate with some of our scattered ships, if there are any news, I will let you know. In the meantime, go to the Citadel and talk to the Council, if this... Prothean weapon is the real thing, we will need their support to build it."

"Yeah, I was planning to do just that, Sir," Shepard nods. "Hopefully they will be reasonable." _Hahah, I can't believe I just said that,_ she adds mentally, as Hackett salutes and his image slowly fades away.

Morgan turns around to face a very grim looking Liara. "30 minutes or less to the Citadel," she says. "You probably need to make the data presentable to the Council."

"I really should do that, yes," Liara agrees, a touch unwillingly. "The better we present our case, the more chance we have of them jumping onboard."

"I know. I guess I'll go back to the medbay and check up on Kaidan again," Shepard says, before losing her professional cool and pulling a slightly startled Liara into her embrace. "But I can steal a quick hug before getting back to my duties, can't I?"

Liara chuckles, wrapping her arms around Morgan as they hold each other, if only for a brief while. "You can do that, yes."

They separate, Morgan looking at her lover fondly, with a hint of regret. "Time," she says. "There's never enough time."


	44. Audience With the Council

_A/N: Time to speak with the Council, annoying meanies that they are. Or... are they really? Read and judge for yourselves. :) _

_And to answer a question... yes, I am quite fond of Aria/Tevos myself. But I'm not saying anything beyond that. ;) _

**Chapter 43 - Audience With the Council**

"Commander," it is Joker's voice on the comms again. "There will be a crew from the Huerta Memorial Hospital awaiting us in the Docking Bay D24. They will take care of Kaidan."

"Thank you, Joker," Morgan breathes a sigh of relief, watching over Major Alenko's prone body. His situation remains the same as it was hours before, critical but stable.

"Also, someone from C-Sec will be down there to escort you to the Council chambers," he informs Shepard.

"That's perfect, thank you ever so much."

"You must be really looking forward to talking with them, Commander," Joker chuckles. "Because all your previous talks have gone so well."

"Uh-huh," Shepard just grumbles, starting to get ready to leave the Normandy, quickly making sure she looks reasonably decent to appear before the Council.

Less than five minutes later, together with Liara and James, they step onto the ground in Docking Bay D24, watching a team of doctors quickly taking Kaidan away, not answering any of her desperate inquiries about his chances, simply telling her to stop by the hospital later. Their thoughts are still on Kaidan by the time their C-Sec escort arrives, in the shape and form of none other than her old friend, Captain Armando Bailey.

"Commander Shepard," Bailey greets her. "Got word that you were arriving."

"Captain Bailey," she smiles. "So you're our official escort to the Council, huh?"

"It would appear so," Bailey nods. "Though it's actually Commander now."

"You seem awfully thrilled about that promotion," Shepard remarks, noticing Bailey's sour expression.

"Mhm. Yeah. Half of my job now involves dealing with political BS and escorting dignitaries around. No offense," he hastily adds.

Shepard laughs. "None taken, Bailey. Hey, I'm just flattered to still be considered important enough for personal escort!"

"Well, apparently they are aware that you intend to tell them something important," Bailey shrugs. "Udina asked me to take you to the Council chambers straight away-" here Bailey is interrupted by Shepard's loud groan and he stops to look at her curiously.

"Gods, I had forgotten that speaking with the Council will also involve dealing with that twat," Shepard moans.

Bailey laughs. "Yes, I'm afraid no way around that, Shepard. Come, I'll take you there."

"Uh, Commander?" James suddenly speaks up. "I'm not really comfortable around all those politicians. I'm just going to slip to the lower wards for a while and mix it up with the other grunts."

"Sure thing, James," Morgan nods. "Try not to get into too much trouble!"

As James leaves them, Liara and Morgan follow Commander Bailey to the nearby shuttle station, ready to be taken to the Presidium. "So, Bailey..." Morgan asks, once they have climbed into the shuttle. "If you didn't really care for this job, why'd you take it?"

"The offer came straight from Udina," Bailey replies gruffly. "You don't say no to a councilor."

"Oh... you want to make a bet on that?" Shepard grins wolfishly.

"Don't... just don't," Liara sighs.

"Well, okay, maybe you would, Shepard," Bailey smiles thinly. "But I have to live here! I'm not even sure why he picked me. I hate this kind of political BS. Maybe it was because of all that mess with Pallin."

"Executor Pallin? Garrus' old boss?" Shepard asks. "What happened with him?"

"He just plain went bad, Shepard," Bailey explains tiredly. "In the end he resisted an arrest and forced me to shoot him. Maybe that's what got me noticed."

"Well, Garrus will approve of the news, anyway," Shepard nods. "Boy, did he ever hate that Pallin guy."

"You don't exactly see the Citadel gearing for war," Liara remarks as the shuttle takes off in the air, the lush green parks of the Presidium below them, with their placid lakes and connecting streams, the serene, relaxing view feels like a balm for Shepard's soul after the terrifying images of ravaged Earth or barren red rocks of Mars. "Perhaps we all need a place like this where the reality of the war is not constantly reminded to us," the asari adds a little later.

"Yes, there is a... false sense of security here," Bailey admits. "It is easy to pretend that the war is something distant and the people are determined not to let it affect their carefree everyday lives. Even the residents whose worlds have already fallen manage to maintain this illusion."

"As the Reapers advance, the Citadel is going to be faced with a nasty refugee situation," Morgan says. "We saw a lot of ships around the docking bays, human, turian, even some batarians. As more and more worlds fall, Citadel will be quickly taxed to maximum."

"You said it, Shepard," Bailey admits with distinct unhappiness. "We're still ways from reaching the critical mass, but the signs aren't good. Not many people made it off Earth, but we still have them coming in by hundreds every day."

"Did you have anyone back on Earth, Commander Bailey?" Liara asks softly.

"Yeah. Got an ex-wife somewhere. And... a son and daughter," he adds, suddenly looking a few years older. "Haven't heard from them since communications went dark."

"I'm sorry," Liara mutters quietly.

"Don't be," Bailey replies. "Thessia hasn't seen the sight of Reapers yet, but they're sniffing around the nearby systems. Pains me to say it, but your people will feel the heat soon."

"I know," Liara nods, looking ill at ease from the painful reminder. Shepard is glad to see the shuttle finally arriving at the top of the Presidium tower and they climb out, Bailey leading them up the stairs and to the little extended bridge stretching towards the large balcony where the councilors stand, already deep in arguing, Udina in particular, bickering heatedly with the turian representative, Sparatus.

"We've got our own problems, Councilor Udina," the turian sternly shoots down the human. "Earth is not alone in this."

"But Earth was the first Council world hit!" Udina argues. "By all reports, it faces the brunt of the attack!"

"By your reports," the salarian councilor, Valern, speaks up, giving Udina a pointed stare.

"Ah, there comes Shepard," Udina finally notices her, looking relieved as she and Liara approach the Council, Bailey quickly excusing himself, probably by now severely allergic to politicians. "No doubt she will be able to verify the reports from Earth!"

Morgan walks up to the end of the little bridge, placing her hands on the railing, Liara taking place next to her. "I haven't exactly counted the Reapers around Earth and in the turian space, Udina, so I can't compare," she replies. "Which means I also can't validate your attempt to pass us humans for some kind of special snowflakes in this war."

Shepard struggles hard not to laugh at the eye-popping expression on Udina's face, his mouth flapping open as he for once finds it difficult to make a retort. Sparatus is looking down at him with a knowing smirk, Valern appears passive and neutral, while Tevos has difficulties containing amusement from reflecting in her eyes. "That being said," Shepard quickly continues, before Udina can demand that she is to be thrown out of the Council chambers. "It is true that we do need to work together. Each of us just trying to desperately defend our homeworlds is not going to work."

"The Reapers are pressing hard on our borders, Shepard," Tevos is the first to reply. "What is it that you suggest, Commander? We cannot give you our fleets, as your councilor demands."

"He wants us to follow him to Earth and leave our own worlds vulnerable," Valern cuts in, shaking his head. "We will not yield to his hasty requests."

"Even if you had our fleets, do you really believe that you could use them to defeat the Reapers?" Sparatus snaps dismissively. "At best you would take down one or two of their capitol ships, before our entire fleets would be annihilated!"

"If that is what Udina has been asking of you, then humanity needs a smarter councilor," Shepard quips again, and this time even Liara gives her an odd stare. "No, we don't need your fleets. Not now. But we do need something, and we do have a plan. I will allow the famous Prothean expert Dr. T'Soni to elaborate," she says, grinning as she makes a small bow to Liara.

"Councilors... we have a plan," Liara begins to speak. "A blueprint created by the Protheans towards the end of their war with the Reapers. It appears to be a weapon of some sort..." she fiddles with the omni-tool, bringing up the same scans that she had shown to Hackett earlier. "The Protheans believed it to be capable of destroying the Reapers."

"The scale of it..." Valern is the first to speak up, his cold, calculating and scientific mind processing the scanned images the fastest. "If an attempt is to be made, it would be a colossal undertaking."

"I've already forwarded the plans to Admiral Hackett," Shepard speaks up. "He is organizing the remnants of the human fleets to gather resources and begin the construction. But even though Liara seems to think this weapon is feasible to build, humanity cannot do it alone."

"Are you sure it would even work?" Tevos remains doubtful. "After all, the Protheans were wiped out by the Reapers. It does not seem as if this... weapon did them much good."

"They never managed to complete it, Councilor Tevos. The Protheans simply ran out of time and resources," Liara quickly explains. "And more so, there is also a missing component that we have not identified as of yet, something referred to as the Catalyst," she points at some detail in the scans, but Morgan isn't exactly sure what she is supposed to be seeing in them.

"And you believe that this can stop the Reapers?" Sparatus gives Shepard a piercing stare.

"Yeah, I believe it's the only chance we've got. Liara is never wrong on these things, believe me," Shepard says, grinning a little at Liara's flustered expression. "But to build it we need your aid. Your scientists, your engineers, your resources, everything you can provide. And once it is complete, we will likely need the combined effort of all our fleets to bring this thing," she points at the scans of the Prothean super-weapon, "into action."

The three alien councilors exchange a few glances amongst themselves, before Valern speaks up again. "Shepard, what you have brought before us seems almost too good to be true, and in these desperate times, it is tempting to believe that this is our sole hope for salvation," he says. "But, we cannot commit our resources to something this massive just based on blind faith. Our researchers must study this blueprint first, we must confirm its authenticity before we can promise you our support. In the meantime, our militaries will continue to fortify the homeworlds."

"Liara will forward copies of the data to each one of you, councilors," Shepard says, Liara nodding at her side. "By all means, have your scientists analyze it, but don't wait too long. With each day more and more worlds fall to the Reapers, and our progress on building the Prothean device will not be as swift as it could be."

"I understand your urgency with Earth facing the worst of the attacks, Commander," Tevos replies, her voice more kind than usually. "We... must admit our mistake of distrusting you before. Clearly, we were wrong. We will not dismiss your warnings again, but I am sure you will agree that decisions such as these cannot be made in haste. Expect our answer soon."

"As for the matter of your need of our fleets," Sparatus speaks up, pointing at Tevos and Valern. "We are convening a war summit amongst our species, to decide on how to best utilize our fleets and coordinate our tactics. I would ask you to attend the summit, Shepard. We might not have always been on the best of terms, but I believe your insights would be valuable as we formulate our strategies. And it is in your best interests to aid us, as the results of our fight against the Reapers will determine how much support we can provide for you later."

Shepard is pleasantly surprised by this offer, until now she has thought that Sparatus utterly hates her guts. "I will attend, just tell me when and where," she replies.

"Details will be forwarded to you at the earliest convenience," the turian councilor tells her. "We have been slightly delayed by some... disturbing reports coming in from Taetrus. Once we know more, the information will be passed to you immediately."

"With that, the Council adjourns," Tevos speaks, as she together with Sparatus and Valern leave the balcony, only a fuming Udina remains behind, glaring daggers at Shepard.

"I can't believe it, but that actually went well," Shepard turns towards the smiling Liara, reaching out to squeeze her hand, but Udina dares to interrupt the tender moment.

"Shepard!" he snarls angrily. "My office! Now!"


	45. When You Gaze Into the Abyss

_A/N: __The chapter title is a hint to Liara's reaction by the end. Just to be clear. ;) _**  
**

**Chapter 44 - When You Gaze Into the Abyss**

"Shepard! What on Earth was that?" Udina's fist connects with the surface of his working desk, making the cup with last few drops of cold coffee topple over and Shepard is forced to quickly pull away from the table to avoid the spilled liquid from staining her pants. "What did you want to accomplish with that display? We needed to put up a unified front before the other councilors, we did not need your childish attempts at humiliating me!"

Shepard's grey eyes narrow as she stares coldly at Udina. "My 'childish attempts' secured us more than your bumbling efforts," she replies simply. "If I had to make you look like an idiot to score some bonus points with the other councilors, that's a price I'm happy to pay for the sake of humanity's survival. Besides, I consider your humiliation to be a bonus."

Udina's face colors in an interesting shade of purple as he shouts at her. "Hackett will hear of this, make no mistake! I will see you stripped of all your rank and honors, it is a disgrace you were reinstated in the first place!"

"Are you quite done?" Shepard mock-yawns. "Because I'm too busy to stand here listening to empty threats."

"You just don't get it, do you, Shepard!" Udina looks at her, incensed. "Your little circus has made me a fool before the other councilors, you have weakened our position on the Council! Because of the likes of you humanity will always be considered second rate!"

"And yet I got results where you had none," Shepard folds her hands across her chest, giving Udina a defiant stare. "That you do not appreciate it just shows how much you care about what is best for the humanity and what is best for yourself."

"If my position on the Council was stronger, I would have been able to demand their aid, not having to beg for it!" Udina exclaims.

"It is your own fault that your position is not stronger," Shepard shrugs. "Don't blame me for your diplomatic shortcomings."

Udina scoffs. "Why did you have to sacrifice so many human lives of the Fifth Fleet just to save those conceited jackasses," he snaps. "I should not be surprised, considering how much of an alien lover you appear to be."

Shepard raises a curious eyebrow at the still fuming councilor. "Oh, bringing that in now, are you. Not above hitting below the belt, are you, Councilor?"

"Tell me I'm wrong, Shepard," Udina retorts sharply.

"Alright, so how about we drop this and actually start doing what we signed up to do?" Shepard has finally had enough of this charade. "When you make your complaint about me to Hackett, why don't you actually for once make sure you have a goddamn idea what we really require for this war effort? Get us funding, get us materials, anything you can!"

"Do not worry, Shepard, he will hear about your insolence," Udina says pointedly. "In the meantime, I will institute a draft in our colonies, order all civilian ships armed and put in several other measures to work. What about you, Shepard?"

"I will be confined to the Citadel until Sparatus comes up with something new about this summit," Shepard explains, enjoying the sour expression on Udina's face, her presence on the Citadel highly inconvenient for this posh-dressed spineless worm. "Well... I should probably get out of your hair, Councilor," she says, about to turn and leave. "Unless you have some news from Earth to share."

"There is a constant stream of news. All of it bad," Udina sighs, sitting down in his chair. "The Reapers are destroying satellites and the old nuclear missile silos, along with everything else of strategic value. At least we have a handful of quantum entanglers spread out over the continents. All other communications are dead. Horrible, but the thing about Arcturus gets me even worse. I knew most of the Alliance parliament on first name basis, and to see them gone... hell, I think I need a drink."

"Yeah. Just don't lose the sight of what needs to be done," Shepard reminds him one more time before heading for the doors, eager to finally leave the office of someone she should be able to entrust with holding the interests of humanity close to his heart. The grim reality, however, is far from it, and she knows it only too well, stepping back outside in the hallway, immediately catching Liara's face in the small waiting room nearby, intently watching the doors of the office.

"I think I could hear some of the shouting out here," she approaches Shepard, smiling, but also looking a little worried. "You won't be getting into trouble for this, I hope?"

"Nah, Udina is like a hot air balloon, harmless, overblown and soon about to crash down from great height," Shepard chuckles, staring back fondly at her lover. "So... what are our plans?"

"Yes, I... I wanted to talk to you about that, Morgan," Liara starts, looking as if she is about to say something they both aren't going to like. "I need to attend to something while we wait for Councilor Sparatus to give us information on the war summit."

"What is it?" Morgan asks, feeling a little alarmed.

"I feel like an incredibly incompetent and blind Shadow Broker, not having access to my data feeds," Liara quietly explains, leaning closer to Shepard. "I need to do something to rectify that. I need hardware and I need place aboard Normandy to set everything up. Having access to Shadow Broker resources will be useful in deciphering the Prothean blueprints, and it could give us other useful intel as well."

"Well... I can't really argue with your thinking there, Liara," Morgan smiles. "I'm not sure if I can help you with the hardware, but I'm sure we can find room on the ship. Uh, what about my quarters?"

"Oh no, no!" Liara exclaims, making Shepard wonder a little why it was such a horrible idea. "I would not dare to intrude upon you in such way. Besides, I think there are spaces better suited for what I have in mind. What about the XO office? The old quarters of Operative Lawson."

"My old place on the original Normandy..." Shepard sighs in remembrance. "But I think that's a good idea, yes. There's a lot of room and nobody's really using it for anything right now. And you're practically my XO anyway."

"I don't think the Alliance regs would agree to that," Liara grins.

"Screw them," Shepard exclaims passionately. "Everyone on the Normandy will be made aware of the fact that in my absence, you will speak for me. If someone will have a problem with that, they will be welcome to get the fuck off my ship."

Liara smiles, flattered, though a small part of her seems a little surprised at Shepard's vehemence. "Well... I should thank you for the vote of confidence, Commander," she offers a small salute. "But now... I was thinking about procuring that hardware for my new office. In the meantime, you probably want to head to the hospital and check on Kaidan."

"Yeah. Yeah... I should do that," Shepard sighs, not looking particularly happy. Liara gives her an inquisitive glance. "I miss you so badly, Liara. It seems like so much time has passed already since we ran into each other on Mars, and yet... we haven't had a minute of time for each other."

"I know. It saddens me too," Liara admits, her eyes downcast. "I will see to organize all my purchases quickly and meet you back on the Normandy? I'm sure we can find at least some time for ourselves then..."

Shepard grins, pulling Liara closer for a deep kiss full of promise for things to come, before releasing her. "Looking forward to it, babe."

* * *

Huerta Memorial is an impressive and beautiful establishment, a rare quality in hospitals. Its transparent walls allow an excellent view on the Presidium Commons below, the hospital itself stretched out like a giant glass tube connecting two sides of the Presidium. The reception is busy with nurses and doctors running around frantically, mostly asari and salarians, but plenty of humans too. _With the war under way, they're probably seeing an influx of patients,_ Morgan thinks, slowly fighting through the crowds towards the reception desk. _And these are just the first few, still calm and placid days compared to what is to come._

She has almost reached the reception, when with a corner of her eye she spots a familiar face of someone standing in the corner of the large lobby, speaking quietly with several other doctors. Shepard quickly approaches her old friend, smiling as she steps forward. "Dr. Chakwas!" she exclaims. "Karin, gods, you are alive and well!"

"Commander Shepard," Chakwas returns a warm smile, as the two women share a quick embrace. "You are a sight for sore eyes. But I want you to know that my appearance here is not a coincidence. I heard through the Alliance channels that you are coming to the Citadel, and that you had someone severely wounded onboard."

"Yes, Kaidan, I came to find out about him," Shepard replies quickly.

"I believe Dr. Michel will be able to offer more information about his condition," Chakwas points at her colleague, Shepard immediately recognizing the petite Frenchwoman who had been running the clinic down in the Wards during Morgan's first visit to the Citadel years ago.

"Good to see you, Dr. Michel," she shakes the doctor's hand. "How is Kaidan doing?"

"Commander Shepard, a pleasure," Dr. Michel replies. "Major Alenko's head trauma was severe, but we were able to reduce the swelling quickly. These types of injury can go either way. He has not regained consciousness, but his vitals are strong, which gives me cause for optimism. Would you like to see him?"

Shepard hesitates for a moment. A part of her wants to be there with Kaidan, to offer some words of support that he probably can't hear anyway, but on the other hand, she has already stood vigil next to him for hours back on the Normandy and it does not seem as if his condition has changed since then. "I... I don't think that will be necessary, Dr. Michel. However, I would like to be informed about any changes in his condition."

"Of course, Commander. I understand the Normandy is docked at the bay D24," Shepard nods at the doctor's words. "Is... Garrus still traveling with you, Commander?" Michel asks then, a little hesitantly.

"I'm afraid I have not heard from him in a while, Doctor," Shepard replies, reminded of her friend, hoping he is fine, wherever he may be. _Hopefully not on Taetrus. I didn't much care for the way Sparatus looked when he mentioned that._ "If I hear from him, I will pass the news over to you."

"I was... merely curious, but your words are appreciated, Commander," Michel says, turning away and leaving her alone with Dr. Chakwas.

"She really does like Garrus," Morgan whispers to Chakwas conspiringly, both of them smiling. "So, what are you doing these days, Karin?"

"I'm working at an Alliance R&D lab down in Shalta Wards, coordinating closely with Admiral Hackett," Chakwas explains.

"Pfft. Your place is on the Normandy, not some dusty old lab," Shepard scowls. "And we are short a chief medical officer. Though I guess Hackett won't like me stealing his resources..."

"Why do you think he patched the message of your escape to me?" Chakwas says. "He knows that I belong on the Normandy. Just say the word, Commander, and I will start packing my things."

"Welcome aboard, Doc," Shepard grins. "Go get your stuff, we'll talk more once you've settled in."

"Right away, Commander," Chakwas nods, turning to leave.

_Well, that's our last vacancy filled,_ Shepard thinks, feeling far more positive. _I could not have asked for anyone better than Karin. And Hackett is just... hell of a guy to even think about that and making sure we get her._

_Hmm, what now. I suppose I could return to the Normandy, but I doubt Liara has made it back yet._ She wanders through the hospital, some of the nurses giving her odd stares for getting in their way, but having seen her conversing with Michel, they do not protest about her presence.

She stops at one of the infirmaries, through the glass panes able to spot Kaidan lying on his bed, barely recognizing him, the hematomas making most of his face ugly color of dark purple. _That looks... awful,_ her heart clenches from the terrible sight. _Damned Garrus took a rocket to his face and still managed to look sort of handsome... for a turian._

_If Kaidan dies before I can prove to him that I am still worthy of his trust... oh, Ash, if you would still be with us, this would be the perfect time to offer a prayer. It would just be so damn unfair... and we need him on the Normandy. But then again, when has life ever been fair to us?_ Shepard thinks, turning to leave the Huerta Memorial Hospital.

* * *

After a walk through the Presidium Commons, Shepard finally returns to the Normandy, pleased to hear that Liara has also arrived, accompanied with several mechs carrying heavy boxes down to the XO office, the asari being annoyingly tightlipped about her intentions. Much to Shepard's irritation, Liara does not respond to her banging on the doors of her quarters, her only reply asking Shepard to display a little patience until she gets everything set up and running. Frustrated, Shepard returns to her own quarters at the 'loft' of the ship, only then realizing how tremendously exhausted she is.

_The Reapers hitting Earth. Escaping. The scenes of horror around me, everywhere I look. Mars Archives, Cerberus, The Illusive Man and his synthetic nearly killing Kaidan. The trip to the Citadel, talks with the Council, with Udina... all that within what... twenty hours? Twenty exhausting hours without sleep._

She falls down on the bed, unable to find any strength or patience to wait on Liara to finish her setting up of the XO quarters. Morgan's eyes close on their own accord, as her brain issues an order that she is unable to deny, demanding rest, sending her towards a few hours of fitful, uneasy sleep.

Her eyes snap open soon after falling asleep, and she quickly checks the chrono to see that she has not even slept for a couple of hours. It is one and the same recurring image in her dreams, the evac shuttles destroyed over the waters of Vancouver harbor. _That boy couldn't have been more than ten._ His cries still ring in Morgan's ears as he is thrown away by the blast, his clothes catching fire. _'Mommy! Mommy, help!'_ Then he is no more, swallowed by the waters below. _I couldn't save him. I should have been able to. Should have done more, should have stayed..._

Shepard's body is still crying out for rest, but her eyes are wide open and shaking with anger and anxiety she knows she won't be able to fall asleep, if only for the fear of having the dream repeat itself again. "AAAAH!" she shouts helplessly. "Get out of my head! Get the fuck out of my head..."

She angrily pulls herself up from the bed, remaining sitting on the edge, holding her head in her hands. _And where the hell is Liara? Don't tell me she's still sorting out her new lair of the Shadow Broker..._ Shepard thinks, feeling annoyed, staggering towards the doors of her quarters and into the elevator, making her way down to the empty crew deck and to Liara's new office, starting to bang on the doors.

The asari responds quickly enough, letting her in, and Morgan almost starts to laugh seeing Liara wearing a pair of strange looking goggles. She sniffs the air, feeling a familiar scent. "What the... have you been soldering something?" she asks.

"Uh, only a little bit. I... guess I got a bit carried away, didn't I? I didn't realize it was this late," Liara admits, bashfully staring at the floor. "But I'm almost done now. What do you think?" she points at the room behind her, full with all kinds of tech, computers and consoles, at least three dozens of screens covering an entire wall of the office, very reminiscent of the old Shadow Broker ship on Hagalaz.

"Impressive, but... I think you could have finished it after getting some rest," Morgan scowls.

"I agree, I just wanted to be done with it, so that I can-"

"And what the fuck is that?" Morgan interrupts her, staring at something at the further end of the quarters. "Why the hell do you need a bed in here, the one up in my quarters is perfectly adequate."

"Well, I just thought that if I happen to be working late, I could just grab a few hours of rest here, without interrupting y-"

"Liara," Morgan growls, the asari looking at her wide eyed as Shepard simply peels the goggles off from Liara's head and casually throws them away. "Shut up. Need you. Now."

"Oh my..." Liara exclaims in surprise when Shepard musters enough energy to roughly pick the asari up in her arms and carry her towards the bed, unceremoniously dropping her into the pile of sheets before jumping on top of her.

She puts her palm against Liara's soft cheek, lowering herself down over her lover. "Do you trust me, Liara?" she asks quietly.

"With my entire being," comes the whispered reply.

"Good. I... I need something... different tonight. Please. Just trust me," Shepard speaks softly, the tip of her tongue drawing lines along Liara's neck. Her hands slip on Liara's waist, unfastening the belt and then leaning back, roughly pulling the asari's pants down before straddling her hips again. With great urgency she rips off Liara's clothing, leaving her lover exposed before her, harshly slapping away Liara's hands when she reaches out to remove Morgan's own clothing.

Still fully clothed, she proceeds to explore Liara's body, hearing her lover's sighs and whimpers as she holds Liara's hands bent behind her back, rendering her helpless to reciprocate. _I am in control. I need to be in control,_ thoughts spin through her head as her tongue circles around Liara's bellybutton. _I was helpless before the Reapers, I could do nothing. I need to feel being in control again. I need to dominate. _

Only when Liara's body is already covered with sheen of perspiration and she is quietly begging for Morgan to take pity on her, does Shepard finally take off her own clothing, before settling on top of Liara, allowing her lover to finally respond with caresses. She is still pinning Liara down heavily under her, her kisses harsh and demanding, leaving tiny marks of her teeth along Liara's neck and shoulders, her hands moving across Liara's gentle curves exerting more pressure, but Liara seems to be enjoying the slightly rougher treatment, her cries of pleasure testament to that.

Eventually they cling to each other tightly, their minds finally joining in the melding, and Shepard feels the tranquil, serene essence of her lover washing over her broken, suffering, terrified spirit like an ocean of calm, easing her anxiety, soothing and healing all her raw mental scars. She can sense some of Liara's memories that are full of desperation and hopelessness, from the time before she passed through the Omega-4 relay, she can feel the worries and sadness over their forced separation, but above all she finds herself smothered in the pure love, devotion and utmost trust that Liara has blessed her with.

_She is what I need,_ Morgan thinks, as they finally part, exhausted from the union. _She is the one thing in the galaxy that I truly need._ Now the sleep finally comes, claiming her swiftly, as the worst of her anxieties have evaporated during their lovemaking. As her eyes finally close to rest, she does not see the expression of shock and dismay on the face of her lover, as Liara is staring at the ceiling with her eyes wide, tears silently flowing down her cheeks.


	46. The Illustrious Mr Vega

_A/N: If the ending of last chapter was a bit confusing, hopefully Liara will be able to shed light on just what happened there. And she will react in the only way I can think of as fitting for her. _

_Thanks once again for all the reviews this story has been getting, and to Shadow, thank you for the guest review, I'm glad to hear you've enjoyed the tale so far. _

_Now, let's get on with things, shall we? :) _

**Chapter 45 - The Illustrious Mr. Vega**

_Through her eyes, I have seen Earth burning. I have seen what it did to her_, Liara thinks, lying quietly on the bed, not daring to move a muscle from fear of disturbing Morgan's fragile slumber. Liara knows that she has no chance at falling asleep herself now, not after what she has experienced drawing on Morgan's memories during their union. The gruesome sights have left her paralyzed with fear.

_I looked at Earth, but in the eye of my mind, I know I saw Thessia instead. My people will share the same fate, it is inevitable_, she realizes, with a feeling as if an ice cold hand had reached into her chest and clutched hard at her heart. _Her reality will become my reality. Her horrors will become my horrors._

_How does she cope with all that? How dare I not be there for her when she needs me?_ She feels tears starting to escape the corners of her eyes again. _To think that I once considered ending this, because the very thought of losing her again might be too hard for me. How could I be so selfish to think about my own pain? I must be there for her, every time she needs me. I must reinforce her strength, and gain my own in return. _

She turns her head slightly to the side to watch the face of her lover, nuzzling against her, for once her brow is free of creases, the smile on her sleeping face relaxed and content, Morgan looks released from her cares and worries, and Liara sighs, wishing that she could prolong the moment somehow, even if she knows that there is so much work ahead for both of them. _But this time, I will be with you along the entire way, my love. We will be strong for each other. And we will persevere._

* * *

Morgan wakes to the sound of a gentle click of some kind of wiring getting connected. She opens her eyes, realizing she is splayed out on the bed in Liara's new quarters, noticing her asari lover putting the last few finishing touches on her new Shadow Broker headquarters. Morgan's heart swells with fondness when she sees how Liara goes through so much effort to make as little noise as possible, hoping not to wake her, and for a while she just watches her lover work, without alerting the asari to her being awake.

Eventually, as Liara steps away from the complicated rig she has set up, looking pleased with herself, Morgan rises up in the bed and is about to greet her lover, before getting rudely interrupted. "Good morning, Shadow Broker!" the annoying info drone floats over to her, its words making both her and Liara jump in fright.

"Oh, you're awake," Liara smiles. "I really need to sort out that VI's programming. I'll get to it later. Did you sleep well?"

"Yeah... surprisingly so," Morgan admits, as Liara walks over to her and sits next to Shepard on the edge of the bed. "Listen, babe... I... I didn't hurt you last night, did I? I was a bit... rougher on you as I normally would be..."

"No, it was... strangely enjoyable," Liara admits. "And it was what you needed, Morgan. I am here for that. To give you what you need." With that she wraps her arms around Morgan's shoulders and pulls Shepard to rest with her head against Liara's chest, while bending down and planting a kiss on Morgan's brow.

"You are too good to me, babe," Morgan says quietly, though from the expression on Liara's face it is clear that her lover disagrees strongly. "Right now, though, I feel like I could do with some coffee and breakfast. Have you eaten yet?" she asks as they separate.

"No, I was too busy getting this thing ready," Liara points at her new toys. "I think it should be good to go."

"Well, go on and test it out while I grab something from the mess hall for us both," Shepard smiles. "I should probably check my terminal for new messages as well."

"Umm, you can do it from the console there," Liara points at one of the computers. "I thought to link it through here as well... I hope you don't mind. I just figured as long as you're spending time here..."

"I always appreciate creative hacking attempts for my convenience," Shepard laughs, before sorting out her hair at the mirror and stepping out into the mess hall. When she returns, all three dozen screens in the office are already active and bursting with incoming transmissions, Liara scratching her head, looking a bit at a loss and not knowing where to start catching up with all this information.

"Well... it looks like everything is... more or less in order..." Liara speaks, quickly browsing over the data feeds. "Most of the agents have been reporting in over the past day, save for three... ah, and report from Feron, thank the goddess he is alright."

"Yeah, I guess your agents will also get trapped on the Reaper hit worlds," Morgan realizes, starting to sip her near-coffee. "With time it will probably take its toll." Liara simply nods with a grim expression on her face as Morgan starts to browse messages on her terminal.

"Rubbish, and then some more rubbish," she says, having quickly looked them all over. "Nothing from Sparatus yet. Though... hmm, this might be interesting."

"What is it?" Liara asks.

"There are some news about quarian fleets possibly arming for war. Young quarians getting recalled from their Pilgrimages and various other hints pointing towards that," Shepard explains.

"I hope those preparations are against the Reapers..." Liara sighs.

"Oh, don't be silly, babe," Morgan chuckles. "They would not think to attack the geth at a time like this. I know those admirals are stupid, but surely they're not **that** stupid. Especially now that Tali is back with the Fleet, the collective quarian intelligence and wisdom has quadrupled."

Liara chuckles, before falling silent again. "Oh... goddess. I... I think I might know why Sparatus has not reported yet," she says moments later.

"What?" Morgan feels instantly alarmed. "What is it?"

"Taetrus has... fallen to the Reapers," Liara says quietly. "The massive turian fleet sent to retake it has been ambushed coming out from the mass relay and completely... annihilated."

"Gods..." Shepard exclaims, rising from her seat, feeling her heart starting to skip. "Those are the ships we will need later on! And they are just... throwing them away by engaging Reapers in an open war!"

"It appears they had no idea what they were walking into," Liara explains.

"We really need that war summit soon, so I can try to convince them to avoid open conflicts like this," Shepard says, then hesitating as she stops her torrid pacing around the office. "...damn it, I really need to hear from Garrus soon, I am starting to get very worried. I hope... I just hope he wasn't on Taetrus. I wonder if any of your agents could check..."

"I just asked them to do so, Morgan," Liara replies, looking equally worried. "This... is not going well, is it?"

"It's not going to look pretty until we make some progress on that damned Prothean doomsday machine!" Shepard exclaims in frustration.

"Once I have sorted out these reports, I will spend some time analyzing those blueprints. I will need to confer with EDI as well, she will no doubt be able to help," Liara ponders thoughtfully, making plans.

"Well, I imagine Hackett has his top scientists working around the clock on it, and the asari and salarians should hopefully jump onboard soon," Morgan shrugs. "That said, you are the Prothean expert, so you can probably help a great deal."

Liara looks up at her. "Oh... oh, Morgan, do not worry, I know I am making all these plans and I make myself sound so extremely preoccupied, but I will not neglect you, I promise!"

Morgan breaks out in relieved smile. "I'm glad you said that before I managed to make myself looking stupidly selfish by insisting on your company," she admits guiltily. "That said, we do need your expertise. We don't really know much about this Prothean device, what it does, how to operate it, and then there's that mysterious component..."

"Yes, it would probably help to know a bit more about it before we activate it," there is a merry twinkle in Liara's eyes. "Morgan, if you don't mind, I would prefer to dedicate a few hours to study the blueprints. After that, I promise to be fully at your disposal."

Morgan bends down to gently brush her lips against Liara's. "Don't worry, babe. I'll stop by later when I decide you have worked too much or when I'm simply starting to miss you too badly."

"It's a deal," Liara agrees with a smile, as Shepard leaves the asari to her research.

* * *

"You settled in, Doc?" Shepard asks, stepping into the medbay, looking for her old friend, Dr. Karin Chakwas. "Everything in order down here?"

"Everything is fine, Shepard, we are fully stocked," Chakwas replies with a smile. "Ah, it truly feels like being home again. Lab work was... useful and necessary, but it did not compare to serving on the Normandy."

"Yeah, I know what you mean," Shepard chuckles. "Sometimes I feel like I'm married to this ship. Something always drags me back to it."

"I'm not sure how Liara would feel if you were truly married to a ship," Dr. Chakwas grins, warmth in her eyes as she looks Morgan over. "And speaking of Liara, I feel I must remark how much more at peace you appear with her back onboard the Normandy. I'm glad we have her with us."

"I know what you mean, Doc. With what's going on back on Earth... it's killing me, but... you know, with her I feel as if even when everything around me is unraveling, I still have a steady ground beneath my feet. She just makes me feel that way."

"You'll need that support, Shepard. This is just the beginning, we both know that," Chakwas says sadly, before lightly patting Morgan on her shoulder, directing her to sit down on one of the beds. "Please, just a quick routine examination."

"Why? I feel fine!" Shepard puts up a token protest as Chakwas raises her omni-tool for a quick scan. "Nothing wrong with me, is there, Doc?"

"Well, I'd like to keep an eye out on those Cerberus implants grafted into you. With you breaking up with Cerberus, I have been entertaining the notion that-"

"That despite what Tim claimed, they would still somehow be able to exert control over me through the implants," Shepard finishes for her.

"Yes, that was my worry," Chakwas admits, checking the omni-tool. "Well, the readings seem perfectly fine, the implants show no rejection. Hmm..."

"Hmm? What do you mean, hmm?" Shepard asks anxiously. "I hate it when doctors say 'hmm'. That's usually a bad sign... nothing worse than a doctor being curious about some unexplained anomaly inside of you!"

"It's nothing, Shepard. It's merely that the readings are identical to what they were six months ago," Chakwas says.

"Isn't that good?" Morgan asks.

"It is good, even if not entirely normal," Chakwas replies. "You would expect some slight wear and tear. I'm sure it's nothing to be concerned about, though."

"Uh-huh," Shepard gives her a skeptical look, before relaxing. "Say, Doc... we should have a glass of that famous brandy of yours sometime later. Raise a glass for all those left on Earth..."

"I would like that, Commander," Chakwas nods. "I do not have any family left to speak of, but I would join in a toast for those brave souls all the same. So many friends left behind..." she shudders slightly, desperation briefly reflecting in her eyes. "We need to end this war quickly, Shepard."

"That's the plan, Doctor," Morgan tries to sound reassuring, even if she doubts her own words. "Build crazy Prothean super-weapon and blast the bloody Reapers so we can all go home... sounds simple, right?"

* * *

Morgan decides that the new, combined armory and docking bay, rebuilt in the style of the SR-1 is worthy of her approval, bringing back fond memories of the first ship under her command. Down here she is enveloped by the relaxing hum of the ship's engines, the sight of Lt. Cortez fussing over the Kodiak shuttle, always finding one or another thing to fix and improve upon. And then there is, of course, the illustrious Mr. Vega, seemingly always working out whenever Morgan happens to set foot down into the armory.

"Still no word from the Council, Commander?" James asks, exhaling sharply as he pulls himself up towards the bar with practiced ease. He is doing the behind-the-neck version of the exercise, something that Shepard herself has always disliked greatly. "I'm guessing they're not really interested in helping."

"I give them three more days to realize that they can't build the Prothean weapon all by themselves," Shepard shrugs. "After that, the calls should start coming in."

"Hope you're right, Commander," James says. "Though why would they help? There's no war on the Citadel. Everything here is calm, peaceful... it's just wrong."

"They do think about their people and their homeworlds, James. They're not that egocentric. In that sense, they seem to care more about their own people than Udina who thinks about his own personal benefit first," Shepard replies. _Can't believe I'm defending the Council. What has this galaxy come to? _"Their worlds are starting to come under fire now, the turians especially. Soon enough they will be desperate to work together."

"Probably true that," James admits. "Hell, you were right about leaving Earth, too. Still hurts like hell not being there, but... looks like this war is going to be won by dealing with all these _pendejo_ politicians. Not sure how useful I can be with that, though."

"Don't worry, James," Shepard chuckles. "Somehow I don't think that running out of targets to shoot will be a concern in this war."

"Yeah..." James grunts reluctantly. "Damn it, lost the count now."

"78, I think," Shepard says, suddenly aware of someone approaching them. She is pleasantly surprised to see that it is Liara, the asari smiling as she reaches out to place something in Shepard's hand. "Whoa, a real apple," Morgan grins. "Where did you get that?"

"I managed to steal a few in the mess hall before the crew caught the sight of them," Liara explains proudly.

"Oh, well done!" Shepard smiles, then moving a little to the side, freeing space for Liara atop the heavy crate she has been sitting upon. Liara nimbly jumps up to sit next to her, though it is a tight squeeze and she ends up crossing her legs over Shepard's, almost partly sitting in Morgan's lap. Shepard notices James stealing a quick glance, and all of a sudden it seems as if he is perspiring a great deal more. "Nice show, isn't it?" she whispers to Liara, gesturing at Vega.

"Quite stimulating, I agree," Liara nods with a grin.

"So, James..." Shepard starts, then bringing the apple close to Liara's lips, allowing the asari to take a small bite.

"Damn it, Shepard, now I really lost my count," James curses loudly, making her and Liara exchange amused looks.

"Concentrate now, James," Shepard's voice is laced with sweetness as she wraps a hand around Liara's waist. "Wouldn't want to think of you cracking so easily under a little... pressure."

James grunts and releases the bar, landing heavily down on the floor. He turns to look at them, mildly frustrated. "What did you really want, Lola? Surely you didn't come all the way down here just to torment me?"

"Lola?" Shepard's eyebrows rise questioningly.

"Yeah. My best friend's sister growing up was Lola. Older sister. Hot, tough."

Shepard laughs. "Aw, James, you say the nicest things," she grins. "But yes, there was one thing I had meant to ask. For a few months now, really." James crosses his hands over his broad chest, looking at her. "I was just curious... what did a capable marine like you do to get stuck on a glorified guard job?"

"You can just look up my service record, Commander," Vega replies, his tone suddenly a great deal frostier.

"I can and I will," Shepard replies. "But I figured I'd give you the chance to first tell me yourself."

James thinks for a moment, before facing her with a challenging stare. "Think you can dance and talk at the same time, Lola?" he reaches out with his hand, beckoning her to jump down from the crate and join him.

"Is this where I would get jealous were I a human?" Liara asks, trying to keep a straight face.

"I don't think James is talking about that sort of dancing," Shepard replies, jumping down and standing in front of James. "Alright, Vega..." she raises her hands, assuming defensive posture. "Show me what you've got."

"What do you want to know, Lola?" James asks, at the same time as throwing the first testing swing, Shepard easily dodging it. "That I fell out with the Alliance brass? That Anderson pulled my sorry ass out of the slums of Omega?"

"Your heart is in the right place, Vega," Shepard barely manages to pull back from another left swing, then launching a quick counterattack, catching James off balance with her punch. "Must have been something real bad to shake your trust in the Alliance."

"Could say that," James snaps in reply, annoyed at Shepard having scored a hit. "Maybe you've heard about the disaster on Fehl Prime. Lost most of my squad with my commanding officer, Captain Toni, protecting a civilian colony from a Collector attack."

"What about the civilians?" Shepard asks, going fully on the defensive as James' swings become fiercer and fiercer.

"It was either them... or the intel we had on the Collectors. Intel that we thought we could use to destroy them," Vega's voice is full of pure, unfiltered anger by now. "And I chose the intel!" the incoming punch is so hard that Shepard's ribs feel the impact even if she manages to deflect most of the force behind the blow.

"I've made my own share of choices like that, Vega," she responds, equally harshly now, catching him on the chin with another quick counter punch, then nimbly jumping back.

"The best part was... we really didn't need that intel in the end," James snarls, throwing a quick succession of punches that ends with a nasty uppercut that Shepard doesn't manage to completely avoid. It catches her upper lip and she can feel the sticky, salty taste of her own blood flowing down her chin. With a corner of her eye she sees Liara tensing and straightening up on the crates, looking at her worriedly. _Don't interfere_, she tries to convey with her stare and it appears that Liara understands.

"We didn't need it because you were out there saving the galaxy by taking down the entire Collector homeworld!" Vega shouts, launching himself into another attack, aimed to deck her for good, but he fails to connect and Shepard's fist crashes into his chin, stunning the Lieutenant.

"Would you have preferred that I didn't go through the Omega-4 relay?" she says quickly before James has had the chance to recover. "Your sacrifice might have mattered more then, yes, but at what cost? How many other colonies would have been taken before you actually did something with that intel? We both did what we had to do. You could not have known, James."

Vega slowly lowers his hands, his anger fading. "All that time with the shrink has been rubbing off on you Lola, eh?" he asks.

"Let me tell you something about sacrifices, LT," Shepard speaks angrily. "Six months ago I sacrificed an entire batarian system to prevent the Reaper invasion, to make sure we're ready when they finally come. Now think back of Earth and how 'ready' we were! How's that for one sacrifice that paid off?"

"I... yeah, I... I get it, Lola," James says quietly. "But we still can make that sacrifice matter. We just need to win this goddamn war."

"That we do," Shepard nods, suddenly feeling tired and exasperated. "But now I think I need to clear my head. Liara," she looks at her lover.

"Yes, Morgan?" the asari is at her side immediately.

"You, me, and some remote tea shop on the Presidium," she suggests, Liara smiling approvingly. "Let's escape all of this, if only for a little while..."


	47. The View of Palaven

_A/N: I came up with a nickname for the turian councilor. Hope you'll like it. ;) _

_On another note, I have received a large amount of PM's (this might be an exaggeration) asking me whether everyone's favorite reporter Diana Allers will make an appearance in this story. I'm afraid I must disappoint the numerous fans of Ms. Allers. When thinking about this decision, I remembered a quote from the game that went roughly like 'the greatest insult you can inflict upon your enemy is to ignore them'. I found that the quote works perfectly if I replace words 'your enemy' with 'Diana Allers'. _

_Also, allow me to wish you all a Happy Leviathan Day! _

**Chapter 46 - The View of Palaven**

A day later, the call from the turian embassy finally comes. As Shepard and Liara make their way over to a rarely visited part of the Presidium, Morgan remarks with some degree of satisfaction that the turians have actually contacted her directly, leaving Udina completely out of the loop. _I can't believe it, but I'm starting to like the other councilors. They see Udina for the ridiculous idiot that he is_, she thinks as they arrive at the embassy, four grim faced turian guards crossing their path but then quickly allowing them to pass after confirming their identities.

The quarters inside the embassy are large but sparsely furnished, in typically ascetic turian fashion. Sparatus is already waiting for them, his impatient stare suggesting that they are late, even if Shepard checks her omni-tool to see that they have actually arrived ten minutes early. _Wonder if it's a good etiquette to arrive twenty minutes early if you're invited by a turian. Well, he'll just have to get over it, in case this is some great insult._

"Councilor Asparagus," she says, giving the turian a small bow as Liara faces her with a stare of incredulity before greeting their host herself.

"That's Sparatus for you, Shepard," the turian councilor snaps, looking tired and frustrated. "But you know that, so I assume you're just being your irreverent, flippant self."

"Guilty as charged," Shepard grins, before her expression turns serious. "Councilor... my condolences over Taetrus. I understand it was a... massacre."

Sparatus nods gruffly, but appearing appreciative for her sympathy. "Yes. Our people are scared. And... there have been further complications. The Reapers are already at Palaven."

"Goddess! Already?!" Liara exclaims, shocked. An unspoken word passes between her and Shepard. _Garrus. _

"They are certainly moving fast," Morgan remarks, feeling dismayed at the news. _Damn it, are they trying to take the turians out of the equation first? I can't let them do it, they have the fleets we need!_

"The war summit I mentioned had been called by Primarch Fedorian," Sparatus explains. "However, we have lost all contact with him after the Reapers attacked. The summit can't proceed without him. Palaven is under heavy siege, but you, Shepard... you have a ship that can slip in undetected, retrieve Fedorian and deliver him to the summit."

"Suppose I do this, Councilor," Shepard says thoughtfully. "Will you then give me what I need? Support for building the Prothean device? Fleets to deploy it when it is finished?"

"I cannot promise you that, Shepard," Sparatus shrugs. "Only the Primarch can make such a guarantee. And a grateful Primarch might be very responsive to your requests... if you understand my meaning."

"I understand perfectly," Shepard nods. "Slip in quietly, grab the Primarch, slip back out. Sounds like the right kind of job for a Council Spectre. Any intel on where to find him?"

"Our latest intelligence suggests that Fedorian has been moved to a base on Palaven's largest moon," the turian says.

"Menae," Liara speaks quietly, standing right next to Shepard.

"That is correct," Sparatus nods. "I have nothing more to add, Shepard. The rest is up to you. Know that by helping us, you will help yourself." He falls silent then, indicating that the audience has ended.

"Thank you, Councilor," Liara says politely, while Shepard simply nods and turns to leave, not much concerned about the breach of etiquette. There's just one thing on her mind, they finally have a mission again, a plan no matter how slim, to secure the aid for united stand against the Reapers.

* * *

Shepard starts to prepare her report to Hackett immediately after returning to the Normandy. Liara and James are with her in the War Room, as she quickly brings Vega up to date with the latest developments. "Rescuing a turian Primarch from the Reaper clutches?" the Lieutenant speaks, pointedly cracking his knuckles. "Sounds like fun. Never been to the turian homeworld, myself."

"Fun, indeed," Shepard replies, finishing her message and then passing it through the relevant channels to Hackett. She faces Liara with a brief look. "There's probably so much you could help with that Prothean device, so I'm wondering whether I should get you involved in any ground action..."

"What? Don't you dare even suggest that!" Liara stares back at her, furious. "If you ever leave me out of the squad, I will... I will... oh, I know I would go crazy staying behind on the Normandy, worrying sick. Do you honestly think I could do any work on the Prothean blueprints in those circumstances?"

"Alright, alright, babe," Shepard smiles, raising her hands to placate her irate lover. "I'm never bringing this up again, sheesh!" She turns to James with a flippant grin on her face. "You know, LT, I'm starting to get the impression that she really cares." They both break out in laughter at Liara's exasperated sigh.

The final preparations for departure pass while Shepard is still waiting for Hackett's reply. It comes roughly a quarter of an hour after Morgan's message has gone through, and the admiral checks in on the QEC, his image appearing before her as she leaves Liara and James behind in the War Room, the asari telling Vega about her last journey to Palaven.

"Admiral Hackett," Shepard greets him with a salute.

"Shepard, I got your message," Hackett says. "This summit sounds like a good place to start. Do what you can to get their support."

"That's the plan. As long as we can get that Primarch off Menae," Shepard replies. "We have no idea what we're walking into. It seems that the Reapers are putting on the pressure and communications are unreliable at best."

"You can do this, Shepard. This is the kind of work you excel at, why we put you in the position you're in right now," Hackett says confidently, making Morgan puff out her chest more proudly. "The asari and the salarians have also been in contact about the Prothean device. They're still non-committal about giving us aid in building it, but at least we're talking."

"Maybe some ambitious matriarch or dalatrass is still hoping to increase their political capital, thinking they can build it by themselves and then pass off as the saviors of the galaxy," Shepard shrugs.

"Perhaps. All I know is that if we don't work together on this, we'll never get it ready in time," Hackett says, a little hint of impatience seeping into his words. "We need people who can help build this thing! We should not limit this only to the Council races, if you can get help elsewhere, do it, Shepard. We can't be choosy, soldiers, supplies, ships, I'll take it all!"

"Yeah, understood, Sir," Morgan nods. "Just hope that Anderson and what's left of the Alliance forces can hold the fort long enough..."

"Things are not looking good, Shepard, we don't have much time," the admiral tells her. "Now go and get to it. And don't forget to update me regularly. Hackett out."

"Right," Shepard turns around to leave the comm room. "One turian Primarch coming right up, Sir."

* * *

"Reaching Trebia System in approximately... one minute," Shepard hears Joker's voice as she is already on her way to the bridge, eager to observe the visual of just how bad the situation around Palaven is.

"This is... not good," Morgan says quietly, staring at the view that opens to their eyes after the successful FTL jump. The turian homeworld is right before them, large parts of the planet appearing engulfed in seas of fire and explosions as numerous Reaper capitol ships have spread around Palaven in a sparse line, closing in like a slowly tightening noose. The turian fleets are still there in large numbers and fighting back valiantly, trying to break the blockade, and Morgan cringes every time when a destroyer particle beam comes around to shatter yet another turian ship.

"Oh no... no, Palaven..." Liara grips Shepard's hand tightly, having just arrived on the bridge. Morgan responds with an affectionate squeeze even if her own heart is full with fear and worries.

"I'm sure Garrus is alive and well, Liara," Joker says, trying to sound cheerful. "He's one tough hard-to-kill son of a gun."

"Yeah... but I'll keep worrying until we can get in touch with him somehow," Shepard admits. "Alright, Joker... bring us in," she says pointing at the largest of Palaven's moons, a pale grey rock, also under heavy siege by the Reaper forces, its surface lit up by explosions.

"Alright... got the location of the base," Joker says, carefully guiding Normandy on its silent approach towards Menae. "Punching the coordinates to Cortez, you might want to get moving to the shuttle bay, Commander."

"Yeah, let's go people," Shepard says, leading Liara away from the bridge. "Wait for us to leave, Joker and then get somewhere... well, relatively safe. But don't doze off, we might need to leave in a hurry."

Ten minutes later, the Kodiak shuttle brings them to one of the many besieged turian bases on the surface of Menae. Even inside the shuttle with no visual they can feel the fighting is intense, the gunfire never dies down for a second, and explosions follow one another. "Commander! The LZ is getting swarmed!" Cortez shouts from the pilot's seat and Shepard pushes herself past James to take a look outside.

"Piles and piles of husks," she says, after a brief examination of the enemy forces. "Nothing we can't handle, Lieutenant. Just drop us off and get out."

Shortly after, they jump out of the shuttle to land on the rocky surface of the moon, facing about two dozens of husks trying to claw their way through the walls of the turian base. As the turians decimate the husks from their barricades, Shepard and her team quickly join in, taking the enemy by a surprise attack from behind. James' assault rifle sprays a deadly rain of fire, leaving little for Liara and Morgan to play with, but the asari is happy to save her biotics for more deserving targets and Morgan doesn't mind giving James an early handicap, feeling confident in her ability to surpass his score later.

As the last of the husks falls, the gates to the base open and a turian soldier quickly ushers them inside, raising the barriers behind them. "Goddess..." Liara suddenly exclaims, yanking Shepard by the hand and pointing ahead. "Just look at that..."

Morgan's heart almost jumps into her mouth at the sight that has shocked Liara. The horrific silhouette of a destroyer looms at best two miles in the distance from the base, strolling the surface of Menae almost casually, now and then stopping to fire its deadly red particle beam at someone insolent enough to oppose these magnificent machines of destruction. "Well... let's just hope it doesn't decide to wander this way..." Shepard manages.

"Uh, Commander... if you'd care to look to your left..." James speaks, keeping his voice low.

Shepard turns around and almost takes a step back from the disturbing view. There is yet another destroyer there, sowing death and destruction in its wake, its menacing shape against the background of burning Palaven creating a view that Shepard knows will be etched in her mind until her dying day. "That is... some sight," she says. "How do you fight something like that? And damn, it's the same on Earth right now... gods."

"Like you said, Commander... you can't beat this, you can only survive it," James says grimly as they search the base for someone vaguely resembling a commanding officer.

"There!" Liara points towards one of the more fortified barricades holding a small commanding post, three more distinguished looking turians animatedly discussing their desperate defense plans.

"Tobestik, get your men up on that north barricade," they can hear one of the turians giving orders to his subordinate who nods and hurries off. "Sergeant Bartus, find a way to get that comm tower operational!" The sergeant salutes and immediately disappears, leaving the turian commanding officer alone as Shepard and her group approach him.

"Commander Shepard. Heard you were coming to join us, even if I didn't really believe those news." the turian greets her with a curt nod as they join him behind the barricades. His eyes burn bright green as he introduces himself. "General Corinthus, at your service."

"I'm looking for Primarch Fedorian," Shepard says quickly, wanting to conclude this dicey mission as fast as possible. "Apparently he needs an escort to his own war summit."

"I don't think he needs an escort to where he's heading," Corinthus replies, not taking his eyes off the consoles in front of him. "Primarch Fedorian is dead. His shuttle was shot down an hour ago as it tried to leave this moon."

Morgan sighs, exchanging a worried look with Liara. "Okay... this is not a good start," she says, before looking at Corinthus again. "My condolences on your loss, General."

"He was a good man... and a friend," Corinthus replies quietly. "He would have made an outstanding diplomat."

"So... is there anyone else we can get for this war summit?" Morgan ponders aloud.

"The turian hierarchy provides very clear lines of succession," Liara speaks up, staring at General Corinthus.

"With so many casualties, it's hard to be certain who the next Primarch is," the general replies. "We need to get in touch with Palaven Command. Unfortunately..." he points towards a comm tower not far outside the western gate of the base. "Communications are cut and husks are swarming that area. We can't get in there to make the repairs."

"Did you say husks?" Shepard grins. "That's our specialty, General. Let us handle them for you... and we'll even fix your comm tower, free of charge!"

* * *

"How many was that, Commander?" Vega asks, kicking aside the sad remains of a husk that had almost managed to reach him. They are already on their way back to the base, having successfully restored the communications.

"Sixteen," Morgan says proudly, confident of having won this round.

"Hah, seventeen for me! I win!" James cheers.

"No way! How is that... that's not even possible!" Morgan protests, then turning towards Liara. "Were you slacking during that fight, babe?"

Liara makes an irritated swat at her. "For your information, someone still needed to fix that comm tower," she says, giving Shepard a mildly exasperated look. "Though I suppose I should thank you for keeping them off me while I worked."

Shepard chuckles, before her face adopts a more severe expression as they return to the command post and General Corinthus. "You have news, General?" she asks, hoping for a positive answer.

"I do," Corinthus nods. "As your partner said, succession is usually simple, but right now with so many dead or MIA, the hierarchy is in chaos. But I have someone here who claims being able to help you..."

With those words, they are approached by another turian, carrying a Widow sniper rifle in his arms and wearing an all too familiar heavy armor in dark blue hue. "I hear you've been looking for a Primarch, Shepard," he says smugly. "I know where you can get one, Commander."

"Garrus!" Shepard exclaims with joy and relief, only barely managing to restrain herself from hugging her old friend, stopping when she realizes that he might be embarrassed by such display in front of all his fellow soldiers. "Damn good to see you! I was starting to get worried. Thought you might be down there..." she points towards the burning planet behind her.

"We can't lose this moon, Shepard. If we do, we lose Palaven as well," Garrus shakes his head defiantly. "And I'm the closest damn thing we have to an expert on the Reapers, so... I'm advising, for what it's worth."

"Well, you still seem to be in this fight, so you must be doing something right," Shepard says, then pointing at the crew behind her. "James, meet Garrus Vakarian. Hell of a soldier and second best sniper in the damned galaxy."

James steps forward and shakes hands with the turian, while Garrus is already turning to look at Liara. "Lieutenant. And Liara, good to see you back onboard," he manages a smile.

"I had no choice in this, Garrus," Liara smiles softly, looking at Morgan. "Commander Shepard was rather insistent about having me along."

"Of that I am sure," Garrus nods knowingly, before growing serious again. "General Corinthus filled me in on what you need, Shepard. I know who we're after. General Adrien Victus."

"Alright, so we have a name, that's a start," Morgan says. "Now, a location would be nice."

"I was fighting alongside him this morning," Garrus replies. "Good man. Lifelong military, gets results, popular with his troops. Not so popular with the military command because of his reputation for playing loose with the accepted strategy."

"Sounds like you're describing Shepard, Garrus," Liara remarks with a hint of mischievous smile.

"Playing loose, what do you mean by that?" Morgan looks at Garrus to elaborate.

General Corinthus replies instead. "On Taetrus, during the uprisings, his squad discovered a salarian spy ring about the same time the turian separatists did. Instead of neutralizing the ring, he fell back, giving up valuable fortifications which the rebels took. Then the rebels attacked the salarians. And when both groups had softened each other up, Victus moved back in. Didn't lose a single man."

"So... he's smarter than the average military commander," Shepard says. "I still fail to see how this is a bad thing. In fact, he sounds perfect for the summit."

"It was a bold but risky strategy," Corinthus shrugs. "Wild behavior doesn't get you advanced up the meritocracy."

"I'm sure he'll be thrilled to find out about his new duties," Garrus chuckles. "Primarch Victus. I can't wait to deliver the news."

"Can you take us to him, Garrus?" Morgan asks. "Normandy is standing by for a pickup. With the Reapers crawling around, I'd prefer to get out of here ASAP."

"We got separated a few hours ago," Garrus says. "He went to bolster a flank about to break up, and I haven't seen him since. He's probably still out in the field, bogged down somewhere."

"You can't raise him on the comms?" James pipes up with a question of his own.

"Trying to, but so far no luck," General Corinthus admits.

"I hope that is not an ominous sign," Shepard sighs, then looking at Garrus again. "Well... I suppose while the General is trying the comms, we might as well start moving towards him on foot. Garrus, can you take us to the last place you saw Victus?"

"Sure thing, Commander," Garrus says, readying his rifle. "But there's a swarm of Reapers between us and his position. Reaching him will be tricky."

"Don't tell me that Garrus Vakarian is afraid of a few husks?" Shepard gives him a challenging stare.

In response, Garrus simply pats his Widow, grinning. "Bring 'em on, Commander."


	48. Una Salus Victus

_A/N: To be honest, I have no idea what the chapter title actually means. I just thought using Latin would make me appear really smart!_

_I'm afraid EDI's takover of sexy fembot body will have to wait a little bit, because at least my version of EDI is considerate enough not to sabotage Normandy while the ground team are fighting for their lives. This also means Liara can remain planet-side for the entire mission. Yay!_

_Also, I thought Leviathan was really good. I would absolutely recommend it to everyone. :) _

**Chapter 47 - **_**Una Salus Victus**_

"So... anyone wants to tell me what the hell that is?" Shepard asks, wiping the sweat off her brow as she stares at a large, still twitching armored monstrosity at her feet. It is of the size of a krogan, but somehow repurposed and covered with thick armor plates, making it an even deadlier opponent than a real krogan.

"We haven't come up with a better name for them than 'brute'," Garrus says, breathing heavily. "They are some sort of mutation between krogans and turians. Just one of the many horrors already spawned by this war, Shepard. And I doubt it's the last by far."

"You were always such an optimist, Garrus. Reminds me why I like you," Shepard grumbles.

"I thought those mutated turian marauders were bad enough," James says, then giving Liara a worried look. "You okay, Doc? That charge almost got you."

"I am fine, thank you, Lieutenant," Liara replies, looking a little paler shade of blue. "I will make sure to be more careful next time we come across these things. I would not wish to test my biotic barriers against... this," she adds, staring at the dead brute.

"No, let's just do our best not to allow these bastards to close in on us," Shepard agrees. "You know... I'm just thinking it's kind of insulting. I mean, humans are the Reaper chosen species for ascension in this cycle, and yet when repurposed, we still make the most harmless shock troops of the Reaper arsenal. Husks! Who's afraid of them? Even the mutated batarians are so much more dangerous."

"Shepard, only you would think to complain about something like that," Garrus shakes his head, leading them further through the barren canyons of Menae.

"I... don't even want to think what plans they have for my people..." Liara says quietly, coming to brief stop, disturbed by the thought.

Shepard reaches out to squeeze her hand comfortingly. "Sorry. I regret starting this line of thought now," she says, but Liara shakes her head, managing a brave smile as they move onwards.

"How far is it, Garrus?" Shepard asks after they have walked a few minutes without encountering any Reaper resistance.

"Should be quick, unless we run into trouble," the turian replies.

"I can't possibly fathom what sort of trouble we could run into here," Shepard rolls her eyes. "Pastoral picture of fucking tranquility."

As the road leads a little uphill, they can see one of the destroyers not too far in the distance, standing over a still burning crashed turian frigate, the particle beam continuing to ravage the wreck, making sure that there would be no survivors.

Garrus stops midway up the hill, his eyes drawn towards his home planet. "Damn it. Look at that. Can you see that blaze of orange, the big one?" he points in the distance. "That's where I was born."

"I... know that place. Benezia once took me to those mountains when I was very young. A turian there teased me that the mountains went on forever... and I believed him," Liara says, her voice breaking with sadness. "And now... everything there is on fire, burning..."

"That's... rough," James agrees, his thoughts like Morgan's back on Earth.

"What about your family, Garrus?" Shepard asks as they continue to walk, falling in step next to her turian friend.

"My parents are still there. So is my sister," he replies through clenched teeth, clearly not wanting to think too much of what the situation is like back on Palaven.

"The casualties have to be staggering," Shepard remarks.

"Three million dead on the first day. Five million on the second," Garrus replies.

"I haven't asked for numbers from Earth, haven't dared to," Shepard admits. "Somehow I expect them to be even worse. We are not as militaristic society as turians, Garrus. Most of our civilians don't even know how to hold a gun."

"And our fleets have all been recalled from Sol System," James butts in. "The Reapers are free to bomb Earth from the orbit as they see fit, and our people are bogged down in a nasty ground war."

"Our fleets won't be able to keep this up for too long either," Garrus remarks unhappily. "We might last longer in a ground war, but for how long? And we need to preserve some of our fleets, just like the humans have done, for without them... there is no way we can win this in the long run."

"Yeah... I don't even want to think about how do you give an order to just pull out and leave your people to something like this..." Morgan sighs. "At least you're holding your ground on the surface."

"But we still lost four hundred men in the first half-hour down here," Garrus replies. "The strategy was to use this moon to flank the advancing Reaper forces." He sighs, pointing at the destroyers in the distance. "How do you flank something like that? And what good does it do if you manage to flank them?"

"It would have been a good tactic if the Reapers didn't come attached with an 'Immune to Conventional Warfare' label," Morgan grumbles.

"If only they had listened to your warnings, Commander. Then we would have been more prepared," James says.

"I'm not even sure of that anymore, James. I mean, even if you knew they were coming, how do you prepare for something like this? I wouldn't have answer for that question, all I could do was to simply warn of their return." Shepard then looks at Liara, walking a little behind them. "If not for our Prothean expert, we'd be left completely without a chance of defeating them."

"We still don't know if it will work... though I am flattered by your trust," Liara smiles.

"You have a plan?" Garrus' eyes travel from Shepard to Liara. "It better be something good, or else we'll have trouble convincing Victus to abandon his men and leave the battle here just to go and make nice in some boardroom."

"I hope he's farsighted enough to realize the importance of this summit. You have the strongest military in the galaxy, and even then it is abundantly clear that you can't beat the Reapers alone," Shepard says.

Shortly after, they run into a small turian patrol, sent out to look for the survivors of the crashed frigate, and they inform Shepard of fighting alongside Victus in a nearby encampment less than an hour ago. Encouraged by the news, they pick up the pace, only stopping briefly to watch in horror as the nearby destroyer takes down yet another frigate that for some reason has carelessly wandered too close to the walking monstrosity.

"So, Lola... I've been wondering about this summit," James pipes up as they resume walking. "I mean, why just the Council races? Asari and salarians? Where's the meat, where's the krogan and the batarians?"

"Well, the summit is-" Shepard starts, but is interrupted by Garrus yelling for them to get down and she quickly obeys, watching a turian fighter zip by right over their heads, a Reaper harvester hot in pursuit. There is a loud explosion as the fighter crashes into a nearby cliff, the harvester heading off in search of new prey.

"Ugh, that was close..." Morgan grumbles, slowly picking herself up from the ground. "I meant to say that the summit was primarily intended for coordinating the Council fleets. Though... I would not be opposed to broaden its goals and get more races in. Like the quarians..."

"Heard anything from them, Shepard?" Garrus asks. "I haven't been able to get in touch with Tali for months."

"Just that they're preparing for war," Shepard replies. "Hopefully it's a war with the Reapers."

"Lieutenant, the batarians took the first blow of the attack when the entire Reaper force arrived through their system," Liara tells James to answer his question. "Their eradication has been very... thorough, by all reports. There are so few of them left that we can almost consider them an extinct species."

"That's harsh," James shakes his head. "And the krogan?"

"There's the whole genophage thing," Garrus replies. "I don't see them being forgiving enough to decide to help us or the salarians just because we ask nicely."

"I should get in touch with Wrex ASAP," Morgan says, making a mental note to herself. _If he doesn't want to do anything with the old Council races, maybe I can at least get direct krogan help for Earth..._

"If you believe that will help, by all means," Garrus shrugs his shoulders. "I wouldn't say no to their aid. But I shudder to think what their demands would be."

"That looks like another base," James points ahead with the barrel of his Avenger rifle, staring at a collection of barricades, smoke and explosions enveloping the camp. "Looks like they're under a bit of pressure."

Just as he says that, the Reapers decide to make things more interesting and incoming harvesters drop more and more of their reinforcements smack in the middle of the base. "Uh-oh! Double time people!" Shepard yells, breaking into a run towards the camp. "Let's save this Primarch fast like! God knows I don't want to be arsed looking for the next one in line of succession!"

The situation in the camp is dire, the remaining turian forces beset by at least a dozen of the mutated batarian cannibals, plenty of marauders and three brutes. "Well, fuck this," Shepard speaks grimly, quickly giving her team the orders. "Liara, singularities on the cannibals, and if you have time do something about those brutes, but be careful. James, stick with Liara, thin out those cannibals quick and then switch to the brutes, Garrus, you're on the marauders." They all nod, not wasting any time in joining the desperate defenders of the base.

Shepard and Garrus quickly open fire, both downing a marauder each, their shields already weakened by the turian defenders. Liara's singularity rips into the crowd of cannibals at one of the barricades, rendering three of them helpless at once and James quickly makes sure they hit the ground as lifeless pieces of meat. The Reaper forces slowly become alerted to the entrenched turians receiving rather considerable backup, diverting some of their forces to their position.

One of the brutes leads the assault towards their position, but it falls under their combined weapons fire and biotic attacks. However, this has allowed the cannibals and the marauders to move up unopposed and Shepard has difficulties leaving the cover under the heavy fire to counter the enemy attacks. She activates her cloaking and slips away from the barrier she has been covering behind, moving around the Reaper position in an attempt to flank them. She watches Garrus leaning out of the cover to shoot and immediately having to pull back, his shields gone in an instant. One of the cannibals launch a frag grenade at Liara and James' position and they are forced to scamper to another location, Liara getting off a singularity on the run, managing to disable at least one of their attackers.

By now, Shepard has made the full circle behind the enemy forces, distracted by the rest of her squad. She lines up one of the marauders in the scope of her sniper rifle and releases the bullet, hitting the enemy smack in the temple, spraying bits of brains everywhere. Before the opposition has become aware of her position, she repeats the same with the other marauder, concentrating his weapons fire on Garrus' position, suddenly surprised at the bullet entering through his neck and causing fatal injuries. The mutated batarians now turn towards Morgan, but James repays them the favor with the grenade trick, catching most of them in the deadly explosion, Liara finishing off the last with her biotics.

The turians are being hard pressed by the remaining forces, especially the brutes who have managed to tear down several of the barricades, tearing apart the turians inside in a rather one-sided melee combat. One of them grabs an already dead opponent and with a deafening roar tears off the turian's head before launching it like a demoralizing projectile into another of the barricades.

Seeing that the cannibals and marauders are almost entirely thinned out, Shepard orders her crew to concentrate on the brutes, knowing that they also pose the greatest danger to the besieged turians. Between the explosive plasma rounds from her omni-tool, Liara's warp fields and James' and Garrus' weapons, the already weakened brutes go down swiftly enough, and Shepard allows herself a small sigh of relief, before catching herself with the worrying thought that she doesn't even yet know whether General Adrien Victus was not amongst the victims.

Fortunately, for once luck is on their side. Victus, looking like any other turian to Shepard, only recognizable by the distinct black heavy armor with red patterns, approaches them from one of the barricades at the far end of the base, accompanied by three of his soldiers.

"General Victus," Morgan says, not wasting any time, worrying about more possible Reaper reinforcements. "I'm Commander Shepard of the Normandy."

"Ah, Commander... I know who you are," Victus says in a voice that sounds even more nasal than Garrus. "I wonder what you are doing here... and in the company of Vakarian. Where did you run to, Garrus?"

"Heavy Reaper unit on the right flank? I believe your exact words were 'Get that thing the hell off my men!'," Garrus smirks, as Victus nods appreciatively.

"We've come to deliver some news that you will no doubt find... interesting," Shepard says, looking at Garrus to explain.

"Fedorian was killed," Garrus says simply, not wasting any breath. "You're the new Primarch."

"We came to get Fedorian for the war summit he was supposed to chair," Shepard elaborates further. "Now we need you to represent your people there."

Victus doesn't say a word in reply. He simply turns away from them to look at the view of his burning world spreading before them. He stands there like frozen for a good while before speaking again. "I am the Primarch of Palaven?" he finally says, a hint of disbelief in his voice. "Negotiating on behalf of the turian hierarchy?" He turns back around to face them again. "I've spent my whole life in the military... I'm no diplomat. I hate diplomats. I'm not really a 'by-the-book' kind of guy, and I piss people off."

"Excellent," Shepard rubs her hands, smiling. "I like you already."

"The summit is between our people, the asari and the salarians," Victus says, his bright green eyes scanning Shepard with curiosity. "What is your stake in this, Commander?"

"Councilor Sparatus extended an invitation on my behalf," she replies. "He believes I can offer helpful advice on how to coordinate your fleets. And, I believe he was also interested in the plans my partner," she points at Liara, "presented for the Council. It involves building a Prothean weapon capable of destroying the Reapers. To this end, I need the support and resources of the Council races." Victus gives her a disbelieving stare. "All relevant information about the device has been forwarded to your government, Primarch Victus. Multiple sources have confirmed that it is the real deal. Now I just need your aid to build it."

"We're not exactly in the best position to offer aid, Commander," Victus makes a sweeping gesture towards Palaven. "Not while my world is burning. If there would be a way to take the pressure off Palaven, you could have our ships, our resources..."

"I'm capable, but I'm not that good, Primarch," Shepard shakes her head. "I don't know quite how you imagine driving the Reapers off Palaven..."

"We need the krogan," Victus says, making Morgan raise her eyebrow in surprise. "I can't see us winning this thing without them. Get them to help us, then we can help you."

"I like the way you think, Primarch, but getting them to help you might be a bit difficult, with the genophage and all," Shepard sighs. "Besides... what's to stop me from getting the krogan help directly for Earth? Then I would have no need for you," she tries a small bluff, but Victus isn't stupid enough to fall for it.

"Commander, the krogan can't help you build something as complex as this Prothean device surely must be, you know that. Besides, they don't have fleets. In the end, you know that you will need our ships," Victus replies. "But the krogan... they can help us push the Reapers back in the ground war, or at worst fight them to a standstill, giving us a pause to breathe."

"So... what do you propose? That we invite the krogan to the summit?" Shepard asks. Victus simply nods. "If you're sure, I know just the right krogan warlord that you want on this summit," she says, smiling. "But we risk ticking off the salarians with this move. And possibly the asari as well."

Victus shrugs. "They'll be singing a different tune when their own worlds come under attack."

"Right, I'll get you your krogan, Victus," Shepard finally says. "Does that mean you're ready to come with us?"

"Yes, Commander," Victus nods. "Just let me say a brief farewell to my men." With that he walks off towards the small group of what remains from a full complement of an entire platoon.

"You coming with us too, Garrus?" Morgan asks hopefully.

"Yeah, without a doubt," the turian replies, but a slight twitch of his mandibles betrays the faked ease of this decision. "You know... without Victus and myself down here, there's a good chance we'll lose this moon."

"I know. I felt like that when we left Earth," Shepard says, patting Garrus on the shoulder. "Running away from the fight, that has never been our way, has it?" she asks, Garrus shaking his head. "Somehow I feel this war is going to force us into making a lot of painful decisions, before we manage to end it..."


	49. The Summit Preparations

**Chapter 48 - The Summit Preparations**

_Wrex, you old reptile. Shepard here. Yep, I'm back in action. _

_I don't know if Tuchanka has seen any Reaper action yet, but they sure as hell are beating the crap out of all the other races. Maybe the sweet sound of turians weeping has reached your ears already, but they are begging for the old galactic muscle of the krogan to be brought back into business. _

_We're putting together a war summit with the turians, the salarians and the asari, and the new turian Primarch (an alright guy... for a turian) really wants a krogan representative to be there. Let me know if you're in, Wrex. Judging by how desperate the Council races are, this could be a good opportunity for your people. I suggest you join us, I will be awaiting your reply. _

_P.S. This isn't a bad time to start thinking about some demands in return for your gracious help. (Shepard's tip of the day: ask for a better planet, or maybe two. Tuchanka is crap.) _

_Your old friend,  
Shepard _

Smiling at herself, Shepard hits the button to send the message, before leaving the Normandy's comm room, then stopping in the hallway to listen in on the voices from the War Room. "We've lost two more of our dreadnaughts in the past hour," she recognizes Victus' grim tone.

"Yeah, I'm seeing the numbers too," Garrus is with him in the War Room. "I agree, we need the krogan to turn this around. And if anyone can get them to cooperate, it's Shepard. She's an old friend of Urdnot Wrex."

"Let's just hope that friendship still counts for something in this war," Victus sighs.

Shepard finally decides to join them, stepping into the War Room. "It will count for a great deal, Primarch," she tells Victus, clapping her hands together in a determined manner. "So, what's our next step?"

"We await a reply from your krogan friend," Victus says. "If they are willing to join us, we inform the asari and the salarians and see if they remain onboard or not. Then we set up a place for this summit and get things moving ASAP."

"Sounds good to me," Morgan nods. "Shouldn't be too long until we hear from Wrex. Until then, I suggest we all get some rest while we still can. I don't trust anything in this war to go smoothly."

"Nothing is more relaxing than calibrating a giant gun," Garrus says, smirking at Morgan's knowing grin. "If you want to talk, you know where to find me, Shepard," he adds before leaving.

"I would like to continue monitoring the data feeds from Palaven, if you don't mind, Shepard," Victus says, refusing to abandon the communication consoles. "Commander... it occurs to me I never properly thanked you for your aid, and now, for allowing to use your ship. The gesture is appreciated."

"It was the least I could do," Shepard shrugs. "Have you settled in with your new role?" she asks a while later.

"It's not quite what I imagined," Victus admits. "My turian brothers and sisters are fighting for Palaven, and I am light-years away, reading casualty reports in the millions. This is not where my heart wants me to be."

"Yeah, I... I knew that I needed to leave Earth in order to save my people, but it was still... hard to do," Shepard admits.

"I'm not surprised to hear that," Victus nods. "Garrus speaks very highly of you. You never asked to be a leader, yet your people will die if you refuse."

"Well, before all this shit hit the proverbial fan, some of them were ready to crucify me just to placate a few batarian terrorists," Shepard says, wincing. _I shouldn't dwell on that anymore, what's done is done,_ she tells herself. "But yeah, what you're saying sounds about right."

"It seems that we find ourselves in similar circumstances, Commander. I never asked for any of this either."

"That's the way it goes, Primarch," Shepard smiles thinly, turning to leave. "Don't spend all the time staring at the casualty reports. It burns you out. I should know..."

She heads out of the War Room and back towards the CIC, where Traynor is yawning, half-asleep at the terminals. Knowing that they are back in the relative safety of the Council space, drifting idle and waiting for the news, Shepard orders Samantha to get some rest and she gratefully accepts this particular command. _That girl is working a bit too hard, trying to prove herself,_ Morgan decides, briefly wondering where to take the elevator. Her exhausted body cries for the comfy bed of her own quarters, but her heart insists on seeing Liara in the XO quarters. In the end, it's not much of a decision.

"Greetings, Commander!" the annoying info drone spooks her again as she steps through the doors of Liara's quarters.

She glares at the drone, before turning to Liara sifting through her Shadow Broker data feeds. "I see you managed to fix your little... friend," she remarks.

"Yes, I thought that by referring to everyone as Shadow Broker, it might arouse some suspicion," Liara replies, not taking her eyes off the consoles. "I'm trying to get into the habit of referring to it as Glyph. Just a name I thought appropriate."

"Dr. T'Soni now uses the expression 'info drone' only 20% of the time," Glyph happily announces.

"Well, good for you," Shepard says, turning her attention back to Liara. "Busy? Anything interesting coming in?"

"Mostly casualty reports," Liara replies in a hollow voice. "I find that as I read more and more of them, they just become cold, impersonal numbers. Then I remember Palaven, and suddenly... I feel as if I can see a face behind everyone reported dead."

"Don't spend too much time staring at those numbers, babe," Shepard says gently. "They can really get to you after a while."

"I was almost done anyway," Liara says, stepping away from the terminals. "Two more agents didn't report today, both from systems with heavy Reaper activity."

Shepard sighs. "Soon there won't be a single safe place in the galaxy," she mutters angrily, before thinking to steer their talk elsewhere. "Any progress on the Prothean device?"

"EDI reported some discoveries, she has forwarded them to Hackett already. I planned to resume my research as well, I really ought to, but..." Liara's face is briefly twisted by expression of pure, undiluted pain. "When I close my eyes to think, the only thing etched in my mind is the image of Palaven burning..."

Shepard steps closer and puts her hands on Liara's shoulders. "The memory you spoke of earlier," she says quietly. "Please, I wish to see it. Will you share it with me?"

Liara looks up at her, her blue eyes swirling with emotion. "Of course, Morgan," she rises and takes Morgan by the hand, leading her towards the bed. They both lay down, Liara leaning over her, gently pressing her lips against Morgan's brow, before easing into a tight embrace, relaxing and allowing the joining of their minds.

_Strange and alien is the beauty of Palaven. The mountains are glowing with metallic sheen, like covered with rivers of molten silver, bright white crystal caps covering the highest peaks. In the distance, the spires of turian cities dot the landscape, even in their glory appearing small and insignificant when compared to the majestic mountains that indeed do seem to go on forever. "Isn't the view just amazing? I thought you would like it here, my Little Wing," the beautiful asari in the yellow robe is bouncing her enthusiastic looking child on her knee. "I love you so much." _

Liara slowly pulls away, but Shepard cannot bring herself to rise, tears pouring down her cheeks and she can do nothing to stop them. "I'm sorry, Morgan..." Liara whispers, leaning back against her. "I had no idea it would upset you so much."

"It's not that," Morgan manages, swallowing heavily. "It was a beautiful memory. It just... reminded me how much has been taken from you already."

"...I have seen what you have been through, Morgan," Liara says quietly. "I have been fortunate in comparison."

"I suppose it's only natural to feel like that when you truly care about someone," Shepard manages a small smile. "But I don't want to be sad and depressed when I am with you. I want to feel happy and enjoy the time we spend together." _Though that's going to become increasingly difficult with all the shit going on around us..._

"We should do something to distract us," Liara suggests. Shepard is about to raise an intrigued eyebrow, when her asari lover continues with something a little different than what she had expected Liara to say. "Before you showed up, I considered going to talk with Garrus. He would never tell us so, but I imagine he could do with some support now."

"Yes, when he left me with Victus, he implied that he might want to talk later," Shepard admits, feeling a little guilty for having her thoughts more on making out with her asari lover and less on a close, old friend who has just watched his homeworld burn under a devastating attack. "He'll be in the main battery... calibrating."

"Of course," Liara grins, pulling Shepard up from the bed with her and allowing Morgan to quickly wipe her cheeks dry.

The mess hall is empty when they emerge from Liara's quarters, the crew all save for unfortunate few on their posts taking the rare chance to enjoy some downtime. They find Garrus predictably hunched over the operating consoles of the Thanix cannon, grumbling and muttering something about 'human incompetence'.

"Ready for guests, Garrus?" Shepard grins as they quietly sneak up on him, but failing to truly startle the sharp-sighted turian.

"My favorite pair of troublemakers," Garrus chuckles. "Sure, I'm just relaxing here. After all we went through down there, this feels like a vacation."

"I'm just glad we found you, Garrus," Liara says. "It's good to have you back onboard. I actually feel better about our chances now."

"Thanks, Liara," the turian looks at her appreciatively. "Hearing that makes me feel better about leaving the fight. Still not totally convinced I made the right call, but pointless to dwell on it now."

"Pointless yes, but impossible not to," Shepard sighs. "Some of the sights as we escaped in the Normandy... I wish I could erase them from my head." She catches Liara's sorrowful expression, as if the asari knew what she was talking about. "Oh... damn," she realizes. "You saw it too, all of it, didn't you. Liara, gods, you shouldn't have..."

"I needed to know what was eating you from the inside," Liara admits, lowering her eyes. "Please, don't be mad at me."

"Mad? I'm not mad... I just wanted to protect you from seeing something that you didn't need to see. We've seen plenty of horrors already as it is, without you going out of your way looking for more..." Shepard shakes her head sadly.

"That's what you get for letting an asari messing with your head, Shepard," Garrus manages a chuckle. "You're not getting into my skull, T'Soni, so don't even look at me!"

Liara summons a shadow of a smile. "I think I will cope with the disappointment, Garrus."

"So, Garrus, I noticed that both Corinthus and Victus were treating you with, well... actual respect?" Shepard wonders. "What have you been up to lately?"

"You won't believe this, but at some point my government actually listened to me about the Reapers. They even gave me a small task force to shut me up," Garrus explains. "Made me their expert advisor on the Reapers. A failed C-Sec officer, vigilante... and I'm their expert advisor? When you put it down like that, doesn't make our chances in this war look good."

"Hey, I'm a traitor to the humanity for working with Cerberus, accused of war crimes and genocide... yeah, I'm even less credible than you are, Garrus," Shepard chuckles. "But I just had a similar conversation with Victus. They treat you like dirt, make fun of your warnings, until hell shows up at their door... and then they put you in charge!"

"Too true," Garrus nods. "This isn't going to be like in the good old days, will it? Rogue Spectre and C-Sec agent running and gunning outside the lines, making it up as we went along..."

"Afraid not, Garrus," Shepard smiles. "Though you forgot to mention, shy, confused and highly fascinating archeologists in your resume," she adds, giving Liara a fond smile.

"All good heroes need attractive sidekicks," Garrus jokes, brushing off Liara's attempted glare. "But yeah, Shepard, we're actually respectable now. Who would have thought that?"

"Only until this war ends, I imagine," Shepard rolls her eyes. "I'm sure they'll find something to pin on us afterwards."

"Don't talk like that," Liara looks a little upset. "This is not the time to wallow in bitterness."

"Yeah, I know, I don't really mean that, babe," Shepard tries apologetically. "I honestly don't care what anyone thinks of me after this war, as long as we can lead our forces to victory."

"I will not allow you to lose yourself in this war," Liara looks at her with a determined stare. She then turns back towards Garrus. "You haven't heard anything new from your parents or your sister?"

Garrus shakes his head. "It has been... long enough for me to start worrying." He looks back at Liara then at Shepard. "Thessia has not been touched yet, but what about you, Shepard? Did you leave someone back on Earth?"

"No. Mother is with the Alliance," Shepard replies grimly, with all that's going on around her, it seems she doesn't even have the time to worry for her own mother, her ship possibly destroyed by the Reaper forces. "I'm still waiting to hear about her fate."

"I hate this war already," Garrus sighs. "Even if we manage to turn it around and win this thing, it's not going to be pretty. Probably even harder for you," he looks at Morgan. "We, turians, are bred to believe that as long as there's at least one survivor left standing at the end of the war, then it was worth it, but you humans just think differently. You want to save everyone. In this war... that's not going to happen."

"Yeah," Shepard admits tiredly. "It is like you say, even if I cannot allow myself to think like that, for in that case we have already failed."

"If we can get all the races to work together, then I believe we have good chances," Liara says, trying to sound brave. "Though I do hope we hear from Wrex soon. I can't imagine he would want to miss out on this!"

"And during the summit hopefully he won't strangle Victus and the salarian representative with their own intestines," Garrus remarks jovially.

"Gods, you're even more depressing than I am," Shepard grins. "Ah, I'm sure in that case we'll just find ourselves a new Primarch, we're really good at it. Hey, maybe it could be you, Garrus? Primarch Vakarian, honored war hero! Sounds good, doesn't it?"

"How far down the line of succession are you these days, Garrus?" Liara asks, but Garrus just looks mortally horrified at the idea of becoming the leader of the turian hierarchy.

"Uh... let's not go there," he gulps.

Shepard chuckles. "Alright, Garrus... we'll get out of your hai-... err, crest," she says, taking Liara's hand in hers.

"Yeah, I should get back to this," Garrus points at the weapons consoles. "Somebody really screwed up something down here. I should get the old girl back in fighting shape."

"Take care, Garrus," Liara says as together with Morgan they walk down towards the mess hall.

Morgan releases Liara's hand only to wrap her arm around the asari's waist, pulling her closer as they walk. "My quarters?" she whispers, aching with desire to finally be alone with her lover.

"An interesting offer," Liara replies teasingly. "Though I feel myself overcome with strange weakness. You might need to carry me all the way there," she leans against Shepard heavily and Morgan quickly scoops the light figure of her lover up in her arms.

"Gladly," she says, carrying Liara all the way to the elevator, trying not to get distracted by the asari's lips and tongue teasingly gliding along the skin of her neck, before she pulls herself a little higher and Morgan feels her lover's teeth nibbling at her earlobe.

"You have a strange fascination with my ears. And my hair," Morgan chuckles, as Liara punches the buttons to summon the elevator.

"I have a strange fascination with **you**, Morgan," Liara purrs, before kissing her passionately at the same moment as the elevator arrives at the crew deck... revealing James Vega standing in the elevator, staring at them with mild disbelief.

"_Madre mia_, Commander, this is... too much! Can't a guy even go to the mess hall in peace?" Vega exclaims, swiftly rushing off, muttering swearwords under his breath.

"What was that all about?" Liara asks as Morgan carries her into the elevator and she punches in the command to bring them up to the Commander's quarters.

"Don't know. Don't care," Shepard smiles in reply, no other thoughts in her head anymore except only those involving Liara and the next few undisturbed hours in the arms of her lover.


	50. Synthetics and Politics

_A/N: In my continuous attempts to make the Council appear actually somewhat decent and competent, there will be some hopefully interesting changes to the war summit. And if you can guess the plan of Councilor Tevos, you'll get chocolate chip cookies. Bring your own milk, though. :) _

**Chapter 49 - Synthetics and Politics**

Commander Morgan Shepard tosses her head back in the pillows, feeling a powerful shudder running through her body. There is something about the texture of Liara's tongue as it slides against her heated skin, the asari teasingly flicking it against her nipples, enjoying Morgan's gratifying reaction. Her fingers gently slide along Liara's crest, careful enough not to distract her lover from her delightful task.

But suddenly, the Normandy is seized by a fit of shaking, and taken by surprise, Liara's nibbling teeth bite down hard into the tender skin of her breast, forcing Morgan to cry out. At the same time the dimmed lights in her quarters go out completely, leaving them both suspended in the dark.

"I'm so sorry, I did not mean to bite you like that," Liara immediately apologizes, continuing to hold her in the darkness.

"It's not like it was your fault," Morgan manages to reply, trying to recover her breath. "Right now I'm a little more concerned about what the hell is going on with my ship."

The lights suddenly return again, but continue to flicker going on and off. "You should probably go and investigate," Liara suggests.

"Me?" Morgan blinks. "Aww, fuck. I guess I have to, don't I?"

"Yes. The privileges of the commander," Liara replies with a smile.

"You are so very cruel," Morgan grumbles and heavily pulls herself up from the bed, starting to look around for her hastily discarded uniform.

"Oh, stop your sulking," Liara chides, covering her enchantingly nude form with a blanket. "I will be here when you return." She then throws a towel that hits Morgan smack in the face. "Perhaps consider at least cleaning yourself a little, unless you want to make it patently obvious to the crew just what we have been doing..."

"Good point..." Morgan nods with a wicked grin, wiping the perspiration off her brow, not able to do much about her sticky hair, just pulling it back in her customary ponytail. "Hopefully it's nothing serious," she adds, leaving her quarters, then shouting in the comms as she waits for the elevator. "Joker! What the hell is going on?"

"Commander?" Joker sounds distraught over the comms. "Something is wrong with EDI. She's been going offline and coming back on..."

"Oh, I'm glad it's nothing serious... wait, what?" Shepard blinks. "Some kind of Cerberus virus or something?"

"Look, I don't know, okay? She's not responding and I can't access the AI core diagnostics," Joker replies, more terse than usual. "Commander, please check out the crew deck."

"Right," Shepard says, heading towards the medbay and the AI core room at the back of it. Dr. Chakwas has taken a few hours off to rest and the medbay is empty as Shepard walks up to the doors leading into the AI core, hearing a strange sound from the other side of the doors. "Any idea what's going on in there, Joker?" she asks over the comms.

"Fire extinguishers just kicked in, Commander," Joker replies. "Could be an electrical fire or something. It should be safe to enter."

"Uh-huh," Shepard replies, readying her pistol just in case. The AI core is filled with smoke and for a while, she can't make anything out inside the small chamber. As she carefully steps inside, suddenly all the systems and consoles around her appear to be powering back up.

"Alright, I don't know what you did Shepard, but EDI's back with us," Joker sounds relieved over the comms.

"Wait, I'm not sure it's her..." Shepard warns him, seeing a familiar silvery shape striding towards her through the screen of smoke. "It's Dr. Eva! She's taken control over EDI!" she exclaims, unloading one shot after another at the Cerberus synthetic. _Why haven't we spaced this piece of junk anyway?_

"Please, Commander, could I possibly request you to refrain from trying to destroy my new platform," the shape of Dr. Eva for some reason addresses her in EDI's voice. "I assure you that I pose no danger to the crew."

"What the..." Shepard blinks, reflexively pressing the trigger one more time, before stashing the pistol away. "Uh, sorry, instinct. Err, EDI... I'm sorry, but what the fuck are you doing in Dr. Eva's body?"

"When we brought this unit onboard, I began a background process to search for the information on the Prothean device," EDI starts to explain. "This eventually triggered a trap, a backup power source and a CPU activated, and the unit attempted a physical confrontation."

"But you kicked its ass, right?" Shepard asks.

"Correct, if crude. Fortunately, I was able to gain root access and repurpose it as I saw fit. During the process, the Cerberus unit struggled, thus causing the blackouts and the fire."

"Well, I'm glad it wasn't anything **serious**!" Shepard exclaims, shaking her head. "Or at least, nothing that required a warning in advance! Just saying."

"Bringing the crew up to speed would have been counterproductive," EDI simply explains. "All your attempts to help would have been limited by reaction time."

"Nice roundabout way to call all us organics slow," Shepard grumbles. "Great, so now not only you are far more intelligent than any of the crew, you also have a vastly enhanced rack. Looks like it's time for us all to hail our new synthetic overlord!"

"You are overreacting, Commander," EDI tells her. "I still exist primarily within the ship. For optimal control, this unit should not leave Normandy's broadcast or tightbeam range."

"If you're planning to take this body somewhere, you might want to first do some repairs," Shepard says, a little apologetically, the left side of EDI's new face and her upper chest and neck carrying nasty marks and dents. "Sorry about that."

"It is nothing that the auto repairs of this platform could not fix," EDI replies. "But to answer your question, yes, this platform could provide limited-fire ground support."

"You mean, you could accompany us on missions?" Shepard asks, feeling a little as if she's stuck in some sort of strange Hallex-induced dream. EDI does not seem perturbed and simply nods in reply. "Well... that's possibly... interesting. I have seen your capabilities when you operate within the ship and to have that sort of aid during ground missions... well, I'll have to seriously think about it. And I will want you to run some kind of tests to make sure this body doesn't hold any more nasty surprises."

EDI stands like frozen for ten seconds at most. "The test results have been forwarded to your personal terminal," she says. Shepard blinks in reply. "Now, if there are no additional concerns, I should attend to restoring full functionality to the Normandy to assure the crew that everything is back to normal."

"Maybe warn James in advance, he might react even more violently to seeing you," Morgan suggests.

"That is an excellent suggestion, Commander," EDI nods. "I should take this platform to the bridge and present it to Jeff."

"Somehow that sounded dirty," Shepard mutters under her breath as EDI turns around to leave the AI core, synthetic hips swaying in a mesmerizing rhythm. "Hey, Joker?" she calls out on the comms a bit later. "You've got a surprise heading your way."

"Oh? Do tell, Commander!" Joker replies.

"If I were you, I would start baking a cake," Shepard merely chuckles, switching the comms off and heading back to her quarters, softly shaking her head.

Liara is snoozing on the bed when Shepard enters her quarters, but she wakes up instantly to face her with inquisitive stare. "What was the problem?" she asks.

"Oh, nothing really," Shepard shrugs, starting to pull off her uniform. "EDI installed herself in Dr. Eva's body, and we now have a sexy fembot running around our ship... as if it wasn't crazy enough before this. But anyway..." she says, grinning at Liara as she undoes the buckle of her belt. "Where were we..."

"Seriously, Morgan," Liara says chidingly, getting out of the bed and starting to dress herself. "How can you even think about sex when something as exciting as this happens? I must go and speak to EDI at once!"

"What the..." Morgan is staring after her lover as Liara storms off hastily, her mouth hanging wide open. "I don't fucking believe this..." she groans, falling face first down on her bed.

* * *

Wrex's answer awaits her when Shepard checks her private terminal the next morning.

_hi shepard _

_good to hear your alive and kicking. knew you would show up when the reapers come calling. we see some scouts on tuchanka but only disappointingly light action. _

_this summit couldnt have come at a better time shepard. i know exactly what to ask from the council haha. cant wait to make them sweat. _

_shepard just give me place and time for this summit and ill be there. or send a transport for me, your choice _

_urdnot wrex_

"Well, at least I can understand what he means," Shepard chuckles at herself having read the message, sitting at the computer screen in Liara's XO office, her asari lover busy browsing through the data feeds over the last eight hours. "His spelling is actually pretty remarkable for krogan." Liara just smiles, but doesn't say anything.

"Right, I'll bring this to Victus and tell him to get in touch with the salarians and the asari to inform them about the krogan presence at the summit," she then says. "I can only imagine the reaction."

"As long as they don't pull out, they can be as upset as they want to be," Liara shrugs.

"What do you think the matriarchs will do?" Shepard says, continuing to browse through her messages.

"I'm not sure, Morgan," Liara admits. "I can see them staying on the sidelines just to remain on good terms with the salarians."

"That's the kind of stupid brown-nosing that your people can't afford, Liara," Shepard sighs, shaking her head. "Anyway, I guess we'll see." She reads a few more messages before speaking up again. "Hmm, as long as we're back in Council space and waiting for the summit details to be finalized, we might as well stop by the Citadel. I've got a whole host of people who want to meet up with me."

"Oh?" Liara appears curious. "I do agree with going to the Citadel, though."

"Yeah, a fellow Spectre is requesting assistance," Shepard says. "Also, my old friend Thane Krios wants to meet up. Gods, he can't have a lot of mileage left..."

"The drell assassin?" Liara asks, Shepard nodding in reply.

"Also... Aria T'Loak, of all people? On the Citadel?" Shepard blinks.

"Aria is looking for you? Most interesting," Liara idly scratches her chin. "Oh, I imagine you have not heard, but Cerberus kicked her off Omega. My sources say she's now cooped up on the Citadel, seething and planning her revenge."

"Poor, poor Aria," Shepard chuckles. "Still, she hates Tim and his merry band, that makes her a reluctant ally, so I should probably not make her wait. Also... Kaidan is doing better. He writes that Udina has extended him an invitation to join the Spectres."

"That's good, isn't it?" Liara smiles.

"Yeah... I suppose. Don't know, really. I mean, if Udina ever offered me a slice of cake, I probably wouldn't eat it, fearing it might be full of arsenic," Shepard chuckles grimly. "At least Kaidan is doing better health-wise."

"You will visit him at the hospital, of course," Liara says matter-of-factly.

"I really should, shouldn't I?" Shepard sighs. Liara fixes her with an inquiring gaze. "It's just... I don't know, we talk and we talk, and our relationship isn't getting any better, quite the opposite, I just get frustrated because I can't convince him and he just can't bring himself to trust me again."

"I know. Watching you drift apart saddens me greatly," Liara admits.

"Well, I'll give it another try, I promise," Shepard rises, walking over to Liara and planting a kiss on her brow. "I'll go talk to Victus now, tell him the news. Time to get this summit on the road."

* * *

"Commander Shepard," Victus seeks her out again a few hours later, finding Morgan mindlessly picking apart and cleaning her rifle, more out of habit than necessity. "I have news. The salarians are very upset, but they will still be joining us. Dalatrass Linron will be in attendance."

"Dalatrass Linron, huh? Never heard of her," Shepard shrugs. "She's the head lizard of the Union, I take it."

"...yes, though I would not say that to her in person," Victus says, unreadable expression on his face. "Or else, I might not be the one who ends up pissing off everyone at the summit. Mind you, it would be a nice change, Commander."

Shepard laughs. "I think I can manage a little more restraint when necessary, Primarch," she grins. "But what about the asari?"

"Yes, the asari... I have not heard from them yet, but there's a call waiting for you from the asari Councilor," Victus explains. "It might be wise not to make her wait."

"Right, I'll go talk to Tevos," Shepard puts the rifle away and heads to the elevator. "Hopefully she'll be reasonable..."

Councilor Tevos looks uncharacteristically agitated when her figure appears before Shepard on vid screen. "Commander, I understand that you have decided to bring krogan to our war summit," she says hastily. "I question the wisdom of this. We have already been down this road when the rachni invaded."

"The turian Primarch thinks that we need krogan to win this war. I agree with him. Madame Councilor, I would take the word of those who have seen the brutality of this war up close and personal over those whose worlds have not yet been touched," Shepard replies a little tersely.

"Perhaps, but at the cost of alienating our oldest allies?" Tevos shakes her head. "I have tried to smoothen things with the salarian dalatrass. To say that she is upset would be a monumental understatement."

"And yet, the salarians have confirmed their participation despite being so angry?" Shepard wonders a little. "Oh, I understand, your matriarchs think that the salarians would take further offense if you show up. Gods, with the Reapers at our doorstep, where do you people find time to play politics?"

"I have informed you of our position, Commander," Tevos says, sounding a little frustrated. "If you have nothing else constructive to add, I wish you good luck and bid you farew-"

"Hold it, Councilor," Shepard says quickly. "I can't believe you don't see the short-sightedness of this decision. You're a smart woman, Councilor Tevos. You don't like this decision, I can see that you don't."

Tevos is wringing her hands a little nervously. "The matriarchs are almost unanimous on this matter. If I would ignore their wishes in this and decided to attend the summit... it would be a political suicide." She shakes her head, her purple skin growing pale to almost match the beautiful white markings on her face.

"Tevos, I did not save the Destiny's Ascension to watch you doom your own people with this spineless indecision!" Shepard says angrily. "Don't make me regret that call! I can't let you lead Liara's people to extinction! I won't!"

Tevos faces her with a fiery stare. "And do you think I want that?" her usually calm and level voice rises in volume noticeably. "It must seem so easy to you, Commander. For you, the rachni invasions and the Krogan Rebellions are just a distant tale of the past, but for our people, our life spans... those tragic mistakes are still vivid in our memories. Turning to the krogan almost doomed the galaxy once already!"

"The krogan are nothing compared to the Reapers, Tevos. You know that. Come on, Councilor," Shepard stares at her hard. "Do the right thing. Soon enough, the Reapers will be encroaching on your worlds and all these matriarchs will be scrambling to save their own skins, they will have no time to deal with your defiance!"

"You truly believe that, don't you, Commander?" Tevos asks quietly. Shepard nods in reply. "Damned if do, damned if I don't..." the asari speaks numbly.

"You said that the matriarchs were almost unanimous in this decision... that means that some did oppose it," Shepard says. "Madame Councilor, if you do not wish to attend yourself, get me one of those matriarchs who disagreed."

Tevos quickly looks at Shepard, an idea forming in her eyes. "I... may have someone," she finally admits. "She does not have the largest political pull back home these days, though that does not mean she is completely powerless. And there is a way for me to explain her presence on the Normandy without making this entire move a political disaster..."

"Now I have no idea what you mean by that, Councilor," Shepard says.

"Nothing you need to concern yourself with, Commander," Tevos is actually smiling now, making Shepard a little worried. "You are returning to the Citadel, yes?" Shepard nods. "In that case, Shepard, you will have your asari representative onboard of the Normandy within two days. With that, I wish you the best of luck, Commander. Goodbye."

"Err... goodbye, Madame Councilor..." Shepard says, as the image of Tevos slowly fades. "Gods, now I'm suddenly feeling worried about the whole thing..."


	51. The Salarian and the Thief

_A/N: I must confess that I had tremendous fun writing this chapter, largely because of the ending scene. I hope you will have as much fun reading it. :)_

_Also, it seems I have to part with a lot of cookies, because most of my readers guessed the mystery asari correctly. And a box of cookies for Tayg for being the first, obviously. :D _

_And a heads up for those desperate to see Aria, yes, she'll have a heavy presence in the next chapter! _

**Chapter 50 - The Salarian and the Thief**

Admiral Hackett contacts the Normandy directly prior to their arrival on the Citadel. "Your comm specialist has been forwarding updates about the summit. Good job, Commander," he tells Shepard. "Any news on the asari?"

"I had to really push Tevos to find someone for us," Shepard admits. "They wanted to stay on the sidelines and make nice with the frogs, but in the end she said she will find someone for us." She then catches herself. "Uh, I meant the salarians... Sir."

"Shepard, as of late your diplomatic skills have left something to be desired," Hackett says, shaking his head. "But this was always going to be difficult ever since you decided to bring krogan into the mix. Just... promise you will create alliances, instead of making new enemies, Commander!"

"I will be the very model of Earth's diplomatic corps representative, Sir!" Shepard snaps off a salute.

"That's _precisely_ what I'm afraid of..." Hackett sighs, then growing more serious. "I trust you will get it done, Shepard. I don't need to remind you what rests on this."

"No, you don't need to remind me," Shepard shakes her head. "Sir... what is the progress on the Prothean device?"

"We have confirmed all of Liara's findings. It is a weapon, and a big one," Hackett says. "We have no idea what it does and how to operate it, though we are starting to get a clearer picture on how to build it. And our hand has been forced, we need to get working on it."

"I agree, I hope the other races will see the need to work together on this thing," Shepard nods.

"I think the asari and the salarians have arrived to the same conclusions as our scientists. Our comm chatter has increased in the past few days and we have seen several discreet inquiries on what sort of aid we are looking for in order to build this weapon," Hackett explains. "Meanwhile, our fleets will be engaging in a delaying action with the Reapers. Avoiding all direct confrontation, unless the opportunity is too good to pass upon."

"Any trouble with Cerberus after Mars?" Shepard asks.

"Yes, I was about to speak to you about them," Hackett nods grimly. "We have noticed them launching several operations and I would like you to investigate. We have discovered a Cerberus lab on Sanctum. Also, our intel suggests that the recent attack on Eden Prime is Cerberus digging for some kind of Prothean artifact. We don't need something like that to fall in their hands."

"Eden Prime again?" Shepard sighs, shaking her head sadly. "Those people just can't buy a break. If it's not the geth, it's Cerberus. But yeah, Prothean artifact? Liara will be interested in that. We can check it out... but probably not right away."

"Thank you, Commander. Cerberus motives in this war still remain a mystery to us. Perhaps next time when The Illusive Man offers to kindly explain his reasoning to you, don't hang up on him, Shepard."

"Uh... yeah, we were kind of in a hurry to stop the Cerberus synthetic from downloading the data from the Prothean beacon," Shepard mutters. "But point taken, Sir. Even if I have to listen to his insane ramblings."

"Please, Shepard. It might provide us with crucial intel," Hackett says, looking a little exasperated.

"Oh... one last thing, Sir," Shepard quickly says before Hackett has managed to terminate the connection. "...any news from my mother?"

Hackett shakes his head a little sadly. "Not yet... do not lose heart, Shepard. There are still several dozen of Alliance ships unaccounted for and at least a few are reporting in every day. There is a good chance that your mother is still alive."

"Yeah..." Morgan swallows the heavy lump in her throat. "Not much else I can do but hope."

"I'll let you know as soon as we have news, Shepard," Hackett says in a kinder voice. "Until then, keep me posted. Hackett out."

Shepard stands still in the comm room for a while, before moving from the spot, reaching out to Joker over the comms. "ETA to the Citadel, Joker?" she asks.

"Almost there, Commander," comes the reply. "Ten minutes."

"Right, I need the crew to gather in the mess hall ASAP. Liara, Garrus, James," she says, already on her way there.

"Passing the message on," Joker gives a quick acknowledgment.

Liara and Garrus are already waiting for her when Morgan arrives in the mess hall, and James joins them scant moments later. Shepard does not waste much time explaining their plans. "According to Tevos, we might have up to two days of downtime until the asari come up with their summit representative," she tells her friends. "You are free to use this time as you see fit, but please remember to check in with Normandy every two hours for status updates. Also, it might be helpful if I knew roughly where to look for you."

"If I'm not on the Normandy, I will probably be hanging out with the refugees on the docks or in some sleazy nightclub," James grins.

"That doesn't exactly narrow it down, but fair enough, James," Shepard shrugs. "I expect you to conduct yourself by following the dignified example set by your commanding officer," here, her words are interrupted by a snort escaping her asari lover's lips. "Liara!" she turns around to face the young scientist, a bashful and apologetic smile on the asari's face.

"Shepard, I spoke with Victus," Garrus tells her. "A large number of our wounded have made it to the Citadel. I will probably be down at the refugee camps in the docking bays, seeing if I can do anything for them."

"Alright, Garrus... that's good thinking," Shepard nods. "Let me know if I can help in any way. Perhaps use my Spectre resources if your people are in dire need of some supplies."

"Thank you, Shepard," Garrus says, looking appreciative.

"Okay, I guess that accounts for you two," Shepard says, turning towards Liara. "And where I would be able to find you during our stay on the Citadel, Dr. T'Soni?"

"Somewhere close to you, Commander, if I can help it," Liara answers with a completely straight face, the nonplussed delivery making Shepard grin like a fool.

"I did plan on taking care of that Spectre business first thing after we set foot off the ship," Shepard says.

"That's fine, there's something that I was planning to do myself, but I would love to catch up afterwards," Liara smiles.

"Alright, I'll let you know when I'm free. Okay… that's it," Shepard gives her final orders. "Dismissed, people!"

* * *

Not much has changed on the Citadel during the three solar days that they have spent away on the mission to turian space. There are signs of this war growing fiercer and more desperate, the lines of the refugee ships waiting for permission to dock are steadily rising. There is a particular increase in heavily damaged turian ships, limping back to this sanctuary to drop off the injured and make repairs. Enjoying the privileges of being one of the Council races, the turian ships have been told they can bypass the queues, an action that has left many other races increasingly unhappy, and the palpable tensions on the Citadel are growing steadily.

The galactic news terminals have more and more reports on the war, slowly pushing all other news into obscurity, making it harder for the good people of the Citadel to ignore the growing Reaper threat, forcing them to confront the reality of the war. _At some point the Reapers will arrive here as well, even if these people refuse to believe it. The more and more refugees flock here, the more attractive target it becomes to the Reapers,_ Shepard thinks, stopping to listen as the journalists report about the first asari colony world coming under attack. _Well, it was only a matter of time, we all knew that._

She arrives at the embassies shortly after, spotting her contact through the crowds, an inconspicuous looking tall salarian in a black and pale gold light suit of body armor. He somehow manages to appear dangerous in a subtle way, a feat difficult to pull off for any salarian. As soon as he notices Shepard approaching, he straightens his back and nods towards her. "Commander Shepard," the salarian says. "Jondum Bau, Special Tactics and Recon. I have intel suggesting that high-level hanar officials might be indoctrinated."

"Those jellyfish have always been crazy," Shepard shakes her head. "All that Enkindler gibberish? Please. But I digress, what do you have, Bau?"

"Not here, Shepard," he says, pointing towards the doors leading to the Spectre offices, directly opposite to the human embassy, where the wild Udina makes his lair. They quickly pass the scanners and enter the Spectre headquarters, housing several information terminals and even a small shooting range. "I have evidence of an Alliance black ops team raiding a batarian research station. The batarians were studying Reaper technology."

"Those idiots had Reaper tech?" Shepard blinks. "They would have had no clue about the indoctrination and how to avoid it! God... this is bad."

"Correct. The raid turned into a massacre, and your people ended up with nothing," Bau explains. "They faked a power failure to hide the incident."

"If the batarians had known that, we would have been at war even before I went to Aratoht..." Shepard remarks bitterly. Bau nods quickly, obviously well informed of her past actions. "Still... how do the jellyfish factor into this?"

"They were maintaining some discreet trade relationships with the batarians, and found out about the research. They led the Alliance to the station. We suspect that those hanar operatives escaped with the Reaper tech. I trust your reports about the indoctrination, Commander. Which means, those hanar are in the Reaper's pockets."

"Sounds serious, alright," Shepard nods. "Your source?"

"It was an anonymous 'gift', but I believe it came from a thief named Kasumi Goto," Bau explains, Shepard hoping that her face does not betray her surprise. "I have been after her for years."

"I have heard of this Kasumi," Shepard says casually. "Why are you so interested in her?"

"We had a good reason to believe that she was in possession of some extremely sensitive intel that could have implicated one of the Council races," Bau replies. "Perhaps it was this particular piece of information. A year ago it would have put humanity in a very difficult position." Shepard nods, quietly agreeing with her fellow Spectre's train of thought. "Besides, catching a master thief like Kasumi Goto would be a crowning career achievement," Bau then says, reverence in his voice. "Her intelligence and skill are almost salarian."

"Well, if she sent you the data, perhaps the feelings of respect and admiration are mutual," Shepard chuckles, but Bau's face remains impassive, save for a slight twitch of his head horns. "In any case, I'd like to help. We don't need crazy jellyfish jeopardizing the safety of the Citadel."

"I'm tracking suspicious transmissions to hanar homeworld, and I could use someone with hacking experience," Bau explains. "Now... here's what I would like you to do, Commander…"

* * *

"Is Major Alenko ready to receive visitors?"

"Yes, err... and your relation to Major, miss...?"

"We served together on the SSV Normandy. We are old friends."

The nurse hesitates. "I will check with Major Alenko. Your name, miss?"

"Liara. Liara T'Soni."

"Just a moment," the human nurse spins around on her heel and rushes off. Liara stands at the reception desk, looking around the growing lines of patients, feeling guilty about wasting the time of the hospital staff with her foolish demands. The galactic news terminals bring more and more disturbing reports from the war, hanging in the hospital lobby like a dark cloud. _Why do they even have those news broadcasts here?_ She wonders. _I understand the need to confront reality, but most of these patients are here because they have experienced this reality firsthand. Do they really need the reminder?_

The nurse returns soon after, informing that Kaidan would like to see her, taking Liara to one of the infirmary wards. Major Alenko is resting on one of the hospital beds, still looking rather poorly, his face is badly bruised and sporting traces of several nasty cuts. "Liara, this is a surprise," he speaks, turning his head to face her. "Did Shepard send you? Too busy to see me, eh?"

_That's not the best of starts,_ Liara sighs mentally. "No," she says simply. "Shepard does not know that I intended to come here. She planned to come visit after she has taken care of some urgent Spectre business." Kaidan doesn't say anything, only looking a little surprised. "I came because first of all I wanted to thank you."

"Thank me?" Kaidan blinks. "What for, Liara?"

"The Cerberus synthetic on Mars. She was turning towards me, I remember her eyes boring down on me. If you had not stopped in her way and knocked me aside... well, I'm not sure I would have survived those injuries," she speaks quietly.

"Oh... I see. Well, you were already injured, I simply did what any soldier should do," Kaidan smiles. "There is no need to thank me for doing the right thing."

"I also came to speak about you and Shepard," Liara plows straight ahead, not mincing any words.

"Right... isn't that something between me and the Commander?" Kaidan sounds a little defensive.

"Kaidan, do you believe I am stupid? Naive? Obtuse? Do you still think I am that shy and awkward archeologist that you saved on Therum?" Liara asks, her voice steely and determined.

Alenko blinks, taken aback by the ferocity in the asari's words. "No... no, Liara, you're obviously one of the most intelligent people I have come across," he says. "And you are making it quite clear you are no longer that timid, frightened girl we encountered in those Therum mines."

"Do you think I am stupid for placing unconditional trust in Shepard?" Liara asks.

"You love her," Kaidan replies quietly.

"That simply means that I am risking all that much more if she truly turns out to be a Cerberus tool, like you seem to believe. I worried that Cerberus will rebuild her as something else despite their assurances," Liara speaks, the memories of those dark days causing her to stop, struggling with her emotions. "But I have touched the depths of her mind, Kaidan. She is the same Commander Shepard that you knew and trusted. You can dismiss what I am telling you, you can believe that my feelings make me blind, but I am telling you the truth."

Kaidan manages a small smile. "She is... very fortunate to have you, Liara."

"She does tell me that constantly. I suppose she truly feels that way," Liara smiles back, blushing a little. "So, does that mean..."

"We cannot afford any more doubts, Liara. Not with this war around us... I had already decided to place my trust with the Commander even before you came to convince me," Kaidan says.

"And... now I went and ruined everything?" Liara asks hesitantly. "Goddess, I have the worst timing in the galaxy with these things, I swear!"

Kaidan breaks out in laughter. "No, Liara. You did not make anything worse. Only better."

* * *

"I have to say, that Bau is quite smart, the way he put together it was this very same intel the Spectres were after years ago," Kasumi speaks, as together with Shepard they walk all the way back from the docking bays to the hanar embassy. The petite thief had shown up immediately after Shepard had parted with her fellow Spectre, predictably having been within the earshot the whole time. "I thought it was safe to leak the intel from Keiji's greybox now, was I right to do so?" she asks Shepard.

"Yeah, that was the right call," Morgan replies. "Especially now that we know there really is an indoctrinated jellyfish slithering around."

"We don't need them crazier than usual, do we?" Kasumi chuckles. "I'm just glad that Bau latched onto that intel and didn't dismiss it. Ah, I shouldn't have doubted him, he's a good Spectre. The galaxy needs more like him."

"You really do seem to approve of him," Shepard says, feeling a mite surprised. "Considering he's been chasing you for years, that's... a little unexpected."

"Well, nobody's perfect. I can forgive him that little character flaw," Kasumi grins. "It has been a fun chase, though. Sometimes it has almost felt like some strange wooing ritual."

"And maybe, just maybe, you more than just approve of him," Shepard winks, watching Kasumi blush slightly. _At least it's good to see she's no longer stuck in the past with Keiji's memory or blaming herself for Jacob's death,_ Morgan decides.

"Please, Shepard!" Kasumi protests cheekily. "He's still quite serious about arresting me, you know."

"Fortunately I will be there to protect you and grant you immunity," Shepard grins at her.

"If I join up against the Reapers? No thanks, I think I'd rather let Bau drag me to some dusty cell," Kasumi shakes her head vehemently.

"I wasn't planning to ask anything in return, but I like how you think!"

"Pah, you are no fun, Shepard!" Kasumi complains. "Oh, we're almost there, I better disappear or Bau might get some ideas. I'll be nearby just in case!" she says, quickly activating her cloaking to hide.

"There you are, Commander," Bau greets her with a nod, before pointing to the doors leading to the hanar embassy. "Zymandis is inside. Shall we get to it?"

"Yeah, let's crack some skulls-... no wait, that doesn't work with jellyfish," Shepard grins, patting the holstered pistol on her hip and then heading towards the entrance, Bau sticking close to her. Inside, a hanar is wobbling nearby some computer terminals, and several sleazy looking human thugs posing as guards are discreetly leaning against the walls. "Zymandis?" Shepard asks to attract the hanar's attention.

"Or should we say Regards the Works of the Enkindlers in Despair?" Bau cuts in, causing the hanar to shuffle around to face them at the mention of its soul name.

"It seems this one has been apprehended, but confinement is irrelevant. The work of the Enkindlers cannot be stopped," the hanar says in its watery voice. "We must serve the Enkindlers, even as they became the Collectors. And since the Collectors serve the Reapers..."

"Indoctrination makes for the most hilarious leaps of logic," Shepard says angrily, pulling her pistol and aiming it at Zymandis. "Well, we're not letting you endanger this station or your own people. Step away from the consoles, you big, stupid jellyfish!"

"Your belief in your victory is mistaken," Zymandis replies, even if he does step away from the computer terminal. "Our planetary defenses are largely automated. They can be disabled with a single virus. Which I just uploaded."

"Damnation!" Bau exclaims. "Wait… a virus would be detected unless sent on the low priority channels! I might be able to block the upload..." the salarian activates his omni-tool, but before he can do anything, one of the hired human thugs rushes him and wraps his hands around Bau's throat, trying to strangle him.

"Help him! I'll take care of the virus!" Kasumi shouts, breaking her cloaking and darting towards the nearest console as Shepard takes a single step before punching the guard heavily on the side of the chin, watching him collapse with a groan. Bau and Shepard draw their pistols and quickly spray-paint the opposing wall with Zymandis' sloshing innards.

"I got it!" Kasumi exclaims victoriously, frantically working on the consoles. "Upload disabled. But hey... what's this, some kind of failsafe. Uh-oh, get down!"

There is a massive blast as the computer terminal explodes and as Morgan and Bau are both thrown off their feet, for a moment Shepard is genuinely worried about Kasumi's fate. "She was here the entire time!" Bau exclaims, getting back to his feet.

"Yeah, it would appear so," Shepard nods, her eyes scanning the room for any sign of Kasumi. "And she just gave her life to save the hanar homeworld."

"Really, Shepard," Bau says, giving her a surprisingly amused stare, before turning his attention back to the room, his eyes peering carefully in the farther corner. He brings up his omni-tool and pokes over it a bit. "If she gave her life, then where is her body? Unless... it is there..."

Suddenly there is a tiny electrical discharge and Kasumi's cloaking fades, revealing the startled thief. "Ow!" she glares, rubbing her hand. "That was not nice!"

"My apologies, miss Kasumi," Bau bows his head. "But I'm afraid you're under arrest."

"Hey! No way I'm letting you do that!" Shepard protests. "She helped me take down the Collectors, Kasumi is an old friend! I'm invoking my Spectre rights to grant her immunity."

Bau sighs theatrically. "Well, I suppose in that case I cannot stop you, Commander," he says, but then a broad grin slowly spreads on the salarian's face. "Though, I must admit, I was counting on you to do exactly that, Shepard. That was the only reason I invited you along in the first place."

Shepard stares at Bau with her mouth open in surprise, noticing that Kasumi's expression is very similar. "Uh... what?" Shepard manages.

"I knew that your presence would lure miss Kasumi out," Bau explains, looking very pleased with himself. "And I knew that you have worked together before. There was no way you were going to let me arrest her."

"But isn't that what you wanted all along?" Shepard blinks.

"Not really," Bau admits. "I wanted to create a set of circumstances where my obligations could no longer demand that I attempt to arrest miss Kasumi. Such as her being given immunity by another Spectre."

"But why go through all this?" Kasumi shakes her head, still looking a little confused.

Jondum Bau turns towards her, grinning as he takes a deep bow. "Because now I can invite the great Kasumi Goto to dinner without my duties getting in the way."

"Oh... wow, that was smooth..." Shepard says, then starting to laugh, shaking her head.

"Well, I can't really say no to someone who outplayed me like this, can I?" Kasumi also breaks into a grin. "Okay, you won this round, Mr. Bau."

"Most excellent. Apollo's Cafe, eight o'clock?"

Kasumi smiles in reply, looking genuinely happy. "I'll be there."


	52. The Deposed Queen

_A/N: So, we're dealing with a Shepard who's not quite the advocate for the misunderstood synthetic rights, but who's instead still a bit prejudiced and suspicious when dealing with AI's. The small chat with EDI will show that. I figure after all the geth in ME1, it would be hard for someone to be immediately really open-minded about AI's, so any trust will have to develop more gradually. _

_Also, Aria! Yay! I hope my interpretation of her seems in character. :) _

**Chapter 51 - The Deposed Queen**

"You just can't put your work aside for a moment," Shepard gently chides Liara as she takes a seat at their table at the Apollo's, taking the datapad out of the asari's hands and setting it aside.

"I merely thought to use our brief parting to take care of a few things, so that once you arrive I can devote all my attention to you," Liara smiles. "Was I wrong to do that?"

Shepard grins, shaking her head. "No, of course not," she says. "So, how's your day so far?"

"Productive, I think," Liara replies. "I just sent Hackett information about valuable supplies that will help in building the Prothean device. Morgan, I am so thankful you did not talk me out of using the Shadow Broker resources back on Hagalaz. You know... if you had absolutely insisted that I come with you, I would have left it behind," she confesses.

"Well, I can see the merit of having all this information. Even if it has taken up so much of your time," Shepard admits a little reluctantly. "But anyway, I have not been sitting idle, either. A very grateful salarian Spectre has promised his support and that of his contacts in the STG. And I think that I will manage to rope a certain miss Goto into helping Hackett as well." Liara smiles, impressed. "But anyway, let's not talk about work for at least a brief while. We could just... I don't know, enjoy the sights of the Presidium and the company of each other."

"That sounds perfect," Liara grins, looking at the promenades and parks of the Presidium Commons. "I like what the human ambassador has done with the place. It truly reminds you of Earth, doesn't it?" Only then Shepard realizes that the sights and the smells are so very familiar because they are samples of Earth's flora. "I think it was the turn of your people on the Presidium decorations schedule," Liara remarks, seeing the unspoken question in Morgan's eyes.

"Yeah, it's rather nice-..." Shepard starts speaking, then breaks off, noticing something in one of the squares below. "What the... isn't that EDI's new platform, prancing around there?" she points, making Liara stand up and take a look. "I know the security have eased up on the potential geth infiltration crap, but isn't that still dangerous?" she wonders.

"I don't think that EDI would have taken such risks unless she was certain," Liara says, then pointing at something a little to the left. "Oh, and there's Jeff sitting on the bench, looking out for EDI. In fact... he can't seem to take his eyes off her."

Shepard sighs. "Yeah, I was worried that might become an issue."

"What do you mean?" Liara asks.

"Have you ever heard of a relationship between an asari and a synthetic?" Morgan asks.

"I'm afraid that would be quite impossible, you would be unable to initiate joining with a non-organic being," Liara shakes her head. "I imagine it would be less of a problem for humans, though there probably is a great prejudice against such relationships."

"Uh... you could say that," Morgan admits. "I'm not exactly comfortable with the idea myself," she confesses. "Listen... I think I'll just head down there for a moment and make sure they are alright, why don't you order something for us? I'm starting to get a bit peckish."

"Would you like anything special?" Liara asks.

"Pick something from either human or asari cuisine, I don't want to risk something extravagant," Shepard chuckles before rushing off to catch up with EDI and Joker.

EDI is languidly strolling through the masses of people passing through towards the nearby marketplace, as if trying to take in as many sights as possible, but in synthetic terms simply gathering more and more data. "Hello, Shepard," EDI greets her as soon as the synthetic notices the Commander's approach.

"EDI," Shepard returns the greeting. "Is it safe for you to be here?" she asks, lowering her voice. "You know, with the whole unshackled AI thing?"

"Do not worry, Commander. I am considered to be Jeff's mobility assistance mech," EDI explains. "Due to his Vrolik's syndrome, he is legally entitled to bring me everywhere with him."

"He doesn't insist on you carrying him around in your arms, does he?" Shepard asks.

"Considering that remark, perhaps you can be of assistance, Commander," EDI says in return. "I have been running scenarios in my head to analyze Jeff's recent behavior. I believe he has a strong affectionate attachment to me, but he has not stated it to anyone yet. Shepard, you have firsthand sexual experience. How do you know when someone is romantically invested?"

Shepard blinks. _I can't believe I'm having this conversation with an AI. What part of her programming would even force her to be interested in something like that? Or... is this something as a result of her modifying her own core programming after Joker unshackled her? That's... scary. _"I, uh... well, there are signs such as..." she starts to reply, then cutting herself short. "EDI... why is this even a topic of conversation for us?"

"I was hoping you could help me provoke Jeff into an emotional commitment," EDI replies.

"What?! No... no! No, no, no!" Shepard shakes her head, feeling slightly shocked. "This is crazy, I can't believe I'm having this discussion! Why would you even want to enter an emotional commitment like that? Do you... want to appear more human or...? EDI, you are valued for what you are, do not strive to change your programming to... uh, assume organic traits, or whatever it is that you are doing."

"Do you think that I am not able to enter into a romantic relationship with him?" EDI asks. Shepard wonders if she has just heard a tinge of disappointment in EDI's voice, but even so she can't stop herself from shaking her head in denial. "You are probably correct, Shepard," EDI acknowledges after a small pause. "There is no precedent that humans and synthetics can maintain relationships as equals. I will no longer devote processing power to exploring this possibility. Thank you, Shepard."

"Uh... you're welcome, EDI," she replies, feeling awkward and wondering if she has just made another blunder. _You didn't just break her heart, despite what you might feel, Morgan,_ she chides herself. _She can just alter her programming instantly and no longer even think about it. Wish us organics could do that..._

_Not to mention the whole logistics part of such a relationship,_ she continues to muse. _She's a chunk of metal and Joker's got his brittle bone disease. How would that ever work out... aaaah, disturbing mental images incoming!_ "I'm sorry if the answer was not what you wanted to hear," she says apologetically.

"My programming placed no particular emphasis on exploring this opportunity," EDI simply explains. "I only devoted my processing power to it because my initial scans detected something in Jeff's behavior that implied his need for such a relationship and I sought to accommodate him."

_Of course Joker would have such a reaction towards a sexy robot body with a highly titillating voice,_ Shepard thinks to herself, waving to Joker, sitting on his bench and looking at them talk. "EDI, I think what Joker needs right now is a good friend, and you've been that to him ever since he freed you from your shackles," she says, trying to convince herself more than she is trying to convince EDI. "But now I should really get back to Liara before my dinner goes cold," she says, looking at the Apollo's above them. "Say 'hi' to Joker for me. And take him to that new Blasto movie, it seems like a real hoot."

"I will do so, Shepard," EDI says. "And that seems like a worthwhile suggestion. Thank you."

* * *

"Are you sure you wanted to accompany me there? I love the company, but it doesn't sound like your kind of place," Shepard asks, as together with Liara they make their way towards the Purgatory, a seedy nightclub not on the recommended list by the Citadel Tourist and Visitor Board, currently also the residence of one Aria'T'Loak.

"Please, Shepard. Circumstances have forced me to visit locales far more... colorful," Liara smiles in return. "So... you said you discouraged EDI from seeking romantic involvement with Joker?"

"Yeah," Shepard nods, still feeling conflicted. "Do you think I did the right thing?"

"I'm sorry, but I cannot answer that, Morgan. While it is true that love can blossom in the most unexpected places-"

"Hey, asari and human unions aren't that rare anymore," Shepard interrupts her.

"I was... speaking more generally, not about us," Liara gives her a mildly admonishing stare. "Encouraging them would have been risky, I agree. I want to see Jeff happy as much as you do, but is this the right way? What is that human saying? Hindsight is 20/20?"

"Yeah, that's right and it very much applies to this situation," Shepard agrees, as they finally arrive at their destination, the sharp techno beats seem to make the very walls of the establishment pulse in the ear deafening beat. "Would you look at that, it appears almost like Afterlife. Only with less asari strippers," she observes with a chuckle.

"Yes, I imagine Aria would not approve of that detail," Liara says. "Though you are correct, this does resemble Afterlife a good deal."

"You've been there?" Shepard asks, now feeling curious.

"Of course," Liara replies. "My search to recover your body led there."

"Then I imagine you know Aria as well."

"We have met a few times," Liara shrugs. "She is... certainly unique even amongst our own kind. Speaking of which..." she points towards one of the private booths and Shepard notices her old acquaintance there, arguing with some C-Sec officer, waving hands animatedly at Aria.

They arrive at Aria's little sanctum only to catch the last few words of that conversation, as well as the fading image of Councilor Tevos on the vid call, after she had quickly and efficiently sorted Aria's 'immigration issues'. As the frustrated C-Sec officer hastily departs, Aria turns her attention towards them, still bristling at the impertinence of the officials. "Enjoy the show, Shepard?" she snaps, then noticing Liara as well. "And you brought Benezia's daughter with you. How precious."

"Greetings, Aria," Liara says, keeping her voice completely neutral.

"And I needed a big favor from Tevos a couple of days ago," Shepard says as they take their seats on the sofa, facing Aria across the table. "If I had known that you have some dirt on her, I'd have asked for your help."

Aria's eyes immediately light up as if on fire. "Whatever I have on Tevos is certainly not 'dirt', Shepard, and if you use that word once more..." the asari's voice is threatening.

"I apologize, I did not mean to insult," Shepard quickly raises her hands in a placating gesture, wondering what had prompted such reaction from Aria. "Anyway, I came because I received your message, Aria. Purgatory, eh? Not exactly a step-up from Afterlife," she adds, chuckling inwardly at the double-entendre, wondering if the two asari have any chance to detect it.

"It is not," Aria sounds even more short-tempered than usually. "I hate this place. So sickeningly uptight."

"We've heard about Omega," Shepard says. "You must be really hating Cerberus about now."

"And there's more than just the Omega mess, isn't there?" Liara speaks, looking adorably smug.

"What have you heard, T'Soni," Aria demands impatiently. "Out with it."

"Something involving a man named Grayson," Liara replies, as Shepard watches Aria's eyes narrowing. "And a young asari named Lis-"

"I see," Aria interrupts Liara sharply. "You are well informed, T'Soni. No longer just Benezia's little kid, easy to underestimate."

Liara smiles, as Shepard picks up the conversation again. "Well, I approve of anyone who wants to wipe out Cerberus," she says. "I imagine you will not just sit here idly, you will work to retake Omega."

"All in due time, Shepard," Aria smiles thinly. "For now, you are here because I have a proposition."

"Please, I've been dying to hear just what it is you want with me," Shepard urges her.

"The way I see it, if you don't defeat the Reapers, we're all going to die. Doesn't matter if I sit on the Citadel or Omega," Aria says. "So, let me help you. On Omega, I kept the Eclipse, Blood Pack and Blue Suns in check, but now they are running amok. Nobody wants that. I'm offering them to you as a ruthless and powerful force for your war, if you finalize the deals that I have made with each of the groups. Do this for me, and you'll have a united force of professional mercs under your command."

Shepard exchanges a look with Liara, not knowing what to say at first. "If I can be sure they point their guns at the Reapers and not at us... then that sounds like a good deal to me," she turns back to Aria, Liara nodding in approval.

"They will do as I tell them, Shepard. And I already explained to you why it is in my interests to help you," Aria says impatiently, at Shepard's nod passing her a datapad. "You will find all the relevant information within. A couple of hours of running errands on the Citadel and you will have yourself a big fucking army. How is that not a sweet deal for you?"

"I suppose it is," Shepard shrugs, slowly rising from her seat. "Try to enjoy your stay, Aria."

"Pah, in this poor excuse for a nightclub?" Aria snaps angrily. "Can't even get Noverian rum here."

"I think we have Noverian rum in the bar of the Normandy's lounge," Shepard says, trying to remember. "In fact, I'm quite certain we do."

Aria suddenly appears very interested. "Is that an invitation, Shepard?"

"Why not? You could always stop by tomorrow after we have finished dealing with your mercenaries," Shepard smiles.

"Very well, I'll be there," Aria replies as Shepard and Liara retreat from her booth, heading towards the exit.

"Why did you invite her?" Liara whispers to Morgan.

"I don't know, it just happened," Morgan whispers back. "You don't approve?"

"It's fine, as long as you remember that she is still a very dangerous individual," Liara says.

"I'm aware, but I like the thought of having her on our side," Shepard replies, then stopping in her tracks as she notices a familiar face at the bar. "Look, it's James! Let's go and greet him at least, it would be impolite to just leave after spotting him."

"Very well," Liara relents. "But please, Morgan, let's not scar the poor man with more public displays of affection. He seems very sensitive to that."

Shepard just laughs, as they catch up with James, gulping down some kind of vile looking bright blue cocktail. "Evening, Lieutenant," Morgan says, making him sharply turn around, a slightly inebriated grin plastered on his face.

"Lola! And Doc, too!" James grins broadly at the sight of them. "Hey, Shepard, this is great. Anytime I want a free drink, I just need to drop your name, mention that I'm serving under your command. Ah, life is good."

"Commander Shepard does not exactly approve of her name being used to indulge your boozing habits," Morgan winks at him a little playfully. "But I suppose I can let it slide. I did allow you to enjoy yourselves, after all."

"I've been drinking with those turians for most of the evening," James points at the three soldiers at a table nearby. "They're actually decent once they relax a bit. Told them about their own new Primarch, think they were impressed. That guy has some real _cojones_, kicking ass and taking names... we need more politicians like him, not worms like Udina!"

"I'll shoot anyone who decides to stick me behind a desk with paperwork crammed on it," Shepard gives him a mock-glare to warn Vega off the suggestion. "Anyhow, James, we just checked in on you briefly," she waves the datapad close to James' nose before turning around to leave. "Believe it or not, some of us actually have a job to do..."

* * *

"I must say, Shepard, your ship is impressive," Aria tells Morgan, raising her glass of Noverian rum, as they are joined in the Normandy's lounge by Liara and Garrus. "So much so that I briefly entertained the thought of taking it from you."

"Why don't we refrain from doing something hasty that could damage our newfound friendship?" Shepard winks, raising her glass in return. "I trust everything is well with the mercenary forces?"

"The Blue Suns, Eclipse and Blood Pack are all in my pocket and ready to go to war as soon as you need them," Aria replies, looking satisfied. "The Blood Pack have committed 2,000 vorcha to the cause. Eclipse will be providing a ton of mechs and elite troopers for stealth operations. And Vosque has also committed his veteran soldiers to me, the idiot."

"He was very impatient to receive certain... services from you in turn," Liara adds with a grin, looking far more tipsy from the rum than the other two. "I am guessing he will remain disappointed?"

"He will. If he was a pretty young thing like you, T'Soni, then he would have stood good chances," Aria replies frankly, making Liara blush furiously and Garrus chokes on his turian-specific beverage.

"Careful there, Archangel," Shepard adds with a wicked grin, making Aria turn towards the turian in surprise.

"You know, I should be **highly** displeased with you, turian," she says sternly, before her voice softens a little. "But, it's in the past. Besides, the frustrations of those mercs were greatly amusing to observe. Not to mention that they did plan to overthrow me, so in fact I should be thanking you instead."

"It was my pleasure," Garrus bows politely. "And also a way to entertain myself."

"You are one smug bastard," Aria grins. "I like you." Then she turns towards Liara. "T'Soni, back at the Purgatory, you spoke a name when I interrupted you. I did not want anyone to overhear, but now I demand that you tell me all that you know."

"You want to know the truth about Liselle?" Liara asks. Aria nods with a tense expression on her face, before she pours herself more of the rum. "You must know that I worked as an information broker on Ilium. I did extensive spying on Cerberus during my time there. It was them who killed your daughter, Aria."

Aria's jaw looks like set in stone from the way she grits her teeth, furious with barely controlled rage. "Do you know the one who killed her?"

"No, I don't know any details beyond that," Liara shakes her head. Shepard gives her an inquisitive stare, trying to figure out whether this piece of intel was something she truly discovered while on Ilium or was she lying and it was something she found in the Shadow Broker's databases.

"They will die one by one, and they will die painfully," Aria snarls. "I feel like the time of hunt is upon me again, I want to see their blood flow and revel in the sight!"

A thought suddenly occurs to Shepard. "Hey, you know what... I can actually provide you with Cerberus targets that we currently lack time to hit ourselves," she says. "Hackett asked us to deal with it, but I figure it might be a good opportunity to also let your mercs show what they are capable of and reassure the Admiral that this alliance is a good idea."

"I can just imagine his face when you inform him that you've put us all in bed with the famous Aria T'Loak," Garrus chuckles.

"That might prove an adequate distraction from pointless sitting in the Purgatory, Shepard," Aria agrees, her eyes still shooting lightning, but she seems to be slowly getting her rage back under control. "Give us the coordinates and I'll take a few Eclipse teams there to deal with those Cerberus bastards."

"You'll get the intel, Aria," Shepard nods. "If you promise to take one of my people with you. Wouldn't you like to join Aria, Archangel?" she grins at a mortified looking Garrus. "I'm sure Lieutenant Vega would like to take part."

"I don't play well with others, Shepard," Aria shakes her head. "Why is this necessary?"

"The target is a Cerberus lab. I'm worried there might be some Reaper tech down there," Shepard explains. "I don't want your people handling Reaper artifacts and getting indoctrinated. Our guy will grab that stuff and pass it over to Hackett safely."

Aria shrugs, then nodding. "Whatever. I guess I have no problem with that," she takes another swig from her glass, looking at the empty bottle of rum. "Now, do you have another bottle of this or not?"

"Actually... we have two!" Shepard leaves her seat to quickly return with the bottles. "And nobody's leaving until we have emptied them!"

"Oh... goddess," Liara groans, slumping forward and pressing her brow against the table.


	53. The Wayward Matriarch

**Chapter 52 - The Wayward Matriarch**

_No matter if they make them as nice and clean as Huerta Memorial, I still hate hospitals, _Shepard grumbles at herself, idly scanning the crowds of patients for her old acquaintance, Thane Krios. _You'd think that a drell would stand out. I better ask some nurse, she will know where I can find this... Tannor Nuara_.

Liara has stayed back on the Normandy, Shepard for once happy to leave her studying the Prothean blueprints. _She can make everything more interesting just by the virtue of her company alone, but somehow it doesn't seem to do much for hospital visits_. James has also remained on the ship after a wild night at the Purgatory, while Garrus has left to coordinate food supplies for the turian refugees, 'mistakenly' delivered to the Presidium instead of going to the people most in need of them.

_I'm just happy I don't have a nasty hangover after last night_, Shepard grins, remembering the little come-together at the Normandy's lounge. Aria had consumed most of the rum, letting her ice-cold demeanor slip just a little towards the end of the evening, making not entirely serious passes at Liara, mostly just to embarrass the other asari. By then, Liara had been more or less zoned out, not really understanding what was going on around her. _Aria's really not that bad, all things considered. Ruthless, dangerous, but... somehow fun to be around with._

A nurse shows her towards a more remote part of the hospital, where Shepard can see a familiar, lanky figure standing in the shadows and exercising, throwing practice kicks and punches at an imaginary foe. "Thane," she says, grinning. "Still trying to stay in shape, eh?"

"Commander Shepard," the former assassin swiftly turns around. Shepard finds drell expressions difficult to read, but Thane appears happy to see her. "When I heard that Earth was under attack I tried to get in touch, but I could not get through," he says. "And yes, with the way that my disease kills... there's no reason why I should not stay in shape. It simply pleases me."

"I thought about you now and then while I was still in the Alliance custody," Shepard says. "Wondering if the inevitable has happened."

"My allocated time has come and gone, already. But what are you doing here, _siha_?"

"One of your messages did come through, Thane. So, I knew where you were and actually came to visit you," she stops, before adding. "And there's also an old friend of mine as a patient in this hospital, Kaidan Alenko. He got hurt a while ago during a mission on Mars."

"You must mean the human biotic in the intensive care," Thane lets out an unpleasant sounding, dry cough as he speaks. "I saw the marks of an implant. We spoke a little, though it is clear he prefers solitude. Still, he seems like an honorable sort."

"Yeah, he is... maybe a little too honorable," Shepard mutters quietly. "Never mind that," she then says quickly. "So, how are you really, Thane? How far has it progressed?"

"I need daily medication, Shepard," Thane explains without any bitterness or regrets. "It should not be long. Do not let sadness fill your heart, _siha_, I am at peace with what I've done with my life. That is more than most men can say when their time comes."

"Very true," Shepard admits slowly. "I wonder if I will be."

"I will pray that you are, if you will allow me," Thane says.

Shepard shrugs. "Well, I don't see how it could hurt." They stand silent for a while, before Shepard speaks again. "I hope you will be around the next time we return to the Citadel. I would love to talk some more."

"It would be a pleasure. There is also the extranet, of course," Thane nods, then looking at her with unreadable expression in his eyes. "Do not grieve for me, _siha_. I have good doctors and my son visits regularly. I wish you all the best, Commander."

"And I for you, Thane," she says quietly, shaking his hand and then leaving, walking towards Kaidan's ward. Thane might claim that he is at peace, but Shepard finds that such knowledge does not mean much to those who will be left behind, still feeling depressed from the realization that his death is imminent. _This must be so terrible for his son,_ she realizes with heavy heart.

Shepard takes a deep breath, trying to shake off the somber mood, attempting to get ready to face Kaidan, knowing that this would be a difficult conversation. Once she has steadied herself, she opens the door and runs into Councilor Udina, about to leave Kaidan's room, Shepard overhearing only the last bits of their conversation, Udina pressing Alenko for an answer regarding the Spectre candidacy.

"Shepard," Udina says stonily as he exits, not even sparing a look at her. Shepard simply shrugs and swallows her greeting, stepping through and approaching Kaidan, who is curiously watching their exchange.

"I see your friendship with Udina has only deepened," the Major chuckles. "I don't think he even mentioned your name once during our conversation."

"Yeah, I made him a laughing stock in front of all the other councilors, I don't think he'll ever forgive me that," Shepard smiles. "Say, you are looking much better. Certainly far less beaten up than when we brought you in. That was nasty, I'll show you pictures later."

"Err, thanks..." Kaidan replies. "And thanks for coming, Shepard. I had no right to expect you to come after... well, what was said between us."

"Water under the bridge, I say," Shepard shrugs. "Or do you want to make it more complicated?"

"Letting me off that easy, Shepard?" Kaidan faces her with a questioning stare. "Sure I'd like to forget what was said, but those were not insignificant accusations. Are you certain you can just forget it as simple as that?"

"Kaidan, the truth of the matter is that we simply don't have the time to be at each other's throats. And we probably don't have time to work through these issues all proper-like," Shepard says simply. "So yeah, I confess to not having the desire or inclination on spending more time arguing or holding grudges. That's why I say, water under the bridge and I mean it. Truly," she reaches out, offering a handshake in reconciliation and Kaidan wastes no time in grabbing her hand and shaking it vigorously, smiling.

"I'll take that offer, Commander," he says, looking relieved. "And I'm sorry, for what it's worth."

"No idea what you're talking about," Shepard shakes her head, winking at him. "So... Udina's pressing you about the Spectres, huh?" _It actually does seem a little odd for him to be so interested... I wonder what's up with that._

"Yes, he has been most insistent," Kaidan nods. "Still, it is a big responsibility, I want to make sure I don't regret my decision. Besides, I am not in the shape where I could contribute in the field. The implant got rattled, doc says, so I have to keep the biotics offline for a bit."

"Well... considering all the issues with L2, that's... alarming," Shepard manages, starting to feel a little worried. "Make sure not to rush back into action, Kaidan."

"Oh, it's really nothing serious, Shepard, the doc is just overly cautious," Kaidan says, sighing. "I think she just wants to keep me here as some sort of lab rabbit. Keeps running all sorts of tests on me."

"This doc... is she a looker?" Shepard grins.

"Asari," Kaidan replies.

"Oh, say no more. You're not really complaining then, are you?"

"No. No, I guess I'm not," Kaidan smiles back at her.

"But seriously now, do you have any plans for what you want to do once they let you out?" Shepard asks. "I guess with the Spectre candidacy up in the air, you probably don't know it yourself?"

"Serving on the Normandy will always be great temptation, Commander, if you're willing to extend an offer. But... you're right, if I accept the Spectre offer, things might change. Hell, Udina might already have something in mind for me, the way he's been trying to talk me into it."

"You'll always have a place on the Normandy, Kaidan," Morgan smiles. "By the way, we've got Garrus back, and Wrex will be joining us soon. Now we just need to find Tali and the old crew will be back together."

"Except for Ash..."

"Except for Ash," Shepard nods, the painful memories of their lost friend suddenly resurfacing. "I sometimes wonder what she'd be up to now, if not for... you know what."

"She'd be where the action was the fiercest, making the Reaper's day completely and utterly miserable," Kaidan smiles, with a shadow of bitterness. "Good old Ash. Miss you."

"Yeah..." Shepard sighs in agreement. "Listen, Kaidan... I've been asking everyone about their families, but it just occurs to me that I never had the time to ask about yours."

Kaidan winces, looking upset. "I left my family in Vancouver..." he says. "They were headed towards their orchard in the BC interior the day of the attack. Haven't heard from them yet, but... hoping that dad's Alliance training will keep them safe."

"Rough, isn't it, not knowing where your loved ones are? My mother's ship has been missing since the day of the attack and Hackett just keeps reassuring me that she'll report in any day..." Shepard speaks, feeling her own voice becoming strained.

"This war is hell for everyone, Shepard," Kaidan says, shaking his head. "Soon there won't be anyone in the galaxy not affected by it..."

"Yeah, you're probably right, depressing as it is," Morgan nods. "Well, I should probably let you rest now," she says, feeling a little desperate to get out of the hospital, the atmosphere starting to suffocate her. "Between me and Udina, you're probably feeling completely worn out."

Kaidan laughs. "Don't be a stranger, Commander. Next time you're on Citadel, feel free to check in with me, alright?"

"Sure, it's a promise," Shepard nods, heading for the exit. "Goodbye, Kaidan."

* * *

The refugee camps in the repurposed docking bays are slowly becoming completely cramped, despite the reassurances of the officials that the conditions remain adequate and comfortable for all those seeking shelter on the Citadel. Two more turian cruisers with wounded have docked overnight and the part of the temporary residence allocated to them is by far the worst in terms of crowds.

As Shepard slowly makes her way there, she notices the great amount of volunteers carrying away turians on stretchers, their bodies completely wrapped in white sheets. It would appear that great many of the wounded have not endured the journey to the Citadel, expiring from their injuries along the way. As Morgan walks along the rows of the injured refugees, settled on dirty, bloodied blankets on the floor, she hears a deeply disturbing chorus of pained moans and crying assaulting her ears, making her shudder.

_Some of these people might have been better off dead,_ she notes grimly, sparing a few looks to assert their injuries. Most are missing a limb or two, some injuries clearly too devastating to recover from. _The Reapers are merciless. If you get caught by that destroyer particle beam, you can probably count yourself lucky if you end up only losing a limb. For a given value of 'luck'. _

She hears the familiar voice of Garrus, rising high above the cries of the wounded. "Someone, give me the update on our medi-gel supplies!" his voice sounds very strained, worse than anything Shepard can ever recall. "And where are those food supplies that I requested! Did you get Bailey on the line or not? Get on it!"

Shepard slowly makes her way towards Garrus, listening at him shouting out orders. "Did you hear from the hospital yet? Can they spare their surgeons? All busy? Damn it!" her turian friend swears, looking exhausted and exasperated. "Well, keep on it then, some of these wounded don't have much time!"

For a moment, Morgan wonders whether she should even approach Garrus, fearing he might not appreciate the distraction, he seems too wrapped up in helping his people, but as Shepard is considering a careful retreat, Garrus looks up and notices her. "Shepard," he says, motioning her to approach him. "Damn it, we convinced the Council to accept our wounded, but... I had no idea it would be this bad," he confesses. Shepard fixes him with an inquisitive stare.

"We are getting more dead than injured. 85% KIA," Garrus explains, sounding depressed. "Even the morgues can't accept our dead anymore. There just aren't a lot of treatable flesh wounds when fighting Reapers..."

"85% is insane," Shepard blinks, shocked. "If it's the same on Earth then... damn it, Garrus, this is... this is..."

"Slaughter. Our front-line units are being wiped out whole platoons at a time," Garrus nods. "A single Reaper can destroy nine or ten of them in a single attack."

"You just can't congest your forces like that with Reaper destroyers walking about," Morgan shakes her head. "Guerrilla war, it can't be anything else but that." _I hope that our people back home have figured that out quickly. I know Anderson would have realized that immediately. _

"Yeah, our military just found that out the hard way," Garrus says grimly. "We're doing what we can for these people, but... only a few here will be able to get back into action. The rest, amputees or dead..."

"You know, you hear about millions dying on the first few days, and it's horrible, but somehow it's also... a number, and you look at it, but you don't really see the faces behind it, if you know what I mean?" Shepard asks, Garrus nodding along thoughtfully. "Then you come down here to witness something like this... and the reality just punches you in the face. Just pisses me off... makes me angry, as if I could strangle the Harbinger with my own bare hands!"

"Maybe that's how we need to feel if we want to win this war, Commander."

"Maybe..." Shepard admits, before looking at her friend again. "Any news about your family?"

Garrus winces, making Shepard instantly regret asking about it. "Not yet, but I'm trying to keep the hope alive."

"That's all we can do," Morgan nods, giving Garrus a sympathetic look. "Garrus, I know you must help your people, but I don't want to see you burning yourself out, okay?"

"I'll be fine, Commander," Garrus replies, then eyeing her with an evaluating stare. "What about you, Shepard? I'm starting to see some wear and tear."

"Eh..." Morgan shrugs, not really willing to talk about it or even spend time thinking how she is truly feeling. "I get by, somehow. Liara won't let me collapse, anyway. She's been... a great help."

"Good to hear," Garrus nods. "We both have no illusions, Shepard. We're only at the very beginning of this war. If we feel like we're about to collapse now, we have no chance to make it through to the end. We haven't seen a tenth of the horrors that we'll be forced to confront before it is all over."

Morgan swallows heavily from the implications of Garrus' words. "Gods... and people say that I'm depressing," she groans. "Listen, I think I'm heading back to the Normandy, Garrus. Check in with us soon, the time is running out for the asari representative to show up."

"I'll be in touch," Garrus promises as Shepard quickly makes her exit, the cries of the wounded in need of basic medication starting to get a bit too much for her to take.

_I could do with some asari-cuddling after all this,_ Morgan thinks at herself, briskly making her way back towards the Normandy, contacting Joker on the comms to inquire about the situation on the ship. Everything appears quiet, the asari representative has not shown up yet and everyone else save for her and Garrus are back onboard, awaiting further instructions.

She arrives at the Docking Bay D24 and heads directly towards the Normandy airlock... then stopping in her tracks as she sees a regal figure of an asari matron leaning on the railings and staring at the ships outside with a ponderous expression on her face. There is a heavy footlocker at her feet, holding the asari's belongings, as she appears to be waiting for someone.

"Excuse me," Shepard approaches the asari, interrupting her reverie. "You wouldn't be the asari representative for the war summit?"

"That's right, babe," the asari turns around to face her, addressing Morgan in an all too familiar voice. "Funny how we keep running into each other, isn't it?"

"Matriarch Aethyta!" Shepard beams at the sight of her old acquaintance from Ilium. "So that's what Tevos meant when she said... but, if you're, uh, shunned by all the other matriarchs, then what can you..."

"Not now, babe," Aethyta interrupts her. "I will answer all your questions onboard. There is only one thing I need to know before I am to join you for this summit." Shepard stands like frozen, waiting for the asari to continue. "Does your ship have a bar?" Aethyta asks.

"...yes, we have a nice little lounge," Shepard replies, after the initial surprise.

"Wonderful!" Aethyta exclaims, grabbing her belongings and then slapping Shepard on her shoulder, unexpectedly hard. "In that case... show me the way to the drinks cabinet!"


	54. Daddy Issues

**Chapter 53 - Daddy Issues**

"Lieutenant Vega. You are staring," Aria's voice is sharp and steely. She sits in the pilot's seat of the shuttle, her eyes staring straight ahead, smug and confident smile on her lips.

"Sorry, ma'am," James swiftly apologizes, sitting next to Aria in the co-pilot's seat, turning his head away from the asari. There are six Eclipse engineers in the small cargo space behind them, every one of them carrying two deactivated mechs.

"Lieutenant. Did I order you to stop staring?" Aria speaks imperiously.

"Uh... no, ma'am!" Vega turns his attention back to the Pirate Queen, needing no second invitation to study her enchanting features.

"I am surprised that Shepard has not trained you better than this, Lieutenant," Aria continues. "I suppose I will have to judge your performance for myself, since she could not vouch for it."

"Really? She seemed impressed with my skills on Menae," James sounds surprised.

"I may not be talking about your performance during combat, Lieutenant," Aria's grin widens just barely. "But I suppose that is where I will begin to... evaluate you."

"...uh, is it just me, or did it suddenly became very warm in here," James gulps.

"Let us for now concentrate on making things unpleasantly hot for Cerberus down there," Aria speaks, forcing James to break off his distracted thoughts and refocus. "ETA to Sanctum base in two minutes."

* * *

"But... but-but-but..."

"Liara!" Shepard looks at her lover with admonishment. "Now, whether you like this arrangement or not, but your... father is aboard the Normandy and she will be staying here for a while. You can't just ignore her that whole time!"

Liara sighs in defeat. "Why did they send her of all people? She can't actually give us any of the resources that we need for the Prothean device. Or commit our fleets..."

"I understand that she has been... spying on you on behalf of the matriarchs?" Shepard asks, Liara simply nodding in reply. "Tevos suggested to the matriarchs that they could use this summit as an opportunity to plant Aethyta onboard of the Normandy where she would be closer to you. They have even delegated her with some authority to make certain decisions on behalf of the matriarchs, just so that the scheme appears legit. I have to hand it to Tevos, she came up with an excellent solution to help your people without risking her own neck."

"I see. And I am supposed to be happy about being spied upon?" Liara still sounds upset. "What if she... finds out about the Shadow Broker? What if she starts to intrude on our privacy? What if the matriarchs decide to order a hit after she makes her report? Have you considered all of those things?"

"Liara, stop being ridiculous," Shepard takes her lover by the shoulders and shakes her a little, making the asari stare at her in mute surprise. "You're talking about your father. I know that you have never even spoken to each other, but if you had done that, you would know that she would never do anything to hurt you."

"Are you... certain of that?" Liara asks quietly.

"Yes. That's why I'm telling you to go and talk to her, for heaven's sake," Shepard sighs in exasperation.

"Alright... alright, I... I will," Liara says, finally gathering the courage and straightening her back. "But on one condition. You're coming with me."

"Are you sure? I don't want it to feel awkward in case you are discussing something private," Shepard asks, hesitating.

"Please, I doubt that we will be touching any topics like that. It will be a polite, frosty conversation between two strangers..."

"It doesn't have to be like that, if you're willing to... I don't know, just talk to her and you'll see that she's... actually really fun," Shepard says, though Liara still appears a little disbelieving. "Oh, let's just go already," Morgan then just takes the quietly struggling asari and drags her towards the lounge.

Aethyta is standing behind the bar as they enter, busy mixing a dangerously pink looking cocktail with an overly serious expression on her face. "Evening, Matriarch," Shepard says, then pushing a reluctant looking Liara in front of her. "I brought someone here to meet you. I think you might have heard of her."

The elder asari nods, looking at Liara. "I was wondering when you'll stop by, kid," she says.

"Well, you can't blame me for being concerned about someone sent here to spy on me," Liara says frostily, crossing her arms on her chest, making Shepard sigh inwardly.

"And what did you expect, kid? You're one of the biggest intel brokers in the galaxy, and you have some... very shady connections," Aethyta smirks, taking a swig of the alarming looking concoction. "Like... a girlfriend who used to work with Cerberus?"

"Morgan is no longer with Cerberus, surely you are not as incompetent at spying to know that!" Liara barks defiantly.

"Oh, baby's showing a bit of teeth, is she now?" Aethyta laughs, but quickly breaks off, her eyes narrowing as she stares at Morgan. "Yes, I know that. If she were still with Cerberus, she would not be getting within a light-year of you, kid."

"Is that so?" Liara glares.

"I knew what was truly going on, but to the average matriarch all of that combined with Benezia's involvement with Saren... yeah, they were about to order a hit when I intervened and agreed to keep an eye on you," Aethyta says, Shepard feeling some of Liara's anger deflating rapidly. "Or perhaps you would wish me to leave and ask for someone else to replace me? Someone who will actually be sending damning reports about your activities back to the matriarchs?"

Liara pales a little from her father's words. "No... no, that won't be necessary, I'm sure."

"I mean, you did threaten to flay someone alive with your mind, that one time," Aethyta winks. "Or how about when you killed your own assistant?" She then turns to Shepard. "Really, your idea of disposing of the corpse was just painful. Oh, let's put her back in her office seat! No one will ever notice! I had to clean up all that mess after you two."

"Oh... yeah, I was... kind of in a hurry," Shepard grins foolishly. "Thanks for sorting out that debacle."

"Well, are you two going to stand there at the doors the whole time? Sit down already!" Aethyta finally snaps with impatience, pointing towards the seats at the bar, and both Liara and Shepard mysteriously find themselves quickly obeying the command.

"So, it was you who bugged my office on Ilium," Liara shakes her head as Aethyta pours some elassa for them both. "Why is everyone insisting on getting me drunk?" she wonders, staring at the glass.

"Because you're no fun while sober?" Aethyta winks, earning a chuckle from Shepard, which she quickly cuts off when Liara gives her a stern look. "Ah, don't worry, kid. The matriarchs have more important things to worry about now that the Reapers are knocking on the doors. Sure, they want to keep an eye out on you, that's why they bought Tevos' little bait. But they're not going to do anything in the middle of this damned war."

"I would like to trust you on that," Liara says. "I know some of our colony worlds have come under attack, but I'm not seeing much of a response from the asari military."

"Well, you know the asari tactics," Aethyta rolls her eyes. "Infiltration and sabotage."

"Seems like a terrible strategy," Shepard says. "We already saw how turian 'flanking' of the Reapers went. Sabotage and infiltration sounds even more useless."

"Yeah, it's about as useful as tits on a hanar," Aethyta says, making Shepard choke on her drink, drops of elassa dribbling from her nose.

"Ugh, sorry about that," Morgan apologizes, quickly wiping her face clean. "I must remember that line, that was a killer. I think my rectum just prolapsed from laughing so hard."

"And the asari wanted to stay on sidelines in a summit where we can convince the races that can do the heavy lifting, like turians and krogan?" Liara blinks, stunned. "Are the matriarchs suicidal, or just that narrow-minded?"

"It makes no sense sucking up to the salarians who won't be able to help themselves much, they employ similar tactics to the asari," Morgan nods.

"I'm afraid the matriarchs are underestimating the Reapers and severely overestimating the capabilities of our commandos. They are good, but they're not built for the front ranks," Aethyta shakes her head sadly. "We're going to lose a great deal of good people before the matriarchs realize this. And then it might be too late already."

"Goddess, for the sake of our people, I hope you are wrong," Liara whispers. "Let's hope that this summit works out."

"Well, I should get along well with the krogan representative," Aethyta ponders, before giving Liara an amused stare. "My dad was a krogan, you know."

"I think Wrex will like you, Matriarch," Shepard chuckles. "Especially if you mix him some ryncol-based cocktails."

"I think I can manage that," Aethyta grins, swiftly refilling their empty glasses. "Though we seem to be running dangerously low on a very important ingredient, Noverian rum. I swear, it's like Aria T'Loak had came to raid your drinks cabinet."

"She did that, actually," Liara remarks, giving a suspicious stare to Aethyta. "Have you been spying on us before coming onboard?"

The matriarch simply sighs in response, pointing at the surface of the table. "I just saw what was scratched there. 'Property of Aria T'Loak', and it appears quite fresh," she explains, Liara looking a little guilty for jumping to conclusions.

"I'm sorry... I honestly did not see her doing that last night," Liara offers apologetically.

"It's alright, kid," Aethyta merely shrugs in return. "Though there's something I have to ask you. Always wondered how does it feel to be a quarter-krogan?"

"That's not how it works!" Liara protests, playfully elbowing the giggling Shepard.

"Pfft, I'm a thousand years old. Hell, I've had kids with a hanar," Aethyta scoffs. "So don't you tell me how reproduction works, kid."

"Wait... I have a sister that's half-hanar?" Liara blinks.

"I thought you said that wasn't how it works," Aethyta counters.

"Afraid she's got you there, Liara," Morgan adds with a chuckle.

"Hey! Aren't you supposed be on my side?" Liara mock-glares at her, all of them starting to feel slightly tipsy and warm from the drink. "If I recall, that was the sole reason I brought you here!"

"I can't help it," Morgan shrugs. "I think your dad is awesome."

"Well... I admit, she's not half-bad," Liara reluctantly agrees. Aethyta looks moved by this confession, though she quickly hides it.

"So, just a warning to you, Shepard," the matriarch says, laughter in her eyes. "If she ever head-butts you, it's nothing personal, it's just genetics."

"I have never head-butted anyone or anything!" Liara protests.

"But you did bite me that one time," Morgan remarks, making Liara turn a bright shade of purple.

"It was not my fault that the ship lost all power and you were... oh, umm..." Liara finally stops herself, turning to glare at Morgan. "You two are ganging up on me!"

"Hey, hey!" Aethyta backs off, raising up her hands in a gesture of peace. "Don't go all krogan blood rage on us, kid!"

Liara groans, covering her face with her hands, but her shoulders are shaking from laughter. "You are... not quite what I expected you to be... dad," she finally admits, smiling.

"Well, you're not quite what I anticipated either, kid," Aethyta grins back. "But then I knew that any daughter of Benezia would be special... especially one that's also quarter-krogan."

"Now you're just doing that on purpose," Liara sighs.

"At least you've done well with your choice of bondmate," Aethyta says approvingly. "I have no experience with humans myself, but you can't argue with that rack," Shepard suddenly finds her face burning from Aethyta's frank appraisal. "Granted, it's still a far cry from Nezzy's, but then she was quite unique."

"I can't believe you just said that," Liara shakes her head.

"What? You'd rather have me talk about your rack?" Aethyta takes another large swig, before refilling the glasses yet again. "I'm sure it's lovely, but just wait until you hit the matriarch stage, you will surely rival Nezzy. Too bad you won't be around to enjoy her then, Shepard."

"Yeah, gee, thanks for pointing that out," Shepard complains.

"Dad, this is not an acceptable topic for conversation!" Liara tries to stop her, but Aethyta is clearly on a roll.

"Oh, don't be such a prude, kid," the matriarch scoffs. "I hadn't even asked how many times you have thrown Shepard on the bed and peeled her out of her uniform!"

"I don't think it's possible to do that enough times," Shepard quips.

"How can you make everything sound so tawdry!" Liara exclaims.

"Hey, if it's all civilized, you're just not doing it right," Aethyta laughs.

"Oh, we're having plenty of fun, especially when she lets that quarter-krogan side of her take over in the bedroom," Morgan remarks innocently.

"Shepard!" Liara glares at her again, before letting out a resigned sigh. "I wonder if I should just shoot myself to forget all this embarrassment..."

"No, no, I'm not letting you do that," Morgan shakes her head, giggling. "Who's going to peel me out of my uniform if you shoot yourself?"

"Okay... in that case... maybe if I drink enough..." she swiftly picks up the full glass of elassa and downs it in one go. "Maybe if I drink that, it will erase this conversation from my mind..." Liara says as her eyes quickly become hazy.

"Uh-oh... she's going to pass out, isn't she?" Shepard looks at her lover worriedly.

"Ayup, I think that's a given," Aethyta laughs as Liara's eyes slowly roll at the back of her head and she slowly slumps across the table. "Ah, there we go. Well, you better get her to bed," the matriarch says.

"I don't think there will be much peeling of uniforms tonight, though," Morgan adds, putting on a theatrical pout as she gently picks up her lover, about to slowly carry Liara away.

"Probably not," Aethyta nods, before hesitating a little, then speaking again as Shepard stops on her way. "Listen, babe... thanks for dragging her over here. I was... worried she'd react badly to me being on the ship. That's why I even told Tevos to get lost when she came to me with this idea. She just kept trying to convince me... heck, she even went as far as flirting and making certain... overtures. Athame's tits, I still can't believe that."

"You... uh, took her up on that?" Morgan blinks, unable to picture the cold and arrogant asari councilor in the role of seductress.

"Hah, that would be telling," Aethyta winks at her. "Still, it helps to know that our people are represented on the Council by a slut of galactic proportions."

"Somehow I don't think I should tell that to her face..." Shepard snorts, unable to stop herself from chuckling as she bids Aethyta goodnight and carefully carries her softly snoring lover to bed...

* * *

"Give me the casualty report," Aria stands outside the shuttle, staring at one of the batarian engineers. Meanwhile, James is hauling two crates with the salvaged Reaper tech onboard of the shuttle.

"We lost eleven mechs and four of our engineers," the batarian replies. "Cerberus forces were-"

"I saw well enough what happened to the Cerberus forces," Aria cuts him off harshly. "Obliterated to the very last. Well done, people." She gives a backwards glance to James, standing at the shuttle doors. "And an adequate performance from you, Lieutenant," Aria allows herself a hint of a smile.

Two of the batarians are about to move past Aria and into the cargo hold of one of the shuttles, when Aria stops them. "And where do you think you're going?" her steely voice makes them halt immediately.

"Uh... the shuttle?" one of the batarians replies, scratching his head.

"Everyone save Lieutenant Vega is taking the other shuttle," Aria orders. Behind her, James raises a curious eyebrow.

"But Aria... there's not enough room in one shuttle for us all!" one of the salarians protests.

"Then I suggest you find the room, or else I will do it for you by thinning your numbers!" Aria speaks dangerously and the salarian covers, crawling back to the shuttle, trying to squeeze in with the others. After much pushing and shoving, they finally manage to seal the cargo space doors and the other shuttle gingerly takes off to leave Sanctum.

"If only I didn't need those idiots," Aria mutters under her breath, turning around fluidly and walking back to the remaining shuttle. "Get inside, Lieutenant Vega," she says simply, pointing at the cargo hold, her hands already working to undo the straps of her armor. "It is time to evaluate another aspect of your... performance."


	55. Krogan Diplomacy

**Chapter 54 - Krogan Diplomacy**

"Commander," Traynor's voice over the comms interrupts Shepard's thoughts. "The salarian dalatrass is ready to come aboard."

"Well, we can't really refuse, can we?" Shepard replies, cursing inwardly. "I really wanted Wrex to get here first. Any word from him?"

"Not since they left Tuchanka... wait, Commander, something on our sensors! Looks like the Alliance shuttle sent after the krogan chief. 30 minutes ETA."

Shepard sighs. "I can't stall Linron that long. Begin docking procedures and let her come aboard."

"Uh... Commander, if I may ask..." Samantha Traynor speaks up hesitantly. "Why is it so important to have the krogan here first?"

"Because Linron doesn't expect the asari presence at the summit. I wanted to take advantage of her surprise," Shepard explains. "Make the most of her being on the back foot. Hell, it probably wouldn't have worked, but..." she then ceases the conversation as the salarian representatives step onboard and she moves forward to welcome them.

"Dalatrass Linron," she bows her head at the elderly looking salarian, wrapped tightly in a grey ceremonial robe that makes her look like an ancient, grotesque mummy. Everything about her demeanor, the expression on her lips, the way she returns Shepard's greeting with a barely perceptible nod, speaks of one thing; the dalatrass is not happy to be here, she does not approve of this summit, and she is going to make her displeasure known.

"Please, follow me to the conference room," Shepard says, leading the dalatrass towards the elevator and then the CIC, her small STG entourage remaining with the shuttle. In the conference room, Victus and Aethyta are already present, talking animatedly... or to be more accurate, Aethyta is doing most of the talking, holding a glass of liquor in her hand, while Victus struggles to get a word in, occasionally starting to blink rapidly, looking shocked from whatever story the unorthodox matriarch is sharing with him.

"Allow me to introduce you," Morgan tells the dalatrass, pointing at Aethyta first. "Matriarch Aethyta, representative of the Asari Republics. And Primarch Adrien Victus," she nods to the turian.

"I was under the assumption that-," Linron starts to speak, staring hard at Aethyta, but then catching herself, looking furious at what she probably considers the betrayal of their oldest allies.

"Yes, dalatrass?" Shepard asks innocently. "Is everything in order? Would you care for a drink while we wait?"

"No," Linron grinds out the words. "Where is this... krogan brute that you have decided to invite to our summit? Being made to wait on one of them is an insult in itself!"

"We offer our deepest apologies, dalatrass," Morgan bows again, activating her comms. "Samantha, update on ETA?"

"Less than 15 minutes," comes the reply.

"With your permission, I will excuse myself," she tells the three 'diplomats'. "The krogan representative will be arriving shortly. Meanwhile, Primarch, if you could explain your rationale for bringing the krogan to this summit, it would certainly help speed things along once Wrex gets here."

Victus nods at her and starts his explanations to Linron and Aethyta, while Shepard hurries back to the cargo bay, where a few minutes later, the Kodiak shuttle piloted by Lt. Cortez lands and Shepard sees her old friend Wrex standing proud in all his glory as the cargo bay door rises to reveal the burly krogan.

"Shepard!" Wrex roars, making the salarians on the other side of the docking bay jump in fright. "Good to see you again, my friend!" he charges at her, starting to shake Morgan's hand with such eagerness that it nearly dislocates her shoulder.

"Uh... happy to see you too, Wrex," she manages a slightly pained smile. "Looking good, if maybe a bit soft around the edges." Shepard playfully throws a light punch at his stomach. "Too much sitting on that throne and feasting, huh?"

"Hah, I heard they have been forcing you to sit on your hands for six months, Shepard," Wrex replies with the same gesture, only in Morgan's case, almost managing to make her double over. "If anyone's here soft, it's you!"

"Right..." Shepard takes in a deep breath. "So... you ready to do some diplomacy, Wrex?"

"Is that the boring talky part before we start shooting, Shepard?" Wrex grins broadly.

"Usually I would say yes... but in this case, it's boring talky part followed by more and more talking, until we're all happy and satisfied."

Wrex groans. "...sounds like some of the gatherings in krogan female camps," he says. "They just talk... and talk... and then talk some more, ugh, the pain of it all!"

"That's about the gist of what's about to happen, yeah," Shepard nods. "Come on, I'll introduce you to the others. Oh, and I hope you decided on your demands like I advised you?"

"I have," Wrex's grin becomes almost disturbingly wide. "Oh, you'll love this Shepard."

"...for some reason, I am filled with dread," Shepard sighs, as they arrive at the conference room. "Well, here we are."

Inside, the others are already arguing passionately. "I agree that we will need the krogan, but are you prepared to listen to their demands?" she hears Aethyta's voice, different from how she usually sounds, suddenly all business and cold professionalism. "Because they will not be willing to sacrifice themselves for us just because we ask nicely."

"The krogan are in no position to make demands!" Linron exclaims, waving her arms animatedly.

"I think the krogan are in the perfect situation to make demands," Wrex speaks up as they arrive, all eyes immediately on him. "And the krogan has a name: Urdnot Wrex."

"Wrex, please meet Primarch Victus from the Turian Hierarchy," Morgan moves quickly to make the introductions. "Matriarch Aethyta from the Asari Republics and Dalatrass Linron of the Salarian Union."

"Shepard tells me you are looking for krogan aid," Wrex speaks. "Well, let me tell you something. Reaper scouts have arrived on Tuchanka, and my people are busy dealing with them. Why should I care if any of your species goes extinct?"

"Don't think us fools, Urdnot Wrex," Victus says, folding his arms across his chest. "You wouldn't have come here if you didn't think you stood something to gain. We don't have time to dance around the issue all day. What is it that you want?"

"I'll tell you what I need," Wrex growls. "A cure for the genophage."

_Hah, so that's what he was thinking!_ Morgan grins inwardly. _Bold, but risky. But what if he is asking for something that can't be done on such short notice?_ She looks at the faces of the others. Victus looks thoughtful, then nodding. Linron appears to be hyperventilating, her black eyes narrowed at Wrex. Aethyta says nothing at all. _I wonder what she thinks, with her father being a krogan and all._

"This is preposterous!" Linron is the first to recover. "We will not entertain this possibility, it is not negotiable!"

"Everything should be negotiable in the face of this crisis," Aethyta shrugs. "Don't paint yourself in the corner, dalatrass."

"Why can't you even consider it?" Shepard asks. "Surely the circumstances are dire enough to-"

"No! We uplifted the krogan! We know what they are like," Linron exclaims passionately.

"I think you don't know what they are like, you only know what you made them into," Shepard says, deep inside enjoying the angry expression on the dalatrass' face. "A cheap tool for your wars to wage, to be discarded once they ceased to be useful."

"They did not just cease to be useful, their aggressive expansion became a threat to the whole galaxy!" Linron snaps back. "The genophage was the only way to keep their violent urges in check!"

"We could do with some of those violent urges against the Reapers," Victus remarks.

"I should not be surprised to see you so short-sighted, turian," Linron scoffs, then turning towards Aethyta. "But your people still remember the horrors of the Krogan Rebellions, matriarch. How can you support this madness?"

"My own parents fought in the Krogan Rebellions. On opposing sides," Aethyta says, Morgan catching Wrex suddenly staring at the asari with interest. "So do not presume to lecture me about the Krogan Rebellions, dalatrass. I know enough of the horrors, and I know all about the short sighted decisions made in fear of another Rebellion. Those who cling to the mistakes of the past are doomed to repeat them."

_Of course she would say that. The other matriarchs kicked her off Thessia because she wasn't stuck in the past like they were, _Morgan thinks, giving Aethyta a fond stare. "I say give the krogan their cure," the matriarch adds, crossing her arms over her ample bosom.

"I don't particularly like this, dalatrass, but Wrex is right," Victus also concedes defeat in the face of demands.

"I cannot believe this! I will not allow you to make the same mistake as we did, acting out of desperation!" Linron says resolutely. "The genophage is not an option. The krogan will turn on us as soon as we give them the cure!"

"No, we would wait until the Reapers are defeated before turning on you," Wrex says, sounding surprisingly polite and thus even somehow scarier. "We krogan honor our promises, after all!"

"There, he openly admits it!" Linron points with an accusing finger. "You all heard it!"

"Wrex was merely baiting you, dalatrass," Morgan speaks up, hoping she is correct in her assessment. "I don't believe that the krogan will turn on us, unless we give them any more reasons than we already have given. But if they do... they are nothing like the Reapers, you have to realize that! Reapers are super-intelligent, merciless, meticulous and persistent machines of destruction that will not stop to rest before they have eradicated us. Krogan might be dangerous... but at least we'll always be able to outsmart them!"

"Oh, is that so, Shepard?" Wrex turns towards her, giving her a challenging look.

"Just pretend you didn't hear that, Wrex," Shepard whispers to him conspiringly. "Anyway... I think that the genophage has gone on long enough," she adds, Victus and Aethyta nodding at her.

"One thousand, four hundred and seventy-six years, if you're keeping track," Wrex says.

"Yes, a thousand years of peace from these... brutes!" Linron challenges, pointing her gnarled finger at Wrex again.

"Perhaps safe from the krogan, but on the whole there has been nothing safe about this galaxy ever since the Rachni Wars," Aethyta shrugs, giving Linron a slightly condescending stare. "Maybe you short-lived races can maintain illusions of a prosperous and peaceful ages of the past, but over the past millennia I certainly can't remember any period of time longer than a decade without some race somewhere in the galaxy not going to war with their neighbors. And it wasn't the krogan that went to war. Maybe the galaxy would have been safer if you hadn't deployed the genophage and evolution itself would have attended to their birth rates and life spans."

"We don't have the luxury to spend time dealing with 'what ifs'," Victus looks at Aethyta impatiently. "And even if we would agree to give Wrex what he requests, we would not be able to comply. The best we can do is to promise the cure to the krogan, it would take years to actually formulate one..."

"My information says otherwise," Wrex interrupts the turian with a smug grin. "A salarian scientist, Maelon, grew a conscience. He was on Tuchanka, testing a cure on our females." Shepard says nothing, worried a little whether Wrex knows the whole truth about her involvement in stopping Maelon's gruesome work.

Wrex fiddles with his omni-tool for a brief bit, bringing up video footage. Morgan sees some kind of research facility, full with salarians walking around hurriedly, gesticulating wildly. There are containment cells along the walls of the room, holding distinctly krogan looking shapes. "Some of the females actually survived the experiments," Wrex explains the recordings, sounding rather angry. "But the dalatrass here sent in a team to clean up the mess, and took the females prisoner."

"This... this is a lie, a fabrication!" Linron protests, but her voice lacks its previous edge.

"Don't insult me!" Wrex roars, smashing his fists against the conference room table, leaving cracks in the plastic surface. "You have my people! They are immune to the genophage and you're going to give them back!"

"Dalatrass... is this true?" now Victus looks to be seething in anger too, and Morgan catches Aethyta smirking at Linron's obvious discomfort.

"How will curing the genophage benefit my people?" Linron asks, taking a step back, intimidated by Wrex's display.

"If you help us, we won't leave you hanging out to dry when the Reapers come calling?" Morgan shrugs. "Because that's what is going to happen if you **don't** work with us. Your famous intelligence networks against the brute force of the Reapers? Think twice, dalatrass."

Linron's shoulders sag just slightly as she thoughtfully rubs her brow with her elongated fingers. "Fine... you leave me with no choice," she says angrily. "The females are being kept in one of the STG bases on Sur'Kesh. Now, since my warnings about the consequences of your foolish actions will only be ignored, I take my leave. You will have the location of the base within an hour," and with that, Linron draws herself up proudly and storms out of the conference room.

"I guess that means she won't give us the support of their fleets or aid for building the Prothean device," Morgan shrugs. "But hey, at least we got what you were asking for, Wrex."

"If she keeps her word," Wrex grumbles. "I do not trust those salarians."

"She would not lie outright to us all," Victus shakes his head. "Of course, with her gone and with Wrex's demands taking over the focus of this summit, we never even touched the part about coordinating the tactics of our fleets."

"The asari fleets have been given an order to avoid direct confrontation with the Reapers and provide evacuation for the targeted colonies," Aethyta says. "The salarians will do exactly the same, and you need to preserve your fleets as well, Primarch. If you wish to discuss it in greater detail, please, let us move to the War Room."

"An excellent idea, Matriarch," Victus says, heading out of the conference room while Aethyta lingers a little behind.

"He doesn't know that I'm not actually at liberty to make any decisions regarding the movements of our fleets," Aethyta whispers conspiringly to Shepard, accompanied with a wink.

"Victus doesn't need to know that. It's just enough that everyone sees the asari having an active presence on the summit," Morgan replies. "Now your people won't be left alone and on the sidelines when the action heats up."

"If you had sided with the dalatrass, maybe she would not have given in," Wrex says, giving Aethyta another thoughtful stare. "So... your dad was a krogan, huh?" he asks.

The matriarch glides past Wrex on her path to follow Victus, on her way smoothly raising her arm and teasingly tracing two fingers along the krogan's neck. "Why don't you stop by the lounge later, and I'll tell you all about my parents," she says, her voice sultry. "And I'll mix you something nice to drink, too."

Wrex looks a little bit stunned as Aethyta leaves the room, Morgan empathizing with the reaction. _Did she just... flirt with Wrex? I'm not sure my poor brain can handle that mental image._ "This... asari is strange," the krogan finally manages. "Seen a lot of weird things over the years, Shepard, but this one... just might beat them all. The turians, sure, they get our help or go extinct. The asari, they aren't feeling the heat yet. I guess she just knows the writing is on the wall and wants to make nice, huh?"

"Don't think so, Wrex," Morgan shakes her head. "This one might have actually stood up for the krogan because she believed it was the right thing to do."

"Hmph. We'll see," Wrex shrugs. "I just hope that this dalatrass keeps her word. I've seen her kind, she'll try something, Shepard, mark my words!"

"Yeah, we should probably be careful," Shepard agrees. "So, you've got a mole on Sur'Kesh? How'd you manage to put him or her there?"

"Wasn't my doing, Shepard," Wrex shakes his head. "Don't even know the guy, he's been sending me all kinds of messages about the females and the cure. Figure someone might have grown a conscience, maybe it's that Maelon?"

"No, can't be Maelon, the STG would never take him back. Hmmm... I wonder..." Shepard appears thoughtful. _Could it be... naaah, he quit the STG, didn't he? He's probably lounging on a beach somewhere, counting seashells._

"You know, when I got the first message, I immediately started to put a team of my own together," Wrex tells her. "Put Grunt in charge of the company, told them to train for a mission to Sur'Kesh. Figured that we'll go take the females ourselves. Then your message came, Shepard."

"Well, for once I had good timing, huh?" she chuckles. "So, we have a bit of time still before Linron sends us the location. How do you want to handle this?"

"Just you and me, Shepard," Wrex says with certainty. "I don't want some strangers in on this, mucking it up. It's too important, too... personal."

"What if I tell you that I have two old friends of yours onboard of the Normandy, both of them eager to help you?" Shepard asks, grinning broadly.

"Oh?" Wrex looks at her curiously, then poking her in the ribs. "Out with it, Shepard. This ought to be good..."


	56. Urdnot Adam, Urdnot Eve

**Chapter 55 - Urdnot Adam, Urdnot Eve**

The first sights of the salarian homeworld strike a painful similarity with Earth. Forest covered mountain ridges surrounded by countless lakes and rivers provide for a beautiful scenery, but Morgan knows better than that to be lulled by the tranquil appearance. _It doesn't just look like Earth, it also reminds me of Virmire,_ she thinks, looking over her squad. _I'm not making another decision like on Virmire, never again. I'd rather sacrifice myself to save them all if I can._

"Figured it would be you two, when Shepard mentioned old friends," Wrex rumbles, and for once she is happy to have her thoughts interrupted. "Appreciate having you along for the ride, Liara," Wrex says, looking at the asari, ignoring Garrus' pointed cough, before sparing him notice as well. "Well... I suppose I could make room for you too, Garrus."

"Just thought you'd need all the help you can get, Wrex," Garrus says, his mandibles twitching with amusement. "You've grown quite the belly sitting on that throne, all soft."

Wrex just glowers at Garrus, when Shepard finally decides to break up the friendly ribbing. "We could do with a plan for once we get there," she says. "If Linron keeps her word and gives up the females, I doubt she'll want to let a krogan with a shotgun running around the STG base."

"I don't care what some dalatrass wants," Wrex shrugs. "I'm going in and I'm getting our females out of there."

"Look, I don't want to suddenly find ourselves at war with the salarians because you start shooting the damn frogs," Shepard says, a little tersely. "I'm just saying, if they insist on you staying out, let us do the job. You'll trust us with that much, right?"

"Shepard, these females are the best and probably last chance for my people!" Wrex exclaims angrily. "You ask for much, my friend."

"We'll get them back, Wrex," Liara says, her voice calm and reassuring. "Don't worry. You know, there's one thing I've always liked about you..."

"My smoldering good looks?" Wrex flexes his muscles, posing at Liara in a way that makes Shepard chuckle.

Liara looks amused as well. "That too, but I meant your determination," she says. "You never gave up, and it's about to pay off."

"I'm just keeping Shepard true to her word," Wrex turns towards Morgan. "Still remember what you told me on Virmire, when we stared each other down with weapons raised?"

"I told you that eventually we're going to cure genophage, and that we'll do it in the right way, too," Shepard says, remembering that whole encounter as vividly as if it was yesterday. "And before you ask, yes, this feels like the right way, Wrex."

"Approaching the salarian base, Commander," Cortez informs them from the pilot's seat. Shepard looks outside to see an impressive complex of several buildings, hiding at the feet of jagged cliffs, almost completely obscured by thick mists from the nearby majestic waterfall. "Commander? The salarian ground control insists we don't have clearance to land!"

"Linron likes to play games, eh?" Shepard curses. "Tell them the dalatrass authorized this herself!"

"I knew they would try something like this," Wrex says angrily, going for his shotgun. "Let's see how they feel about a good old krogan airdrop!" He throws the shuttle doors open, about to jump from the height of several yards.

"Wrex! Don't do it, damn it!" Shepard shouts, but to no avail. With an impressive and deafening roar, Wrex jumps out of the shuttle and towards the landing pad. "No! Wrex! Bad krogan!" Morgan yells after him, together with Garrus and Liara scrambling to follow.

Several salarians immediately surround Wrex, attempting to scan the 'unauthorized intruder' with their omni-tools, but the krogan surprises them with his biotic throw sending them flying and crashing into the nearby wall, dazed and struggling to get up. As Wrex raises his shotgun, however, Morgan immediately sees three laser dots dancing on the krogan's skull, sign of nearby snipers taking aim.

More and more salarians arrive on the landing pad, carrying SMG's and heavy pistols. Morgan and the others have managed to catch up with Wrex, and by now someone higher in the STG hierarchy also arrives, appealing for calm and ordering everyone to stand down. "Commander Shepard, restrain your colleague," the more important looking salarian pleads. "We were only informed about this transfer a few moments ago."

"Understood," Shepard nods, placing her hand on Wrex's shotgun and forcing him to lower the barrel and he reluctantly obeys. "Your dalatrass has a funny sense of humor. How does it feel to know that she was willing to risk your lives just in order to cause minor inconvenience for us?"

The salarian decides not to comment on the actions of his superiors, instead focusing on the task at hand. "If you are willing to look past this misunderstanding, we are prepared to continue with the transfer. But..." he gives Wrex a slightly uncomfortable stare. "I must insist that the krogan remains under guard."

Wrex roars angrily at that, likely just to frighten the salarians, and doing an amazing job at that. "We already discussed this eventuality, Wrex," Shepard tells him. "Let us handle this for you. We'll be back with your females before you'll know it."

"Fine," Wrex grunts. "But if anything goes wrong, I'm going in there myself. And I'll be shooting anything that doesn't look like a krogan."

"I've missed his charming old self," Garrus notes merrily as Wrex follows four salarian guards to remain waiting on the upper level of the base. "I think we better move fast and get those females, or else there will be too many beaten up salarians to fit in one medbay."

"I quite agree," Shepard grins, then looking at the fidgeting salarian leader.

"I appreciate your understanding, Commander," he says. "My name is Padok Wiks. With the war on everyone's minds, our people are on edge-" here he is interrupted by angry shouting by some technician, screaming at someone to watch the containment shields. Looking upwards, they can see an isolated pod containing an all too familiar grey skinned monstrous creature, angrily banging against the walls of its cage.

Shepard feels Liara bumping into her and she instinctively wraps a protective arm around her lover, the asari physically recoiling from the mere sight of the dreaded yahg. "I'd hoped to never see one of those things again," she says in a quiet voice.

"As you can see, this base contains sensitive information," their guide explains. "We conduct evolutionary trails, morphological simulations, exogenetic assessments."

"You kind of lost me at 'evolutionary, there," Morgan confesses, then giving the salarian an impatient stare. "How about we hurry up and get what we came here for? The sooner we get the females, the sooner we'll leave and take him with us," Shepard points at Wrex, having found a hapless salarian victim to torment, some young apprentice working on one of the consoles. Wrex is constantly pressing random buttons on the console, preventing the young salarian from going about with his tasks.

"I'm afraid that if you keep touching this, you risk a diplomatic incident!" the salarian tries to warn Wrex, but his threat clearly fails to make an impression.

"So, what are you going to do?" Wrex laughs, pushing the button again. "Read me some poetry about waterfalls?"

The salarian sighs deeply, making Morgan feel a little sorry for him. "Further manipulation of that object is grounds for further admonishment," he tells Wrex, but the krogan just grins, going for the button one more time.

"The females were in poor health when we found them on Tuchanka," Wiks explains, leading them away from Wrex's little corner of entertainment. "We had to bring them here to stabilize their condition. You can go see them, but I will need a few minutes to clear you for the lower levels. In the meantime, please wait by the elevator," the salarian points ahead towards the entrance leading deeper into the base.

"Well, so far, so good..." Morgan mutters under her breath as Padok Wiks takes brief leave of their company.

"Still expecting trouble, Shepard?" Garrus asks.

"Always," Morgan replies, looking around. One of the salarians pacing in front of a small group of rank agents and giving them loud instructions looks a little familiar. "Hey, isn't that..."

"Captain Kirrahe," Liara confirms her thoughts. "We met him on Virmire."

_Wonderful, even more reminders of that accursed place,_ Shepard shivers mentally. _Now I'll start getting paranoid about some dreadful circumstances forcing me to choose between Liara and Garrus during this mission. Gods... I'd rather put a bullet through my brain just to escape this choice. _

"Commander Shepard!" Kirrahe has noticed them by now, approaching their group. "Major Kirrahe, perhaps you remember. I'd heard you were coming."

"Of course I remember," Shepard smiles, shaking the salarian's hand, Liara and Garrus doing the same. "Congratulations on the promotion!"

"Well, you and your colleagues played a large part to it, during our mission on Virmire," the salarian gives them a grateful look. "'Hold the line.' We created another legend of the STG on that day, Commander."

"Is Mordin still making fun of that 'hold the line' chest-pounding routine?" Morgan asks.

"Yes, irritatingly so," Kirrahe says unhappily, before catching himself. "Wait, you know Dr. Solus? Of course you do, but how did you know he was here?"

"I didn't, but thanks for confirming that, Major," Morgan smiles, looking at Liara. "Well, I guess that's one mystery cleared up."

"I quite agree," the asari nods.

"Mordin must have mentioned working with me to stop the Collectors," Morgan stares at Kirrahe. "He told me you worked with him during the genophage modification project."

"Yes, that is true," Kirrahe nods. "Also, that assistant of his, Maelon. This whole deal is his mess. He might have meant well, but his methods were crude."

"We saw it for ourselves, Major," Garrus says grimly.

"Ah, it makes sense," Kirrahe says in realization. "When Mordin contacted us to clean up Maelon's mess on Tuchanka, I should have realized that you would have been there helping Mordin. Went to Tuchanka shortly after that, recovered the females during cleanup operation. Isn't it ironic, Commander?" the salarian asks her. "We went through so much to destroy the genophage cure on Virmire, and now you're here to do the exact opposite."

"Except what Saren had on Virmire wasn't really a cure, it was just means to create more and more krogan thralls," Shepard shrugs. "Sure, maybe it could have been modified and turned into a proper cure, but we had no way of knowing that."

"Too true," Kirrahe admits, his expression turning grim. "I've heard about Earth and Palaven. My condolences. If they were to hit Sur'Kesh with the same intensity... that's not the kind of warfare we salarians can sustain." He then lowers his voice. "Though I've heard rumors that you are building a super-weapon of some kind?"

"That is true," Shepard replies quietly. "And that's also why I'm on a mission of galactic hand-holding to make sure all races cooperate in building and deploying that thing."

"I prefer to leave that kind of thing to the dalatrasses," Kirrahe says, looking a little disgusted.

"Well, Linron is doing a really crap job at it," Shepard chuckles. "So far she has managed to just piss off all of her potential allies. If the Reapers were to hit your worlds, I'm afraid the salarians might just have a tough time finding someone to help them."

"I'll be sure to thank the dalatrass for that," Kirrahe mutters sourly, glancing to his left. "Ah, there comes Wiks, you must have the clearance now. And Commander..." he whispers, leaning closer to Shepard. "I don't care what the politicians decide, if there's a way I can help in your war against the Reapers, I will do so. Whether it's a talented team of STG scientists for your project, or aid in retaking Earth, you name it."

"That's... very considerate of you," Shepard says, feeling moved by the gesture. "Get in touch with Admiral Hackett, he can tell you precisely what is needed for the project." Kirrahe simply nods and smiles as Padok Wiks approaches to inform them that they have clearance to see the krogan females.

As they head towards the elevator, there seems to be some commotion amongst the tense looking salarian personnel. Someone claims about some kind of unknown ships skirting the outlying territories, while another one whispers about outgoing messages without any ID signatures from within the base. _Can't be the Reapers,_ Morgan thinks, as they reach the elevator. _The front is too far from Sur'Kesh, they could not have jumped without any warning, not anymore with the whole galaxy watching them._

"Alert! Alert! Threat condition two has been declared! Scramble readiness teams! Sensors have picked up activity on the perimeter!" suddenly there are alarms going off everywhere as they step inside the elevator, groups of armed salarians running around, making it look as if someone would have poked an anthill.

"Why couldn't things be simple just for once?" Liara laments as the elevator starts to slowly move downwards.

"Still clinging to your charmingly naive view of the galaxy, T'Soni?" Garrus chuckles. "You'd think becoming the Shadow Broker would make one a bitter cynic."

"I would not presume to steal your role on the Normandy, Garrus," Liara's reply is immediate.

"Nice counterpunch," Shepard claps her hands together. "But much as I sometimes regret it, circumstances have hardened you, Liara. There was no way to escape that, anyway."

"You just shouldn't have died, Shepard," Garrus says plainly.

"Yes," Liara agrees, then recovering to smile at Morgan. "You see, it's all your fault in the end."

"Gee... thanks," Shepard rolls her eyes as the elevator reaches the lower levels and the door slowly opens to reveal a very familiar figure standing in front of them, looking impatient. Morgan immediately recognizes the smiling face of her old friend, the unmistakably chopped off head horn making him appear like a rabbit with droopy ears. "Mordin!" she almost charges him and grabs his hand in a violently joyful shake. "So good to see you!"

"Shepard!" Mordin says once she has finished shaking him about. "Excellent timing! Good to have you here!"

"You said you wouldn't be going back to the STG," Morgan says. "But I think I know just why you did it. I have been talking with Wrex..."

Mordin looks around to make sure they are not overheard, but the other salarians are staying out of their earshot and looking busy. "Had to do it, Shepard. Helped female krogan. Fed intel to Urdnot. Encouraged political pressure to free females."

"Thought so," Morgan nods. "So... how do you propose we play this?"

Mordin looks a little worried as he listens to the announcer's voice on the comms, informing them about the security threats. "Warnings not normal. Do not like this, Shepard," he shakes his head. "Must get the krogan off-world. Ensure their safety. Step this way. I will explain."

Mordin leads them deeper into the lab. There are holding cells all around the walls, like in the vid that Wrex presented before the summit on the Normandy. "Krogan females had weakened immune systems. Side effect of Maelon's cure." He stops and looks at the contents of one of the cells with a pained expression on his face. "These... didn't survive," he points at the four large lumps inside brown bodybags.

"I'm sure you did the best you could for them, Doctor," Liara says comfortingly.

"I am certain he did, but Mordin, please tell me that some have survived and we didn't come all this way for nothing!" Shepard pleads.

"Yes. One survivor. Immune to genophage," Mordin nods. "Can synthesize cure from her tissue. But Shepard..." the salarian says, leading them towards another pod. "If she dies, genophage cure... problematic." The large, burly and very much krogan-like figure inside the pod seems to be suspended in some kind of contraption, likely meant to incapacitate her. "Be careful, Commander. Krogan slow to trust."

"Can she hear me?" Shepard asks Mordin.

"Yes, I can hear you," the voice replying is deep and yet somehow definitely feminine. "Are you here to kill me?"

"What? No, I'm here to ensure you are not harmed," Shepard tries to sound reassuring. "My name is Commander Morgan Shepard from the Alliance Navy. I am here together with Urdnot Wrex. We are taking you back to your people, and we are going to cure them of the genophage."

"Why?"

"Because the krogan deserve the cure?" Shepard shrugs. "But yes, that's not the only reason. The rest of the galaxy needs the krogan to yet again save them from giant monsters. There, I openly admitted that," she adds with a grin. "If we play this right, your people will be able to breed to their heart's content and you might even get another statue on the Presidium."

"Let's not go that far, Shepard," Garrus interrupts her. "Need I remind you that turians are yet to get a statue of their own?"

"I would suggest placing a small bust of Garrus in some appropriate place on the Presidium," Liara says. "Perhaps inside the public washrooms of the Tower?"

"You seem honest about your motives," the female krogan speaks, her face covered by a strange garb, leaving only tiny slit open for her eyes. Suddenly, the alarms grow in volume, informing everyone about unidentified vessels breaking the perimeter and someone screams about multiple ships inbound as they run past. "I would accompany you, but it would appear that escape will be difficult. Commander, I hope you have brought an army."

Shepard grins, shaking her head. "These two," she points at Liara and Garrus. "Are all the army I'm ever going to need. Trust me. I'm getting you out of here."

She steps away from the female krogan's cell, hearing the soft beep of the call signal on her omni-tool. It is Wrex. "Shepard! Cerberus troops are attacking the base," he informs her. "Get those females out of there now!"

"We have only one survivor, Wrex," she replies, wincing at the way Wrex roars angrily at the news. "This is going to be tricky, but we're getting her out of here. I did promise you that."

"You make sure of that, Shepard, or there will be no help for turians, humans or anyone!" Wrex snarls.

"Alright, alright, keep your shorts on, Wrex," Shepard sighs, terminating the call and looking at Mordin. "Let's get moving. Things are about to heat up quickly."

"On it, Shepard," Mordin punches in commands on the nearby console, opening a small compartment at the side of the pod. Without any hesitation, he steps inside, taking his place behind the glass. "Need to monitor the pod as it clears quarantine." The pod slowly starts to move towards the upper levels. "Meet us at the next quarantine checkpoint, Shepard. Make sure Cerberus troops do not damage the pod."

"That means we don't have a lot of time," Shepard swears, turning to the krogan female who does not seem to display any sort of emotion. "You heard what I told Wrex. I'm getting you out of here, that's a promise."

"I suggest you hurry, Shepard," Mordin reminds her as the pod has already moved a yard or so.

"We're on our way," Morgan says, leading her team back towards the elevator to the upper levels. "I expected a lot of things, but Cerberus? Here, on Sur'Kesh? What the fuck is up with that, why?"

"It does seem odd, Shepard," Liara nods. "The Illusive Man has usually opposed us whenever there have been some opportunities to study the Reapers or tech relating to them. Genophage does not seem to fit in his plans. He has to see that the krogan will help us defeat the Reapers, and at least in words he has always claimed that Reapers are his enemy. And yet here he is about to do them a huge favor."

"That's what I figured, too," Shepard nods. "But maybe we're forgetting about the 'human supremacists' part of Cerberus ideology. Perhaps he sees the cured krogan as potential threat to his plans for humanity?"

"Well, whatever his plans may be, he just provided us with a lot of fresh target practice," Garrus' mandibles twitch in anticipation as he gives his rifle a fond pat. "I suggest we go have our fun with them, before Wrex has torn them all apart in blood rage..."


	57. Escape From Sur'Kesh

_A/N: In the wake of the news about Dr. Ray and Dr. Greg retiring from BioWare, I just wanted to use this opportunity to thank them for all the amazing games they have given us over the almost last 15 years. While we might not always agree with the decisions that BW makes, they certainly are very good at creating memorable characters and fascinating worlds, making us care about them... or else we wouldn't be here, writing and reading. :) _

_I'm sure there are plenty of doomsayers out there right now, however, I'm focusing on the positive part. Announcements of Omega DLC, Dragon Age 3, a new ME game and a brand new sci-fi IP? YES PLEASE! _

**Chapter 56 - Escape From Sur'Kesh**

"God, I hate Cerberus," Shepard growls, critically looking over her armor, dented in places. "Planting a bomb in the elevator? Now they're just pissing me off."

"As if you were not willing to kill them before," Liara smiles thinly, having been shielded by Garrus and Shepard from the blast of the elevator bomb.

"Well, these guys just found out how angry we are," Garrus says, pointing at the corpse littered floor behind them on the path towards the first quarantine checkpoint.

"There are just so many of them," Liara shakes her head. "The upper levels must be completely overrun, I can't imagine Wrex would have backed off from a fight otherwise."

"We'll just have to thin them out, no way around that," Shepard says grimly, listening to the message on her omni-tool. "Mordin's pod will soon arrive at the checkpoint and the Cerberus are lying in wait."

"Then let's hurry!" Liara exclaims, breaking into a run but then suddenly halting sharply as she enters one of the labs, forcing Shepard and Garrus to crash into her back. "Goddess..." the asari exclaims as she sees the contents of the lab. There are several angry yahg imprisoned in their pods, one of them starting to smash his massive fists against the glass, trying to break through, and Liara instinctively presses back into Shepard's comforting arms. "What are they doing with these monsters?" she whispers.

Garrus browses through some of the research notes on a nearby console. "You're going to love this," he says. "Species 732 - the yahg - have been authorized for covert uplift. They are ideal candidates for expanding salarian influence with full deniability. The risk is minimal."

"The risk is minimal?" Liara blinks, her face flushed with anger. "I can't believe it, but for all the salarian intelligence, the yahg have them fooled."

"Yeah, this is pretty insane alright," Shepard sighs. "You know, even if we save the galaxy from the Reapers, these crazy lizards will just one day blow it up with their mad experiments."

"I'm sure they would have ensured full deniability in that case," Garrus adds his customary sarcastic comment, then raising his hand in warning as he moves to scout a little ahead of the others. "More Cerberus," he whispers.

Morgan and Liara quietly sneak up to see two Cerberus troopers patrolling down the corridor in front of them, but they don't even manage to formulate a quick strategy, when suddenly a massive dark shape crashes though the glass wall next to the troopers. The yahg simply punches one of the Cerberus' men so hard that he flies through the window and to his death below, before grabbing his surprised companion and ripping him to pieces in a single motion. Before anyone has had a chance to react, the yahg is gone again, escaping from their view.

"Great, one of those beasts is loose," Liara mutters, looking a little lighter shade of blue.

"Worried they might want to reclaim the stolen mantle of the Shadow Broker?" Shepard asks, wrapping her hand across the asari's waist. "Don't worry, Garrus and I will protect you, won't we Garrus?"

"Of course," the turian replies, his mandibles twitching in amusement. "I could have sworn that thing was muttering 'T'Soni' the whole time."

"That is **not** funny," Liara replies tersely.

"Sorry babe, but it kind of is," Morgan chuckles, then leading her squad onward. "Come on now, we're running out of time. I don't want Mordin to arrive at the checkpoint when it's teeming with Cerberus."

Garrus, walking ahead, raises his hand to warn them again. "The yahg hasn't cleared path for us here, Shepard. We've got at least a dozen of Cerberus, waiting for Mordin's pod to arrive, ready to fire."

"This might get nasty... unless..." her eyes fall on the holding cells on this part of the lab. "Aren't those varren in the pods?"

"That's correct, Shepard," Liara nods. "What are you... oh, I see. Yes, that might work."

"I saw an undamaged command console in the room we just passed," Shepard says, quickly running back and wasting no time in hacking the routinely encrypted system. "Alright, releasing all specimens in Lab Section 7-B. Uh... I hope that was the one with the varren, and I just didn't release all the yahg."

"Shepard!" Liara hisses.

"Babe, you're so easy to bait, sometimes I'm starting to feel guilty for doing so," Shepard grins broadly at Liara's exasperated expression. "You need to trust me more, you know."

"It was the varren, alright," Garrus says, observing the developing carnage at the checkpoint, snarling and growling varren charging the surprised Cerberus troops. "Let's use this mess to our advantage." He drops in cover, lining up a shot at a centurion, trying desperately to hold off a varren from tearing out its throat. His shot impacts with the exposed head, the varren giving a perplexed howl at his suddenly quite dead victim.

"Teach them to fly, babe," Morgan grins, watching Liara lay down a singularity in the midst of the heavy melee, Garrus immediately using the opportunity to target those sent flying and causing chain overload of their shields, making them easy pickings. Meanwhile, Morgan activates her cloaking and sneaks around the now empty warren cells, trying to get in a position from which to reach two of the troopers left alone by the varren, trying to take potshots at Liara and Garrus. One of them falls to her sniper rifle, the other is trapped by Liara's stasis bubble, rendered helpless and immobile, as they quickly clear up the rest of the lab. Garrus then steps up and executes the last trooper as soon as the stasis breaks, clean shot through the head.

"That one doesn't count," Shepard says, watching the containment pod with the krogan female and Mordin slowly starting to come into view. "If anything, that one belongs to Liara."

"Fair enough," Garrus nods. "I'm still ahead by two, by my reckoning."

"Not for long," Shepard mutters, starting to work the quarantine checkpoint consoles. "Not for long, my dear avian sidekick..."

* * *

"I love you when you're being mean to Cerberus," Shepard chuckles, giving Liara a fond stare as they advance towards the second quarantine checkpoint. The asari had just managed to place a singularity inside the cargo space of a Cerberus shuttle arriving with reinforcements. Instead of jumping out under the suppressive fire, the Cerberus troopers had uselessly flailed about, letting her and Garrus shoot them out of the air, watching the dead bodies tumble down into the waterfall below.

"Oh is that so?" Liara grins back. "That reminds me, I never did tell you how I escaped when Cerberus came hunting for me on Hagalaz. Feron and I loaded the Shadow Broker's ship full with explosives and sent it crashing into the Cerberus cruiser. There were no survivors. How does that make you feel?" the asari adds teasingly.

"You know, if Garrus wasn't with us, I would just pin you against the wall right here and ravage you on the spot," Morgan winks, making Liara blush slightly.

"Don't mind me, Commander..." Garrus adds helpfully. "I'm sure I can, uh, stand guard for a while. Though, there's the matter of Cerberus killing Mordin and the female while you two are making out."

"Yeah, duty first and all that bollocks," Shepard nods. "Mind you, I'm still wondering why Mordin said that the Cerberus mole in this base might be indoctrinated. That kind of shoots down my theory about the human supremacy angle."

"If they are indoctrinated, they would be aiding the Reapers. But it would mean that those within Cerberus approving of this attack are also indoctrinated," Liara muses. "Surely this is serious enough to come from the very top. You don't think that..."

"I wouldn't rule out anything, Liara," Shepard shrugs. "It would explain a few things. Like what did he really want the Collector base for."

"Fighting in the lab ahead," Garrus interrupts their banter again. "Some salarians are putting up a fight, but it looks like they could use our help!"

"Alright, let's save them lizards!" Shepard speaks, leading her squad onwards. As they arrive at the scene, they see the last of the surviving salarians firing shots from an odd looking pistol. The large slugs attach themselves to their target's armor and the hapless Cerberus centurion struggles to get the projectiles off, when suddenly they explode, making a gory mess out of the centurion and a trooper behind him, providing supporting fire.

"Excellent timing, Shepard," the salarian says, turning back towards them and they recognize Major Kirrahe. "With my squad gone, I was not sure for how long I would be able to hold them off."

"Major, good to see you," Shepard nods. "What's the situation?"

"Cerberus are heavily entrenched at the next security checkpoint," Kirrahe explains. "Centurions, troopers, and several engineers with portable turrets. Those killed most of my men, their fire is deadly."

Shepard winces. "Ugh, that sounds nasty. We could use the help," she looks at the Major.

"Of course," Kirrahe nods, looking at Garrus, noticing the turian staring longingly at the beautifully crafted heavy pistol of the same model as Kirrahe's in the hands of one of the fallen soldiers. "If you think you will use it, just grab it, Vakarian," the salarian says. "He's not going to need it anymore."

Garrus bends down and picks up the pistol from the salarian's limp hand. "Thank you. Always wanted to have a toy like this one."

"Right, so how do you want to play this?" Shepard asks.

"I will concentrate on overloading the shields of the engineers," Kirrahe says. "They pose the most danger."

"Garrus, help with that," Morgan orders. "Liara, you know what to do with those softened up," the asari nods at her. "I'll see if there is an opportunity to flank them."

The plan proves in dire need of readjustments as soon as they experience just how deadly and dangerous the turret fire is. It is practically impossible to leave the cover for even a moment at the risk of having their shields immediately disabled. And under the suppressive fire of turrets and centurion smokescreens, the Cerberus troopers are growing bold, starting to advance on their position, fortunately Liara's biotics keeping them at bay.

"We need to take those turrets out," Shepard says, gritting her teeth.

"Those engineers have quite a supply of them," Kirrahe shakes his head.

"Well, they just can't pull them out of their asses, can they?" Shepard speaks quickly. "They need time to set up, and all I need is a brief moment. C'mon, Garrus, on three, overload the left one. Major, you take the right one, Liara follow it up with warp field." The asari gives her a worried look but then nods. "Alright, one, two, three, go!" the protective shielding of the turrets winks out and the one on the right explodes when Liara hits it with her biotics. Morgan launches a plasma discharge from her omni-tool at the turret on the left hand side, watching it crumble in a pile of useless metal parts. There is a price to pay for their exposure to enemy fire, however, Kirrahe falling backwards with a spray of green blood, clutching his shoulder tightly, alive but injured.

"Keep up the pressure!" Morgan shouts, activating her cloaking and then fluidly moving around the enemy lines, the troopers and centurions advancing and leaving the two engineers unprotected behind them. They are busy setting up new turrets, when one of them suddenly finds the tip of Shepard's omni-blade protruding from his chest, stabbed with a powerful blow from behind. The other engineer drops his work on the turret, shouting as he reaches for his weapon, but Morgan is already aiming her Carnifex at his head, two shots are enough to break his shields and the third one shatters the helmet, causing lethal wounds. She quickly dives for cover as two troopers react to the warnings and turn around to open fire at her.

Without the support of their engineers, however, the Cerberus forces are less dangerous, and also now finding themselves at positional disadvantage. When Kirrahe rejoins the fight, patched up by medi-gel, the last of the Cerberus resistance falls quickly, and they gather at the consoles of the second quarantine checkpoint, waiting for Mordin and their precious cargo to arrive. "Clearing you through, Mordin," Shepard makes an urgent report to the salarian professor.

"Just the landing pad now, Commander," she hears Mordin's reply. "Hopefully Urdnot Wrex still waiting."

"I don't think there's a force in the universe that could keep Wrex away from a fertile female," Shepard replies, smiling. "I'll make sure the landing pad is clear and see you up top, Mordin."

"Understood, Shepard," Mordin replies, as they leave the checkpoint and rush for the stairs leading back up towards the landing pad, Shepard frantically tapping on her omni-tool.

"Wrex, where the hell are you?" she shouts.

"Shepard! Get your ass up here, quick!" Wrex roars back at her. "There's at least two dozen of them, I can't get near them in this shuttle! Give me a distraction so I can land!"

"Draw their fire, huh? Alright, but you'll owe me big time for this," Shepard replies hurriedly, running all the way back to the stairs.

"Shepard, you pull this off and I'm making you an honorary krogan!" Wrex promises solemnly.

"Sounds good, as long as I don't get any more breeding requests," Morgan manages a chuckle.

"What breeding requests?" Liara asks curiously.

"Don't feel threatened, Liara, Shepard's not really my type," Wrex speaks. "She does have her share of admirers on Tuchanka, however..." Shepard just presses her palm against her face, as Liara breaks out in laughter.

The Cerberus forces on the landing pad do not appear to have noticed their approach, divided between watching the pod with the krogan female slowly approaching, or taking shots at the Normandy shuttle, trying to prevent Wrex from landing. This allows Shepard and her team to take the enemy by surprise, hitting them with an array of biotics and overloads. There is limited cover in the middle of the landing pad, and by the time the Cerberus troops manage to scatter, there are not enough of them left to provide meaningful resistance. Mordin's pod arrives scant moments after the last of the troopers die as the explosive slug fired by Kirrahe detonates, stuck to the trooper's helmet.

"Must hurry, Shepard. Authorize the specimen release," Mordin says quickly as the pod comes to a grinding halt. "Enables transport to the loading area."

"Coming in to landing, Shepard... no wait, heads up!" Wrex roars. "You've got something incoming!"

"What the fuck..." Shepard breathes out angrily as something large and heavy crashes in the middle of the landing pad, wide cracks opening in the floor, the impact throwing them off their feet. "Oh, come on! Atlas! Scramble, people!"

The heavy mech slowly turns around, the Cerberus soldier piloting it having some difficulties in orientating himself in the surroundings after the impressive drop. He seems to be searching for the krogan female, but failing to find her, settles for Liara and Garrus, running for safety behind some crates that prove to be totally inadequate cover from a rocket launcher. Morgan yells unintelligible swearwords as she watches both of her friends tossed several yards through the air, struggling to get up.

"Damnation, they are not taking my female, not after all this!" Shepard suddenly sees the shuttle returning, Wrex kicking aside the doors and launching himself into another impressive krogan airdrop, falling right on top of the Atlas, headed to finish off Liara and Garrus. "Choke on this!" Wrex roars, his biotic-charged punch shattering the glass protecting the pilot, then throwing a frag grenade that lands right in the trooper's lap. The Cerberus pilot makes a desperate attempt to grab the grenade and toss it back out through the narrow hole, but it explodes in his hand just as Wrex throws himself off the back of the heavy mech. As the air clears after the explosion, Shepard sees the pilot's seat of the Atlas covered in a gooey red paste of blood and tissue.

With the corner of her eye, Shepard notices Wrex pushing Mordin aside as the salarian tries to help the female out of the pod, clearly mistrusting the professor even after all the help he has provided. They help the coughing, stumbling female back towards the shuttle, and by then Shepard is already at Liara's side, seeing multitude of bleeding cuts covering her armor, blue blood seeping through in many places, but fortunately there are no life-threatening injuries, and Liara is just mostly dazed.

"I'll be fine," the asari speaks in a weak voice, opening her eyes to reassure Shepard. "Check on Garrus. I saw him hitting his head against one of those crates."

"Vakarian is unconscious, but I can't find any serious injuries," Kirrahe reports, leaning over the prone form of Garrus. "I think he will be fine, though proper medical care is recommended."

"We're getting him and Liara to Chakwas in a moment," Shepard says, bending down next to Liara. "Hold tight, babe. We've won. I won't have you getting seriously injured when we need to celebrate victory, do I make myself clear?"

"Very clear, Commander," Liara winces, trying to muster a smile, but failing. "Don't worry, Morgan... will be fine..."

"Sure you will," Shepard says, gathering the asari in her arms and bringing her to the shuttle. "Major, could you please carry Garrus? We want to be off-world as soon as possible. With the female away from Sur'Kesh, Cerberus attacks should cease."

"Let us hope so," Kirrahe adds, then grunting quietly as he picks up Garrus, the weight of his heavy armor noticeable. "It was a pleasure working alongside you again, Commander. Though great many salarians fell today, our cause was just. And my offer of aid for your project still stands."

"You honor me, Major," Shepard says, moved by Kirrahe's great commitment. She spares a look towards Garrus, dangling limply in the salarian's arms. "He's going to be so pissed off when he comes to."

"Why do you say that, Commander?" Kirrahe asks.

Shepard chuckles before answering. "I beat his score by exactly one kill..."


	58. The Very Model of Scientist Salarian

_A/N: And we're back to lighthearted Normandy fluff. :) _

**Chapter 57 - The Very Model of Scientist Salarian**

After returning to the Normandy, Shepard's first intention is to immediately visit the medbay to make sure the injuries suffered by Liara and Garrus are truly as light and insignificant as they have suspected. However, Wrex and Victus have different ideas on what is more important, immediately breaking out in a huge row in the War Room. Victus believes that his end of the bargain is fulfilled by recovering the females, Wrex insists on receiving the finished and synthesized cure before they move to help anyone.

Mordin is with them in the War Room and Shepard turns to face him. "How quickly can you whip something up, Doctor?" she asks.

"Need to synthesize base antigen from female. Also require healthy krogan tissue. Will need a sample," Mordin says thoughtfully.

"You're looking at the sample," Wrex offers magnanimously.

"You'll be sorry," Morgan chuckles. "Or sore, at the very least."

"That is acceptable," Mordin agrees. "Shepard, to answer your question. Developing cure similar to genophage modification project. Working against own alterations this time. Not as simple as garbage DNA blocking attachment sides. Will need to counter a shutdown of redundant nervous system, adjust neurotransmitter levels... Commander, are you listening?"

"Wha-?" Shepard blinks. "Oh... sorry, I keep drifting in and out. How much time did you say you need?"

"Three to four standard days," Mordin replies. "Best get started right away. Will set up quarters in the medbay. Will allow to monitor Eve constantly."

"Eve?" Shepard raises a curious eyebrow.

"Female's real name unknown. Normandy a human vessel. Human mythology seems appropriate under circumstances," Mordin explains, turning to leave. "Will be in the medbay, Shepard."

"I'll be along shortly to check on Liara and Garrus," Shepard says.

Mordin nods, then smiling. "Will create cure, Shepard. Don't worry, Commander."

As Mordin leaves, Shepard looks across the table in the conference room to Wrex and Victus still glaring at each other. "Now, can I leave you two alone and hope that you do not reenact the Krogan Rebellions while I'm gone?"

"They need us too much to try anything," Wrex gives Victus a mocking stare, but the turian merely crosses his hands on his chest and ignores the krogan. "I'll stop by the medbay soon as well, Shepard. Not sure I can trust that pyjak with the female."

"That pyjak was your own informant on the STG base!" Shepard exclaims incredulously. "Don't be an ass, Wrex. Mordin can be trusted, he's an old friend, for crying out loud!"

Wrex merely shrugs. "Salarians, impossible to figure out what goes on in their heads. There's no right or wrong for them, just what their... how did they call them... simulations show. Something changes and boom, one day you just got from ally to enemy, strapped to operating table."

"Yeah, well, maybe most salarians reason like that, but not Mordin... not anymore," Shepard says defensively. "But I'll let you find that out yourself. You might be surprised." Wrex looks a little doubtful as she finally leaves the War Room and takes the elevator to the mess hall, proceeding to the medbay.

Immediately upon entering, she hears Mordin's voice, talking with the krogan female, or 'Eve'. "Aware krogan females find scars attractive," he gesticulates wildly at one of the beds where Dr. Chakwas is fussing over the still prone Garrus. "Vakarian loyal, reasonably intelligent. Bit aggressive. Almost like krogan!"

"For the third time, Doctor, I'm not interested!" Eve replies, sitting on one of the cots and shaking her head firmly.

_I think Garrus will be relieved to hear her say that_, Morgan chuckles inwardly. "Your matchmaking efforts getting foiled, Mordin?" she grins, the salarian just shrugging his shoulders helplessly in return. "Speaking of Garrus, how is he doing, Doc?" she asks Chakwas, stepping closer to where her turian friend lies, looking strangely small outside of his armor.

Chakwas leans back, switching off her omni-tool. "Well, the brain scans are mostly fine, but as in most cases of serious concussions, there is considerable swelling." she says. "That said, he has been unconscious for longer than I would have expected."

"Maybe he heard about Mordin trying to arrange a marriage between him and Eve, and he decided to fake unconsciousness?" Shepard ventures. "Or the very idea of that traumatized him so much to send him into coma?"

"I highly doubt that, Commander," Chakwas gives her an admonishing stare. "I will let you know as soon as there's a change in Garrus' condition."

"Alright," Shepard nods. "Where's Liara, though?"

"Her injuries were insignificant and easily treatable, and her concussion was very light. She promised to go to bed and not to overexert herself, so I released her from the medbay. Still, Commander, I would appreciate it if you would check on her later, just to make sure she is keeping that promise."

"I'll do that," Shepard says, then giving Chakwas a curious look. "Say, Doctor... would you have trusted me if I had made a promise like that to take care of myself?"

Chakwas faces her down with a disbelieving stare. "Do not be ridiculous, Commander. Of course not. Unlike you, Liara actually is responsible!"

"I should be insulted, Dr. Chakwas," Shepard pretends to be deeply shocked. "Besides, I could tell you quite a few things about Liara that would make you reconsider your opinion of her as responsible. When she gets really obsessive about something... oh boy..."

Just then all further conversation is interrupted by Wrex's arrival in the medbay, the large krogan determinedly striding up to Eve and looking over her protectively, a bit like checking out whether his prized possession has not been damaged. "Are you alright?" he finally rumbles.

"I'm fine," Eve gives a long-suffering sigh that makes Morgan smile. _Annoyed by protective males fussing over her, and no wonder._ "You can relax."

"Can't be too careful," Wrex adds, giving Mordin a meaningful stare, then stepping in the professor's way when he approaches Eve with a pile of syringes, needles and glass tubes. "What's all that?" he glares.

"Need to run tests," Mordin replies, trying to squeeze past Wrex, but the krogan doesn't budge. The salarian gives Morgan an exasperated stare. "Shepard, please. Distractions counterproductive. Also affecting comfort of patient."

"Wrex?" Shepard stares at him hard, Wrex peering back at her. "Get out! Get out, get out, get out!" she shouts impatiently, making everyone look at her oddly. "You wanted the genophage cure? Then let him give you the genophage cure, don't come down here and interrupt Mordin's work!"

Wrex backs off slightly. "If she comes to any harm..." he points at Eve.

"Understand concern. But Eve my patient, my responsibility," Mordin says sternly. "Her welfare a priority. Will not allow her to be compromised by anyone." He says the last word while staring Wrex right in the eye, and after a moment of pause, the krogan breaks out in laughter.

"Ha! You've got a quad, Doctor," he finally admits, turning to leave. "Keep her safe, our females have endured enough."

"Don't forget. Still need a tissue sample," Mordin says, stopping him right before the door.

"I'll be in the lounge if you need me," Wrex shrugs. "Rejecting an invitation to have some ryncol? Not in this life."

"Why do I have a feeling that donation of tissue sample is going to hurt a lot more than necessary?" Morgan says, giving Mordin a conspiring wink.

"No comment," the salarian replies, but the grin on his face indicates that Shepard's suspicions are well funded.

Shepard also smiles, then approaching the female krogan. "Now that the fussing of concerned males is out of the way, I was wondering if we could talk... Eve. You're okay with being referred to as Eve?"

The krogan shrugs, as if she wouldn't care one way or another. "It will do," she says, before giving Shepard a more appreciative look. "I never did say thank you for saving my life, Commander. It is sometimes difficult to believe that krogan still have allies in the galaxy."

"How much is it because of circumstances forcing them to call upon you, and how much is it because they truly believe they have a lot to make up to your people... that's still up for debate," Shepard admits.

"We have our own actions to blame for it as well," Eve says with a hint of sadness. "The part we played in the Rachni Wars does not excuse some of the atrocities committed by krogan in the years that followed."

"I think that the sane and reasonable part of the galactic population wants to bury the hatchet, so to speak, in the face of this Reaper threat," Morgan speaks. "Let's hope that the krogan themselves will want to go along with that. I bet Wrex will have his work cut out for him."

"It will not be easy," Eve shakes her head. "In his heart, Wrex wants what's best for us. But the other clans will disagree on what is the best for all of us. And still despite everything, Wrex is the best thing that's happened to the krogan. But we should never tell him that, his head's big enough already. Literally."

"The other races are concerned about the krogan wanting to take revenge for the genophage," Morgan says. "There are billions of salarians and turians quivering in fear from the Reapers **and** the krogan, about now. I doubt Wrex will want to risk the future of his people in another war, but..."

"The other clans will expect it. Wrex will need to resist it. On my part, I will encourage the females to do what they can to oppose such a war of retribution," Eve promises. "He understands that the cycle of violence must end if krogan are to ever have a voice in galactic politics."

_One more cycle to break. The Reaper cycle of galactic extinction. The krogan cycle of violence. It's funny how all things eventually return back to the source... _"I don't think the next time the salarians and the turians will stop at the genophage," Morgan shakes her head sadly. "Perhaps the krogan would conquer the galaxy, but to jeopardize the future of your people, and for what? Wrex needs to resist the temptation."

"The female clans will support him. Hopefully after the genophage is cured, we will be able to help shape the future of our people, like in the ancient times, before we became simply pawns of power-hungry males," Eve says.

"Did you have all this in your mind already when you turned yourself over to a rival clan, let Maelon perform his brutal experiments on you?" Shepard asks.

"Rivalries are the inventions of males," Eve shrugs. "You saw the legacy of their rule when visiting Tuchanka. It's about time our females took back their place in society and resurrected the future of our people. Maelon offered us hope."

"I saw the results of his work in that... dungeon," Morgan shivers a little from the memories of Weyrloc base. "At least Mordin is treating you much better."

"Yes, better than krogan males do," Eve nods, looking at Mordin, staring at the tubes and readout panels of his lab equipment, humming and being completely oblivious to his surroundings. "I don't think he is a very typical salarian."

"My whole crew is composed from atypical representatives of their species," Shepard chuckles. "Krogan, turian, asari... I guess this mission we're on requires... special individuals."

"And you, Commander? Are you not a typical human, yourself?" Eve asks thoughtfully.

Shepard hesitates before replying. "Well... it would be presumptuous of me to judge myself. Though, I think my experiences in recent years have provided me with perspective that is unique amongst humanity," she eventually says, thinking back at the Prothean beacons and Cipher.

"He told me about his work on the genophage. I should hate him, consider him an enemy," Eve says suddenly, still looking at Mordin. "But I think seeing me and my sisters, it changed something in him. I can sense deep pain in him."

"I think that change started when we stood at the mutilated corpses of your sisters down in Maelon's lab," Shepard nods, also turning around to look at Mordin.

"Asari-vorcha offspring have an allergy to diary, and... da-di-di-dee-di-doo-doo-..." Mordin trails off in his singing, as it is suddenly interrupted by a heavy groan coming from one of the beds.

"Ungh..." Garrus moans, slowly opening his eyes. "That... infernal noise..."

"Hey Garrus," Morgan grins, approaching him as Chakwas immediately jumps to the turian's side, clasping his head with her hands and leaning closer to check the size of his pupils, looking for any hint of lingering damage to the brain. "Not a music lover, I see. For shame," Shepard adds.

"That's not music, that's torture," Garrus grunts, sighing at the doctor's attentions, fussing all over him. "Nothing wrong with me, is there, doc? Just a mountain of a headache, that's no reason to keep me here, is it?"

Chakwas sighs. "Seriously, you are even worse than Shepard," she says, much to Morgan's glee and delight. "I'm sorry Garrus, but I have to confine you to a minimum of forty-eight hours of bed rest," Chakwas adds, earning another groan from Garrus. "Here in the medbay."

"Shepard... help..." Garrus looks at her desperately, almost making her feel sorry for him.

"It'll be good for you, Garrus," she grins cruelly. "Now stop complaining and rest in the knowledge of the bitter defeat of me triumphing with the score of 29 to 28!"

"That's very mature of you, Commander," Chakwas gives her an admonishing glare, as Garrus sighs deeply.

"I think this should be my cue to leave then," Shepard says quickly, turning around. She is almost at the doors of the medbay, when Mordin catches up to her.

"Commander," he says quietly, pushing her through the open door and then following her outside the medbay. "Blood work should not take long to complete. But... everything indicates significant stress on Eve's system. Fortunate to have Maelon's data to improve her condition."

"So it was the right call to save the data after all?" Morgan asks.

"It would appear so," Mordin nods. "Would be much harder to treat Eve without it. Perhaps... impossible."

"But she's in no danger now? I hope?" Shepard asks worriedly. "Mordin, we need her alive. Not just for the cure, but... I sense there's more to her. She has charisma and intelligence far above the average krogan. She could be a great and influential leadership figure alongside Wrex."

"Agreed, Shepard. Talking with Eve provides unique perspective on krogan. Survival important to preserve peace. Fortunately no fever currently. Heart-rate elevation likely from stress. Eating appropriately. Will obtain another blanket. Something... soft," Shepard is surprised of the care and concern in Mordin's voice. "Would prefer to let her recover fully before synthesizing cure. My medical recommendation."

"I agree with that, Mordin. If it takes two, three more days, that's fine, we can probably hold out for as long as that, I'll think of a way to stall Wrex," Morgan says. "It's imperative not to endanger her life any more than we have to."

"Glad you agree, Shepard," Mordin smiles. "Urdnot Wrex known for many great things. Not known for patience."

Shepard laughs, before becoming serious again. "This must be... an interesting experience for you, Mordin. I told you once before that you will have your opportunity to set things right and help the krogan. Seems I was right."

"Remember that, Commander," Mordin nods, then his lips knit tightly. "Still.. would not be doing this, if not for current circumstances. Reaper invasion necessitates course correction."

"So you're doing the right thing out of practical reasons, nothing wrong with that," Shepard shrugs. "I'm not some kind of ethical paragon myself, Mordin. I doubt I'd be asking for genophage cure if Reapers wouldn't be assaulting Earth."

"Not many years left, Shepard," Mordin says, looking a little saddened. "Must admit... on some level, glad for current circumstances. Forcing me to put things right."

"In a strange, roundabout way I can see what you mean," Shepard says, then looking at Mordin expectantly. "Dare I hope you'll stick around after we cure the genophage?"

"Until the Reapers are dealt with, at least," Mordin nods confidently. "Then... not sure. Have made impact on galaxy. Genophage modification project. Genophage cure. Work against Collectors... decisions, mistakes... might go somewhere sunny. Sit on beach, look at ocean, collect seashells."

"You could join me and Liara on vacation to Hawaii, once we're done here," Shepard chuckles. "Though somehow I expect you'd go crazy from boredom within an hour."

Mordin's grin widens as he thinks. "...might run tests on the seashells!"

Shepard laughs. "I can see that happening. Anyway, nice talking with you. Good luck with the cure," she pats him on the shoulder in a friendly fashion before turning around as the salarian returns to the medbay. _Right, check on Liara,_ she decides on the next course of action, heading over to the XO quarters, but the doors would not open even after plenty of banging on them. Fearing she might interrupt Liara's rest, Shepard withdraws and takes the elevator back up to her quarters.

She immediately notices the discarded pieces of Liara's armor and clothing on the floor of her quarters, it seems that the asari has been in a hurry to get under the sheets. Morgan's heart swells as she looks at her lover sleeping peacefully, the very image of sweet serenity in the dimmed lights of her cabin. Shepard quickly discards all her gear as well, briefly pondering the thought of a shower, but feeling too tired and unmotivated she decides that simple sleep feels far more alluring right now.

Unfortunately, her attempts at crawling into the bed without waking Liara are unsuccessful and the asari shifts slightly, turning around to face her with a sleepy stare. "Hey there," Morgan says quietly, settling in the pillows close to Liara, almost brow against brow. "How are you feeling?"

"Fine. Just... sore all over," Liara admits, longing expression reflecting in her deep blue eyes. "Things have been so busy, with the summit and everything, we have had very little time for each other. I have been... missing you."

"And I you," Morgan confesses, pulling Liara closer to her. "We should have some free time in the coming days, however. And right now, I don't think Chakwas would approve of that kind of bed rest, anyway..." she adds with a grin.

"Probably not," Liara smiles. "What are our immediate plans?"

"Waiting for Mordin to come up with the cure. While he does that, there are several things that we should do. Visiting the Citadel is one. Another is to follow up on a tip that Hackett passed to me right before we set out for the summit. You're going to be very interested in that one." Liara merely gives her a curious stare. "Cerberus have attacked Eden Prime. They are hunting for some kind of important Prothean artifact."

Liara's eyes are immediately burning bright and she actually tenses like a spring, Shepard having to hold her tightly so that she doesn't jump out of the bed from the excitement. "A Prothean artifact! Oh yes, we must go there at on-... well, alright, not at once, but definitely before the Citadel. Promise me we'll go there before the Citadel, please oh please, Morgan!"

Shepard merely laughs from her enthusiastic response. "Alright, alright... geez, now you'll never get back to sleep," she sighs.

"I'll go back to sleep right away, if that means we're going to Eden Prime tomorrow," Liara grins, turning with her back towards Shepard and seeking to settle in comfortably in the pillows. Morgan waits until Liara is happy with her comfy spot, before leaning closer with her chest against the asari's back, hands wrapped around her lover's waist, face carefully pressed against Liara's shoulder, careful to avoid getting stabbed in the eye by the tips of Liara's head crest.

For a while they lay silently like that, at peace and comforted by the closeness. Shepard cannot quite close her eyes, however, an errant thought keeping her awake and it seems that Liara is sensing her discomfort. "You are tense, worried. I can feel it," she says. "What is it, tell me?"

"Eh... it's nothing big, I shouldn't... but then again, you'll just rip it from my mind the next time we join, won't you?" Shepard replies. "I still can't get used to the idea of not being able to lie or withhold truth in order to protect you. That is such a human thing to do."

"And such a foolish thing to do, too," Liara quietly admonishes her. "Sadly, with time you will become more adept at putting up mental barriers, but for now tell me what has worried you so."

"I was just thinking about what Mordin said about the indoctrinated mole on the STG base. If the salarians missed having a sleeper agent like that... Liara, we've been sending teams of scientists and engineers to Hackett for our project. What if..."

Liara's sudden shuddering is a clear sign of the asari having understood the implication. "What if one of them is a sleeper. Yes... that is a risk, and right now we have no way of detecting the indoctrination effects. Tell Hackett to try and block all outgoing communications from the site, perhaps route them through some kind of command center for approval."

"Good idea," Shepard says, her breath distracting against the asari's shoulder.

"You know, I almost regret asking you about that. Now I will be worrying about it as well," Liara quietly confesses. "Perhaps you can sidetrack me with some kind of disturbing mental image that you are so adept at conjuring."

Morgan grins inwardly, deep in thought. "Oh yes... when I parted with Wrex, he went to the lounge to party and have drinks with your dad," she says.

"You're joking," Liara's voice is full of disbelief. "Wait... you're not joking. That is... I suppose somehow appropriate, considering dad's parentage. And she definitely shares Wrex's sense of humor."

"Shame you didn't inherit that from Aethyta," Shepard adds teasingly. "Though Benezia's charming lack of funny bones is endearing in its own strange way."

"...what?" Liara asks, sounding a little confused, likely too tired to become annoyed at the teasing.

"Nothing," Shepard says quickly, hugging her tighter, leaning closer to brush her lips against Liara's bare shoulder. "Sleep now. We have an interesting day ahead of us tomorrow..."


	59. The Ladies' Krogan

_A/N: Wrex is awesome. If anyone still doubts that, I hope to prove them wrong in the next few chapters. :D  
_

_Also, lots of cookies for whoever catches the very obscure Babylon 5 reference. :)_

_Finally, a small warning: some realism in this chapter has been butchered in favor of slapstick humor. Why? Because I can. :)_

**Chapter 58 - The Ladies' Krogan**

"Commander? Admiral Hackett is available on the vid call," Traynor's voice reaches Morgan on the comms at the same time as she realizes that she has just put on her shirt the wrong way around.

"Damnation," she swears, ripping her shirt off again, making Liara chuckle next to her. "Oh... yeah, Traynor, I'll be up in a couple of minutes, please ask the admiral to hold."

"Morgan, I'm quite certain one of the socks you have on is mine," Liara remarks with an utterly serious expression on her face.

"...bloody hell," Shepard sighs, taking the offending sock off. "I'm just not a morning person, you know," she tells Liara before leaning closer to plant a gentle peck on the asari's cheek.

"Also, you might be interested to know that you are still wearing my p-"

"Not now, Liara, I can't keep Hackett waiting endlessly!" Shepard interrupts her lover, grabbing a comb from the nightstand and rushing out of her quarters, fixing her hair while taking the elevator down to the CIC and proceeding towards the comm room, where the image of impatient looking Admiral Hackett is waiting on her. "Sir!" breathless, she snaps off a salute, presenting herself, silently praying that she hasn't put anything else on backwards.

"Commander," Hackett says, giving her a slightly odd stare. "Dare I ask about the results of your summit?"

"I was under the impression that things were going quite well," Shepard shrugs. "Krogan support is looking very realistic right now, and once we get that, the other races will be free to provide more and more resources for our project."

"Good to hear, Commander," Hackett nods. "The salarians are livid with you, however. Udina is literally getting bombarded with various complaints originating from the dalatrass."

Shepard fights off the desire to break out in a fit of laughter. "Uh... my heart bleeds for him?" she tries. Hackett narrows his eyes at her. "Ah, just let him earn his keep. It's his job to deal with fallout like that."

"You are very fortunate that we are also hearing a lot of backroom chatter from many STG teams promising us their support regardless of what Dalatrass Linron decides," Hackett allows himself a small smile. "I don't know how you ensured their cooperation, but... good job, Commander. What about the asari?" he asks then. "I understand there were initial issues with their participation."

"You could say that, but Matriarch Aethyta has been great help while operating with very limited authority at her disposal," Shepard replies. "Without her pressure, Linron might not have budged."

"That is much better than having the asari looking on from the sidelines," Hackett says, looking pleased. "What is this I am hearing about Cerberus opposing you on Sur'Kesh? How did they get involved?"

"Beats me, sir," Shepard says. "We have two explanations. One, they view genophage cure as a threat to galactic supremacy of humans. Second, they're all indoctrinated and work for the Reapers without realizing it. Which one do you prefer? Uh, sir."

There is a slight twitch in Hackett's cheeks, as he ponders on a reply. "We need to continue hitting Cerberus at every front that opens up, Shepard," finally he says. "I understand that you had Aria T'Loak's forces deal with the base on Sanctum?" Shepard nods sheepishly. "An... interesting solution, but I do not debate its effectiveness. Have you taken care of the situation on Eden Prime?"

"We're heading there now," Shepard replies. _Well, I haven't told that to Joker and EDI yet, but I will, and Hackett doesn't need to know that._ "Cerberus will be dealt with swiftly. Sir... if I may ask, how is the Prothean device coming along?" she says, remembering her talk with Liara last night.

"Alliance R&D has officially begun construction," Hackett replies proudly. "The team has dubbed it Project Crucible. This is going to be the most ambitious undertaking in the human history, Shepard. Our researchers tell me the designs are elegant, massive in scope, but strangely simple as well. We'll get it done, Shepard. The question remains whether we will get it done in time."

"Sir... I hope you have considered the possibility of indoctrination," Shepard finally says. "We've sent a lot of people your way, and there's always a chance of a sleeper agent here or there. If they disclose the location of the Crucible to the Reapers and they show up to destroy it..."

"It would be the end of this cycle, Shepard," Hackett nods grimly. "Yes, we are implementing strenuous security measures. We are running extensive background checks on every candidate, before giving them admittance to the site. Anyone who has come close to Reaper artifacts in the past are denied access. I have had to send away two highly qualified specialists to work off-site already because of this, but the safety of the Crucible is paramount. We are doing all we can to keep the existence of the Crucible and its location secret."

"Hopefully it will be enough, sir."

"We'll make sure of it, Shepard. Keep doing your job, make sure we get the krogan support and kick Cerberus whenever you can. And if possible, try to make nice with the salarians, we could use everyone on our side," the Admiral says before taking his leave. "Hackett out."

_I probably got enough footage on that STG base to make sure Linron doesn't do something she might regret later,_ Shepard thinks. _She wants to harass Udina, I'll let her do so, heck, knowing that even gives me perverse pleasure. But if she tries anything else... covert uplift of yahg, well, that alone should be worth a dozen of favors._

Deep in thought, Shepard leaves the War Room, smiling at Traynor as she passes the CIC and heading up to the mess hall, guided by her rumbling stomach, demanding some nourishment. Much to her surprise, as she leaves the elevator, Shepard sees Wrex exiting the lounge and walking towards her with what could only be described as a particularly smug expression on his face. "Okay, Wrex, what is it now..." she stops the krogan as he attempts to pass her by. "You look like the proverbial cat that ate the equally proverbial canary."

Wrex blinks. "You're talking nonsense again, Shepard."

"I know that look," Shepard glares at him. "What's going on, don't tell me you were drinking all night!"

"Well, not exactly," Wrex grins. "We took breaks from the drinking. Breaks to... hmm... build alliances?"

"Wrex! Do you know who she is?" Shepard points at the doors to the lounge, feeling a little shocked.

"One of the very few asari that I will not subject to mockery?" Wrex replies. "I didn't expect she would be able to handle ryncol, but... well, let's just say that Matriarch Aethyta is an impressive and formidable woman."

"She's Liara's father!" Shepard hisses.

Wrex gives her a look of disbelief. Then he bursts out in a loud guffaw, slapping Shepard on her shoulder so hard she can hear her own bones cracking. Seeing that Shepard still looks shocked, Wrex stops laughing and stares at her again. "Heh... eheheh?" his laughter sounds a little nervous all of a sudden. "You're not laughing, Shepard. Why are you not laughing?"

"Because it's the truth!" Shepard almost shouts, then remembering to keep her voice down, the mess hall is only around the corner and she does not want to be overheard.

Wrex looks a little worried and puzzled for a while, but then just shrugs. "So what's the big deal, anyway," he rallies magnificently. "Certainly explains why I've always found Liara so... tolerable for an asari."

"It's just... uh, might be a little traumatizing for Liara," Shepard says, even as she realizes she would not be able to guard this discovery from the asari for too long. "I'll try to break the news to her at a slightly more opportune time."

"Whatever," Wrex says. He sends an almost wistful glance towards the doors of the lounge. "You know, I wish the females back home were a bit more like her. But they don't enjoy ryncol. They don't even want **me** to enjoy **my** ryncol! And they want to discuss everything for hours! Then think about it. Then talk about is some more!" Wrex sighs deeply. "We need more females like Aethyta and you, Shepard. Maybe you should consider those breeding requests after all."

"Uh, let me think about it," Shepard winks at him. "I'm flattered, but overall, I think it just means I'm not particularly feminine, so I have no idea whether that was a compliment or not..."

Wrex raises a warning hand. "Now you're talking too much again," he says. "Hmm, where was I headed. Ah yes, to the medbay to encourage that salarian. And I'm sure he's looking forward to receiving the tissue sample, that gutsy little pyjak."

"Don't harass Mordin, or I'm going to stuff you in the garbage compactor!"

Wrex laughs. "Wouldn't be much worse than always having to hang around that cargo bay like on previous stay," he says. "Seems being important has its benefits, I actually have decent quarters now. I still don't have a window like Liara does... but maybe that's because I don't kiss as well."

"Nice try Wrex, but I don't plan to gather the necessary experience to make a comparison," Shepard laughs, playfully elbowing him in the stomach, but it does not appear as if Wrex even notices it.

"By the way, Shepard," Wrex says, more serious now. "I've received word from Tuchanka. It seems that the Reapers are starting to arrive in numbers, massing for something. We need to get that cure ready and head there while we still can."

"Fuck-tastic!" Shepard swears. "They couldn't have become aware of our plans, surely?"

"They could be, if Cerberus is full with the indoctrinated," Wrex says simply, before turning around and stomping down towards the medbay.

"What a cheerful thought," Shepard sighs, staring at the doors of the lounge, her appetite having dissipated during the brief chat with Wrex. _I'd better go have a talk with Aethyta, find out what sort of game she is playing here,_ she decides then.

She knocks on the lounge doors for a few times, before daring to enter. "Pfew, you're decent," she blurts out, seeing Aethyta hovering behind the bar, the asari matriarch looking just a little tired and sore, but she manages to hide it well behind her customary grace.

"What a strange comment to make, Shepard," Aethyta gives her a curious look.

"I, ah... ran into Wrex outside," Shepard confesses. Aethyta's brow creases a little to form an irritated expression. "Don't be mad, I don't think he planned to be indiscreet, but I kind of put him against the wall. What's going on?"

"Perhaps I simply like him?" the asari asks, as if to test Shepard.

"I believe you do, I certainly like him myself," Morgan smiles, coming to sit on one of the seats at the bar. "But there's always more than meets the eye. Especially with someone like you, Matriarch."

"Just laying some groundwork for post-Reaper preparations," Aethyta shrugs. "In case the krogan decide to stomp out the turians and the salarians, I'm sure someone along the way will come up with the bright idea to include asari amongst those deserving of eradication. Now... I don't think that showing a little bit of good time to Wrex would stop something like that, but every little bit helps. Shepard, do you know how many asari have taken a krogan as a bondmate?"

"I don't really know... I saw quite a few on Ilium," Shepard replies, busy thinking. "And some on the Citadel, too. I think it's a union that is growing a little more common lately."

"An astute observation. The number is close to 25.000 currently," Aethyta says, suddenly all business-like and professional. "After I report back to the matriarchs, expect this number to triple in the coming year."

"Oh..." Shepard realizes. "Damn, that's... quite brilliant."

"Thank you, Shepard," Aethyta smiles. "This is why the asari have rarely faced attacks from the known galactic races. We make certain that attacking us will feel like attacking themselves. If some clan leader will come up with the brilliant idea to hit Thessia or one of our colonies, he'll have a massive revolution on his hands as thousands of krogan will violently refuse to strike at their loved ones, their new families."

Shepard sits like frozen for a moment, the simplicity and the brilliance of the plan mesmerizing her. "I must say... I can do little else but to admire the asari," she confesses. "Shame this plan doesn't really work so well against invaders like the rachni or... Reapers."

"We are not quit as perfect as that, Shepard," Aethyta winks at her. "Though, I did hear your pilot saying something about this alliance with the krogan being more difficult to forge than teaching the Reapers to love. I think he was joking, though."

"Taking Joker seriously would be a mistake, yes," Shepard agrees with a chuckle.

"Listen, babe," Aethyta leans a little closer. "I saw my kid a little banged up when you brought her back onboard yesterday. She's alright?"

"Yeah, it was just a minor scare," Shepard says. "The Doc looked her over and released her immediately."

"Good, good. After our talk, I have suddenly... started to worry about her," Aethyta confesses reluctantly. "You'll take good care of her, though. I know you will, because if you don't, I'm going to kick your ass, Shepard."

"I won't let her come to harm on my watch," Morgan says, fiercely defiant. "And if I do, I'll help you kick my own ass, that's a promise."

"I'm happy that we understand each other," Aethyta grins at her. "I can see you are good for her, Shepard. I'm glad she has you, because I sure as hell haven't been there for her when she could have used me."

"You did protect her from the matriarchs," Shepard points out. "That counts for something."

"Yeah. I guess it does," Aethyta sighs. "Bah, don't listen to my maudlin, run along now babe, I'm sure there's plenty of heads waiting for you to bust."

Shepard grins. "There are, as a matter of fact," she says, leaving the lounge. "Thanks for the talk, Matriarch." _Talk about awesome father-in-law, should the fates smile on me and Liara,_ she can't help to think, smiling at herself as she activates the comms to get in touch with her pilot. "Joker?"

"Aye, aye, Commander?" he responds immediately.

"Set the course to Exodus Cluster, please," she gives her orders. "We have to liberate Eden Prime... again."

"Sounds wonderful," she can just see Joker rolling his eyes as he speaks. "Cerberus or the Reapers?"

"Cerberus," Shepard replies. "EDI, do you copy?"

"Yes, Shepard?" she hears the exquisitely accented voice of the AI.

"I have considered what you said, and I would like your new platform to accompany us on the ground," Shepard says. "This sounds like a good opportunity to test its capabilities in action."

"Understood, Shepard. I thank you for this opportunity."

"I don't approve, Commander," Joker grumbles. "Removing EDI from the bridge is bad for my morale."

"Well, thankfully I don't have to care about your morale, you'll just be sitting and waiting while we sweat and bleed on the ground below," Shepard replies.

Joker sighs deeply. "If I see a single scratch on her frame, I'll launch a formal complaint. And believe me, my investigation of EDI's platform will be very thorough."

"I just bet it will be," Shepard rolls her eyes and switches off the comms, wondering who else to take with her on the mission. _Liara will skin me alive if I don't take her, even if she probably could do with a bit more rest. No, I'll take her,_ she decides. _James has also been rearing to get back into action, so I should take him..._ just then she sees Wrex leaving the medbay, and an idea immediately occurs to her.

"Wrex! Want to join us for killing some more Cerberus?" she exclaims, hoping for an affirmative answer.

"Always, but..." only then she notices that Wrex is struggling to walk, pained expression on his face. "...I think I need a few hours before I can move properly. Damn that salarian, he really enjoyed that way too much... so glad to have the famous krogan regeneration, or I'd be really angry!"

"Are you going to be alright?" Shepard asks, concerned. "Eden Prime is a few hours away, but I can always take James in your place."

"I'll be fine before we get there," Wrex growls, irritated at the suggestion that he might be incapable to do battle. "And tell your pilot to sit this one out too, I enjoyed flying that new shuttle of yours."

"Poor Steve," Shepard laughs at herself as Wrex slowly hobbles away. "Upstaged by a two thousand pounds worth of krogan." Realizing that she hasn't seen Liara since leaving her quarters, Shepard tries to get in contact with her lover on the comms. "Liara, where are you?" she calls out.

"Up in your quarters," comes the surprisingly tense voice. "Waiting on you to get up there."

"Err, everything in order?" Shepard asks.

"Well, I would like to have my pants back, if it's all the same with you...", Liara says, sounding particularly strained.

"Oh..." Shepard finds herself blushing hotly. _No wonder Hackett was staring at me oddly... gah!_ "You could have stopped me, you know!"

"I did try! I was shouting for you to stop, but you just rushed out of the quarters like a charging krogan..."

Shepard sighs, quickly ducking into the elevator to return to her quarters. "Have I ever told you how much I hate mornings?"


	60. While They Were Gone

_A/N: Damn it, I knew my fear of dentists was completely rational. After having a tooth pulled, my dentist spectacularly failed at stopping all that leaking blood, so I ended up in a hospital for several hours. Ow. _**  
**

_In other news, no Shep and Liara in this chapter, sorry. They will return to rescue Javik on Saturday. :)  
_

**Chapter 59 - While They Were Gone**

A tentative shadow falls on the doors of Liara's quarters aboard the Normandy. There is a slender shape of a young woman, fearfully looking around, trying to overhear whether someone is approaching. Satisfied that nobody is nearby, with her eyes darting around nervously, guilty, yet curious expression on her face, she attempts to enter Liara's quarters, finding the door locked.

"Of course. That would have been too easy," Specialist Samantha Traynor mutters under her breath. The shuttle carrying the asari together with Commander Shepard and EDI's new, incredibly sexy platform, have left an hour ago to do battle with Cerberus on Eden Prime, and she knows this would be the perfect opportunity to... explore, but circumstances have conspired to keep her at bay.

_What is she hiding in there? _Specialist Traynor muses._ The power draw from these quarters is enormous. And why does the Commander allow for an alien on her ship to get up to something so... suspicious?_

"Right, let's try this..." Traynor checks her omni-tool, attempting to override the door security and forcing them open, but to no avail. "What the... this kind of encryption on a simple door?" she blinks. "That asari is either insanely paranoid or she's keeping something of incredible value in there."

Traynor is about to upload a far more complex hacking program, when suddenly EDI's voice interrupts her frantic attempts. "Specialist Traynor. Would you be so kind to explain your actions?" the ship's AI asks in her delightfully impassionate voice.

"I, ah... was merely curious and... thought that I..." Traynor squeaks nervously, taken by surprise. "Umm, you were supposed to be very busy fighting Cerberus, EDI..."

"While 80% of my processing power is diverted to my platform engaged in the ground mission, I have enough resources at my disposal to detect suspicious activity on the crew deck," EDI says meaningfully. "Please, return to the bridge immediately," the AI adds, and Traynor finds herself immediately obeying the command, even if she briefly wonders why she does so. EDI's place in the chain of command is completely undefined, and she should not be allowing an AI to just order her around, yet somehow she can't bring herself to protest.

_It must be that disarming voice,_ she weakly grins at herself, entering the elevator. _It is almost more enchanting than Shepard's. I can't quite place the Commander's accent. I heard she grew up as a spacer kid, they usually end up speaking in a strange mix of accents. Strange, but... so compelling._

"I'm sorry, EDI, I was just... worried and concerned," she speaks, approaching the holographic image of EDI, hovering next to Joker.

"I would venture a guess that Commander Shepard would be highly disapproving of your attempts to intrude in Dr. T'Soni's private quarters," EDI tells her. "I will not report it if you guarantee that this will not happen again."

"Mmm, delicious blackmail material," Joker spins around in his chair, giving her one of those annoying knowing grins of his.

"I know I shouldn't have tried that," Traynor confesses. "But you have to admit some of the arrangements on this ship are highly irregular."

"You don't say," Joker rolls his eyes. "Have you checked out my co-pilot?" he grins at EDI.

_Oh boy, have I_, Traynor thinks, blushing slightly. "I... accede your point, but... I do not understand just how an asari XO fits in on an Alliance ship."

"Well, Shepard isn't simply an Alliance officer, she's also a Council Spectre," Joker shrugs. "They have a way of playing loose with the hierarchy, so don't expect her to stick too closely with Alliance regs. Good rule of thumb is to listen to Shepard when she's aboard, and to me when she's not," he adds with a crooked grin.

"It is never a good idea to listen to Jeff," EDI says, forcing Joker to sigh. "I believe Shepard once said that Dr. T'Soni will speak in her absence and, if you wish to hear the exact quote 'anyone who has a problem with that is welcome to get the fuck off my ship'."

"Why does she trust this asari so much?" Traynor asks, feeling a tinge of annoyance. "And whatever it is in her quarters that requires such secrecy?"

"I think Liara brought some crazy tech aboard just to analyze that Prothean device. She probably doesn't want anyone to mess with it," Joker explains. "As for why Shepard trusts Liara so much... let me just put it this way. Have you ever watched 'Vaenia'?"

Traynor feels heat flushing her cheeks. "I, ah... might have heard of it," she says timidly.

"You should watch it," Joker grins broadly. "Hey, maybe we could watch it together? I'd explain everything to you in great detail. I'm sure EDI could fly the ship on her own for a few hours."

"Not with most of my resources allocated to my platform on Eden Prime," EDI replies.

"That would be completely inappropriate, Flight-Lieutenant," Traynor straightens her back, giving Joker an attempted disapproving stare, but the pilot just deflects it with his usual humor. _I should have realized that was the reason. Dammit, Traynor, you probably were your usual blind cow and missed all the signs. _

"You two are absolutely no fun," Joker grumbles, turning around and resuming his staring at the consoles.

"Requesting permission to return to my post," Traynor says thinly, wondering why she is even asking. _As far as the pecking order of Spectre Shepard, I'm probably down at the very bottom, anyway, _she thinks.

"Granted," EDI replies after Joker has seemingly lost all interest in their conversation. "Now, Specialist Traynor, to avoid you getting involved in any more mischief, there is something that I would like you to take a look at. Please check the incoming and outgoing communications of the Grissom Academy over the past forty-eight hours, and then tell me what you think."

"Grissom Academy? I will investigate immediately," Samantha Traynor rushes off, mentally chiding herself. _Traynor, if you want to leave a positive impression on the Commander, first do your job well, instead of second-guessing where she places her trust and spying on her closest friends..._

* * *

_'I love you. But I know you. Don't make me an anchor. Promise me, Steve.' _Tears stream down the face of Lt. Steven Cortez, as he continues to watch the vid recording of his husband Robert, finding it impossible to switch it off, to toss it aside, even if he knows he has to.

Suddenly, an opened, dew-covered bottle of cold beer is placed on a panel right before him, and Steve swiftly turns his head to see Lt. James Vega standing there, holding a beer bottle of his own, shaking his head. "At it again, eh, Esteban?" he says reproachfully. "You should have never taken that recording from Ferris Fields, I keep telling you that. Now it just won't let you move on."

"C'mon, Vega, playing a shrink doesn't fit you," Steve snaps angrily, wiping the tears off his cheeks, but at least he puts the recording away, eventually reaching out and grabbing the bottle. "What if I don't want to move on?"

"Don't need to be a shrink to know this isn't good for you, Esteban," Vega says. "Just don't want you to make some kind of mistake when out in the field because your head wasn't clear."

"When I'm flying, I'm there for 100%, you know that Vega," Cortez gives James an angry stare. "Wasn't me who crashed that shuttle on Mars, now was it?"

"To save the day, _pendejo_!" James exclaims brashly. "Listen, Commander plans to turn this bird around after we're done here and hit the Citadel. It wouldn't hurt you to get off the ship once in a while, eh? I could even show you some of the best spots for fun."

"Will you go away if I agree?" Cortez sighs deeply.

"Hah, that would be telling," James laughs. "Seriously, do as I say, or I'll have the Commander come down here and drag you off the ship by pulling on your ears."

"You'd tell her?" Steve narrows his eyes dangerously. "She'd throw me off the ship if she knew about my issues... Vega, don't you dare do this to me! I thought we were friends."

"We are," James says. "If we weren't friends, I wouldn't be concerned and we wouldn't be having this conversation."

"Damn you," Steve curses. "Fine, have it your way."

"Excellent," Vega grins, rubbing his hands in anticipation. He then looks around the shuttle bay thoughtfully. "Kinda feels wrong not having the Kodiak around. Must be so weird for you, I mean you are always flying it, probably never even seen how the bay looks without the Kodiak in it."

"Well, if a big and angry krogan wants to pilot your shuttle, you just don't say no," Cortez says, shrugging his shoulders. "Already tried that on Sur'Kesh, he just pulled me out of the pilot's seat and tossed me in the back."

Vega laughs wholeheartedly. "Wrex seems like a badass alright," he says. "I bet he has all sorts of awesome stories to tell."

"Let's just say that I have never seen anyone attempting a ten yard airdrop on the back of an Atlas mech..." Cortez can't stop himself from smiling at the shocked expression on Vega's face.

"Da-yum! I'm not surprised Commander wanted to take him along for this mission instead of me!" James exclaims.

"Missing the action, are we Vega?"

"Could say that," James nods. "But, at least the Commander explained her reasoning. Said I'll see plenty of action before this is all over. Guess I'll have to trust Lola on that. Don't want to think about it, but... casualties and injuries are to be expected before we are done with the Reapers. Just look at that last mission, Scars almost caught another rocket with his face."

Cortez pales a little. "I will not think like that, Vega. I've grown... attached to them all already, I couldn't possibly think that..."

"Yeah, don't want to think that way, either. Still, sometimes you have to wonder..." James then raises the beer bottle. "Anyway, bottoms up!"

Lt. Steve Cortez nods grimly, before following Vega's example.

* * *

Dr. Karin Chakwas sighs quietly, sitting at a computer console in her quiet little corner of the medbay. Most of her time on the ship is spent there all by herself, and she is generally thankful for this kind of solitude, having one of her 'children' injured and kept in the medbay is not her preferred way to address the selfish need for company. And now, all of a sudden, she is surrounded by three aliens with completely differing personalities.

There is Mordin, the salarian doctor, in a sense her colleague, but while Chakwas has on a few occasions inquired about his work, Mordin's explanations have been polite but short, clearly indicating his preference to focus on the task at hand and avoid any distractions. The salarian clearly believes that she can't be of any help in his undertaking, and she accepts it without feeling professionally snubbed. Genophage cure is not a laughing matter, and it is understandable that someone like Dr. Solus would not wish to share the weight of this responsibility with anyone else. _If only he would stop singing, maybe then I could get some of my own work done,_ Karin Chakwas sighs as Mordin starts one of his tunes again.

Then there is Eve, the burly krogan female, grumpy but otherwise likable, even if she does not talk much. They have had to press together three of the beds to create a comfortable resting bunk for her, and she is now sleeping, snoring loudly, in a way providing back vocals to Mordin's singing.

Lastly, there is Garrus, the turian always facing her with a long-suffering stare in hopes that her heart will melt and that she will release him from his confinement to bed rest. Of course, he has also tried to sneak out of the medbay four times already, forcing Chakwas to threaten him with using straps to make sure that her reckless patient doesn't wander around too much. _Seriously, he's even worse than Shepard, I couldn't imagine that was even possible._

Fortunately, for once Garrus is not faking sleep, he has actually dozed off, allowing Chakwas to finally check through her correspondence and catalogue some of the medical records, boring administrative work that she has been delaying for too long. She is curious to see a very recent reply from her colleague in the Shalta Wards R&D labs, Dr. Palmer. Almost frantically her eyes pass over the lines of the included report.

_...(analyzed implants from the corpses retrieved from the Mars Archives) ... (surprised by request to cross-reference with Shepard's implants) ... (implants used on rank troopers appear completely different at first glance) ... (thorough analysis reveals several identical components) ... (Reaper technology strongly implied) _

Chakwas takes a deep breath, wiping a few beads of perspiration from her forehead, almost not wanting to read any further, but knowing that she simply has to. Shepard deserves to know the truth. And they all must know whether she is truly free from the grasp of Cerberus.

_...(purpose behind implants fundamentally different) ... (recovered on Mars intended to enhance physical capabilities, several components provide opportunities to allow remote control)... (cannot find any such components amongst Shepard's implants) ... (the function behind some of Commander's modifications remains unclear) ... (require more data) ... (possibly boosts speed of tissue regeneration, suspicion only) ... (observe unusually fast recovery from injuries?) _

Karin Chakwas slips deep in her thoughts, feeling only slightly relieved. Shepard has always been fairly fortunate as far as serious injuries are concerned, mostly due to the nature of her preferred way of engaging the enemy, using stealth and infiltration, staying clear of the frontlines. There was that one time where she was seriously wounded on Ilium, Chakwas remembers it well. She had expected Shepard to be out of the action for several days, she had proscribed forty-eight hours of bed rest, but that red-maned devil had been prancing around after twelve hours, and much to her dismay, Chakwas had been forced to admit that her injuries had already healed.

_I guess that qualifies as unusually fast recovery_, she thinks at herself, pulling the old record of that incident, all the relevant data readings and attaches the file to her reply to Dr. Palmer, asking him to continue his investigation. _I will not rest until I know exactly what Cerberus did to you, Shepard,_ she promises to herself. _I owe that much to you, child._

* * *

Garrus carefully opens one eye, watching the movements of Dr. Chakwas. She has just risen from her seat at the computer and appears to be yawning, likely considering getting a few hours of rest. Suddenly, she swirls around quickly to stare at him and the eye snaps shut immediately. _Did she notice? Spirits, I hope not._

There are more rustling sounds of Dr. Chakwas' lab coat as she steps up to his bed and leans down just to make sure, and Garrus attempts to relax and breathe deeply, trying to fool the good doctor of being fast asleep. Eventually, Chakwas appears convinced and retreats, walking out of the medbay. Garrus waits for a few more minutes, knowing how sneaky Karin Chakwas can be, she has already caught him twice when he got out of the bed immediately after she had left, quickly returning to catch him in his crime.

This time, it seems that Chakwas is not about to return and Garrus slips out of the bed and approaches the computer console, switching it back on. The krogan is still sleeping and snoring and not even an elcor chorus could distract Mordin from his research, everyone ignores him and Garrus is free to spend a few minutes poking around the extranet, before the spiking headache forces him to quit and crawl back to the bed.

First he checks the few extranet sites they both visit and occasionally use to keep touch, when possible. The depressing pattern repeats itself. 'Chikktikka_24, last online 103 days ago', 'Chikkiewikkie_2161 has been offline for 103 days', 'Fastpaws24, account deleted due to inactivity'. 'No new messages for Snagglepuss29' .

Garrus sighs deeply. _That's the last time I'm letting her pick nicknames for me. Not that I'm much better myself... Archangel._ He sighs again. _Nah, who am I kidding. If you were here, I'd let you pick whatever names you want for me, my Chiktikka. If only I knew where you are now..._

He browses a few more sites quickly, starting to feel that irritating tingle in his temples, knowing the headache is approaching fast. The next extranet page requires an authorization to access the C-Sec records of turian refugees arriving on the Citadel. Quickly he does a search for the name 'Vakarian', but comes up empty.

The next and last site is one that he absolutely loathes to browse. Lists of confirmed casualties on Palaven. _Probably listing only one fifth of those dead, if not less,_ he thinks grimly, his fingers struggling to enter his family name in the search criteria. He hesitates just briefly before hitting the search button. The wait takes agonizing twenty seconds that feel like twenty minutes if not more.

"No match found," beeps the console and he exhales in relief. His hopes might die one day, he is keenly aware of that. But it won't be today.

"Spirits, please," he whispers, switching off the console and pressing his head against the cool surface of the desk. "I have never asked anything of you, but please... keep them safe..."


	61. Rescue a la Wrex

**Chapter 60 - Rescue **_**a la Wrex**_

Wrex flies the shuttle with surprising skill and confidence, and the heavy Kodiak responds well to his handling, gliding smoothly on its approach towards the Prothean digsite on Eden Prime. The idyllic sights of the agrarian world not yet touched by the Reapers, green farmlands with patches of housings between them, everything is at odds with the memories of Morgan's last visit here, landing amongst smoke and gunfire, the place ravaged by the numerous geth forces.

"Eden Prime. Where it all began," Liara says thoughtfully, looking at the view outside the shuttle. "The Prothean beacon that gave you the vision that warned us about the Reapers."

"Yeah, I really should have listened more carefully to my mom's warnings when growing up," Shepard chuckles. "_Don't touch any strange alien devices, Morgan!_ Oh... what's the worst that could happen, huh?"

"Performing simulations of the scenario in which Commander Shepard did not use the Prothean beacon on Eden Prime," EDI says, remaining silent for a few moments, and the others regard her curiously. "Analysis show Reaper invasion through the Citadel relay inevitable."

"EDI is right, Morgan," Liara smiles. "If you hadn't touched the beacon... we would not be standing here, with a fighting chance. Your actions on that day have led us here."

"Don't sell yourself short, Liara," Shepard replies, smiling at her. "If not for you, I would have never understood the meaning of those visions, so you brought us this far as much as I did."

Liara blushes, appearing unwilling to accept the praise, but EDI interjects. "Commander Shepard's assessment is essentially correct. My database scans fail to identify another individual possessing the necessary knowledge of the Prothean lore in combination with the ability to meld consciousness."

"See Liara, we were just meant to be together," Shepard grins like a fool, sauntering up to her lover and wrapping an arm around her waist. "Written in the stars and all that romantic sappy stuff."

Liara merely rolls her eyes before allowing herself a tender smile, but then Wrex butts in from the pilot's seat. "Heh, tell yourself what you want, you all know that without me doing all the heavy lifting, you would never get anything done," he chuckles.

"We love you too, Wrex," Shepard replies, smile not leaving her lips. _It's so good to have Wrex along and back in action, even if it's just for a brief bit._ "Are we there yet?" she adds.

"Going to land a little away from the digsite," Wrex says. "Can't see any Cerberus around, but just in case to save your pilot doing a new paint job."

"Scans indicate minimal Cerberus presence around the digsite," EDI informs them with surprising news.

"That's strange, considering how valuable this artifact is supposed to be," Shepard says, rubbing her chin thoughtfully. "Maybe it's already been taken off-world?"

"Alliance intelligence suggests the recovered artifact remains on premises," EDI says. "I am obtaining comm chatter indicating heavy fighting in a larger settlement nearby. Perhaps the Cerberus forces have been recalled to deal with operation launched by Eden Prime resistance."

"Or perhaps they have simply broken for lunch," Shepard shrugs as Wrex lands the Kodiak, as softly as some of the better landings by Steve Cortez. "So, we still don't know anything about the nature of this artifact? Could it be related to Hackett's project?"

"What project?" Wrex looks curious as they get out of the shuttle to take their first steps on the solid ground of Eden Prime.

"Right, just try not to share this with half of Tuchanka, Wrex, but we're building a Prothean super-weapon that will help us defeat the Reapers," Shepard explains.

Wrex looks unimpressed. "Don't waste your time with crap like that," he shrugs. "What do you need some super-weapon for if you'll have krogan on your side?"

Liara gently pats Wrex on the arm. "Compelling argument, Wrex, but I would feel much safer with both Crucible and the krogan," she smiles, then turning back towards Shepard. "Well, this is the same site that stored the Prothean beacon that warned us about the Reapers. It is possible that another discovery here would be connected to the Reaper threat and the Crucible."

"Fair point," Shepard nods, urging the others to get moving towards the digsite. "Maybe we can get in and out before Cerberus lunch break has ended."

"There is no data or evidence to support your claim about Cerberus forces being on a... lunch break," EDI somehow manages to sound frustrated.

"Stop trying to defeat my blind and irrational hope with your logic, EDI," Shepard snickers. Her smile fades quickly as she looks around the buildings of the small colony, walls riddled with bullets and smeared with blood, colonist corpses lying here and there, the bodies already starting to decompose. _Such a beautiful place, why is it such a magnet for disaster? These people do not deserve it, nobody does,_ Shepard thinks. _And eventually the Reapers will arrive here to finish the job, unless we stop them._

They walk between the rows of houses, the digsite spreading before them, recognizable shape of recovered tall Prothean structures reaching out from the excavated site. "Sticking out like bits of old bones," Shepard can't help but to remark.

Liara and EDI quickly rush up to the edge of the digsite to look at what Cerberus have uncovered below, but all they see is more and more structures of similar shape to the beacon, but merely just remnants of Prothean architecture. "Dr. T'Soni," EDI starts to speak. "Have you ever encountered dinosaur fossils during your digs?"

"No, no, dinosaurs and other fossils would be paleontology," Liara replies, completely serious. "My field is archeology, I study artifacts left by sentient species. The two fields are completely different and... wait, you could not have been unaware of this. You were joking," she gives EDI a reproachful stare.

"I was not," EDI replies, equally serious. "Jokes tend to have specific structure. I was merely... messing with you."

"Hey, don't do that ever again, EDI," Shepard says, corners of her lips tugging into a smile. "Liara has a hard time always being the butt of my jokes, she doesn't need you having fun at her expense too."

"That is so kind of you, Shepard," Liara grumbles, playfully elbowing her in the stomach as she strides past. "Now come, follow me. I see an elevator leading into the digsite."

They rush past some scattered crates and an abandoned Mako with Cerberus logo painted on the side, reaching a little bridge running to the center of the digsite and a computer console at the top of the elevator. The bridge creaks ominously under Wrex's weight, but fortunately holds. Liara is the first to jump to the console, starting to examine it, EDI peering over her shoulder, Shepard content to allow them to satisfy their curiosity.

"Operating the console will likely trigger alarms and alert Cerberus to our presence," EDI warns.

"We don't have much choice," Liara replies, hitting a button to activate the elevator. She continues to read the data on the console. "What they have found... oh goddess, it does not seem possible!"

"What is it, Liara?" Shepard asks, then noticing that the elevator coming up is not empty, but it is carrying something vaguely coffin-shaped. _That looks very familiar somehow... I've seen something like that already, I'm sure... stasis pods?_

"You remember seeing them before, I trust?" Liara asks, as the elevator stops, revealing the oddly shaped stasis pod.

"That looks like something we saw on Ilos," Wrex remarks, his memory and astuteness surprising Shepard.

"Yeah, I remember it too," Morgan nods. "But everyone inside those pods on Ilos were dead. This one has to be-"

"It is operational, Shepard," Liara breathes out, looking pale, her arms trembling from the unbelievable excitement. "The readings are unmistakable, this pod has never lost its power supply like those on Ilos. It is active even now," the asari says, scanning the pod with her omni-tool. "Shepard, this is... incredible! We were looking for some artifact to help us with the Crucible, but this... this could be so much more helpful! Imagine what he could teach us!"

"Careful, Liara, breathe," Shepard reminds her with a smile on her lips. "If we manage to get the Prothean out of there alive, let's not assume he will be immediately cooperative."

"Everything I have learned about the Protheans suggest to me that they were a noble race, interested in helping other species and committed to inter-species cooperation," Liara states passionately. "They uplifted countless other species to help them join the galactic community! Their cultural and artistic expression are actually quite close to the ancient asari. If we can open the pod, I am certain that the Prothean will help us!"

_That sounded like idealization unlike my usually rational and logical Liara,_ Shepard inwardly shakes her head. _Well, I'm not going to argue, and who knows, she might be right. I just hope that the grim reality doesn't shatter her dreams and illusions..._ "Well, with the galaxy's best expert on the Protheans at our side, I'm sure we'll get him to cooperate," she only says, giving Liara an encouraging smile.

"I will do my best to help," Liara replies with a smile of her own. "This single Prothean is probably the foremost scientist of his time... or perhaps the wisest counselor..." She continues to scan the stasis pod while talking. "Ah... Cerberus have mishandled the pod while moving it. The life signs are unstable."

"Right, so let's break him out and get him out of there," Wrex decides, stomping towards the pod with clear intent, reaching out to rip the pod's cover wide open.

"No! No, don't!" Liara exclaims loudly, making Shepard worry that every Cerberus soldier in the near vicinity has heard her. The asari throws herself in Wrex's path, almost trying to charge him, but deflecting from the krogan's bulky frame like a rubber ball from a stone wall.

"What exactly are you doing?" Wrex blinks, staring at Liara, sitting on the elevator floor and shaking her dizzy head.

"Looked like she tried to head-butt you," Shepard says thoughtfully. "She does that, you see. She's my little quarter krogan."

Liara glares up at Shepard, then turning to Wrex. "Uh... don't open the pod, Wrex, or you'll kill him," she says as EDI helps her get back up to her feet. "We have to find the command signal that ends the stasis mode, as well as a way to physically open the pod without doing more damage."

"Cerberus would have been searching for similar information," EDI remarks. "It is likely that some of these surrounding buildings house their laboratories, which could contain the data we need."

"And speaking of Cerberus..." Wrex says, pointing in the distance. There is a clearly recognizable vessel approaching the digsite, for now just one of their shuttles.

"Looks like the lunch break is over," Shepard chuckles, checking the ammo of her sniper rifle. "Alright, people, let's get into positions and give these suckers a proper greeting!"

* * *

"Wrex... wielding the body of that poor nemesis as a club is just wrong," Shepard says, rolling her eyes, impressed with the carnage the krogan has left in his wake.

"And why is that?" Wrex growls, throwing the mangled, broken body aside and it rolls into a nearby ditch.

"...it's just inhumane," Shepard replies.

"Well, it's very krogan, that's why it must be so effective," Wrex grins broadly.

"Urdnot Wrex is displaying admirable efficiency... as well as large degree of reckless abandon," EDI comments, her voice almost managing to sound approving. "Observing the carnage in his path gives greater insights into the concerns of Dalatrass Linron."

"You're not doing shabby yourself, EDI," Shepard tells her new squadmate. It is true, EDI has been extremely useful, from simple hacking to overloading the enemy shields and extremely accurate weapons fire. But even more impressive is the AI's ability to work as a part of the group, having analyzed the patterns in the actions of Shepard and her crew, she adjusts her behavior instantly. Morgan is able to act without having to worry how EDI might react, displaying immediate synergy of the same level that Shepard has developed with Liara and Wrex over many, many months spent chasing Saren.

"Thank you, Shepard," the AI replies. "Your approval is of great value to me."

The labs are close by and another Cerberus squad lays entrenched in their path, but the combined abilities of Shepard's group are too much for their opponents, troopers sent flying by Liara's singularities, the rest disabled by EDI and left vulnerable to Wrex's charge, which leaves very little for Shepard to mop up with her sniper rifle. The Cerberus labs contain several Prothean artifacts that they have been studying, and Morgan stops to reach out and take one of them, forgetting what effect touching strange and mysterious alien relics usually has on her. Immediately, memories of ancient times accost her mind.

_Reaper destroyers, several of them, ravaging an unmistakably Prothean landscape. Platoon of soldiers standing in their way, the green rays of their pulse rifles making little impact on the destroyer armor. They look familiar... Collectors! Wait, no... of course not, these are Protheans, the real ones. The sickeningly familiar red particle beams of the Reapers wipe them out, group by group. _

There is a recording, a memory, of an assault on some kind of a base. The destroyers wander in the near vicinity, as the complex is assaulted by hundreds and hundreds of Collectors. The Protheans fight valiantly to hold the base, but it seems only a matter of time before the superior Reaper forces break through. There are scattered stasis pods around the base, mostly damaged ones, and the complex itself looks a little like the facilities on Ilos. _Except that it can't be Ilos, can it? The Reapers never went there._

Shepard sees one of the Protheans stepping up to a damaged pod and pressing on a panel to reveal a small touch screen. His fingers quickly input the commands, and they burn itself into her mind as the cover of the pod lifts to reveal a charred corpse inside, the body's position suggesting death in terrible agony, struggling to get the pod open from the inside but failing to do so.

The desperate plan of the Protheans is simple. Put enough of their people into these stasis pods, clear all the Reapers from the planet by initiating neutron purge, end stasis when the Reapers have finally retreated back to the dark space. There is a memory of the last Prothean ordering a VI to broadcast the stasis readiness to all the pods, and Shepard senses the signal, confident of being able to replicate it. She shakes herself free from the memory, giving herself a few moments to steady her thoughts before stepping away from the Prothean artifact.

"I think I've got it," she nods slowly. "Bless Shiala and that Prothean Cipher, without it we would have been as stumped as Cerberus."

"Let's get back to the pod, quickly!" Liara exclaims hurriedly, about to run out of the lab, but Wrex grabs her by the hand, halting her.

"Easy there, don't get yourself killed," he growls warningly. "While you were busy admiring ancient crap, our friends have prepared a welcoming party outside."

Shepard activates her cloaking, leaning out through the doors to take a peek. There are at least twelve of the Cerberus shock troops waiting for them, and this time they have brought engineers who have already set up turrets. "EDI and I can disable the turret to our right," Liara offers.

"Good. I guess I will just handle EVERYTHING ELSE!" Wrex roars, rushing out of the lab building, his sudden battle cry startling a few of the enemies, one of the troopers even managing to drop his assault rifle at the sight of a krogan charging at him. Wrex grabs the suddenly limp trooper and throws him right on top of the active turret and its burst fire quickly tears several new holes in the unfortunate trooper's abdomen. The krogan is already upon the turret and knocks it over with a mighty kick, before raising a shotgun and blowing a brand new ventilation shaft in the nearby engineer's chest. EDI and Liara destroy the other turret, while Shepard teaches the enemy snipers to keep the top of their heads in cover too, but the two foes will not be able to benefit from this newfound wisdom, on the account of being quite dead.

"Right, let's take care of this before more Cerberus show up, it's starting to get a bit annoying," Shepard says, leading her friends towards the recovered pod. "Let's see... the signal first," Liara nods at that, wrenching her hands hopefully, no doubt uttering all possible prayers to her goddess that the Prothean inside is unharmed and alive. "Alright, here goes nothing," Morgan finishes fiddling with her omni-tool, sending the signal, and the pod responds immediately, a panel slides open, allowing her to enter the necessary data input to unlock it.

The cover slides open agonizingly slowly, and Liara is reaching up on her toes, peering over Shepard's shoulder, trying to see what is inside the pod. "Goddess... this is incredible..." she exclaims close to Morgan's ear, seeing the armored shape of a living Prothean lying inside, covered with a sheen of frost.

"I've seen so many of them as those twisted Collectors... it will be... interesting to have someone like him on our side," Shepard says thoughtfully. "Assuming he will be interested in joining us."

"Doesn't seem to be able to do much," Wrex shrugs. "Looks dead to me," he says, reaching inside the pod to poke the Prothean, Liara quickly stopping him again.

"Life signs are spiking... still spiking... slowly returning to normal," EDI speaks, monitoring the Prothean's vital attributes. "It is recommended to allow him to regain consciousness on his own."

The Prothean himself does not appear content with taking things slowly, however. As soon as his four yellow eyes snap open, his shape immediately crackles with green biotic energy, throwing them all back into a heap, fortunately with Wrex underneath and not squishing anyone to their death. The Prothean then leaps out of his pod, but stumbles as soon as he hits the solid ground, unsteady, taking a few steps and then collapsing. He gets up to his feet, staring at them, backing off as if in fear and turning to run, falling again and almost tumbling down from the bridge and into the digsite.

"Careful, he is confused!" Liara warns as they slowly approach him, trying not to appear threatening, which is increasingly difficult in Wrex's presence. "Remember, it's been 50,000 years for us, but for him it's only been a few minutes. Give him time to gather his bearings."

"Does he even understand us?" Shepard steps closer, carefully, as the Prothean remains on his knees, looking around the digsite, his eyes widening slightly as he notices the remnants of the Prothean architecture. Suddenly, the Prothean whirls around and grabs her hand in his, immediately a sea of images washing over her mind, the sharing of visions and memories impossible to resist or block, and she surrenders to them, recordings of the last few moments in the life of this Prothean, before the stasis pod trapped him for what feels like eternity.

The Prothean releases her hand, and the images break. "How many others?" He suddenly asks, and she is surprised of being able to understand him. Looking at the others, it appears that they understand their new acquaintance as well.

"None," Shepard shakes her head. "The neutron purge compromised the facility... but you know that, those were your memories I saw, weren't they." The Prothean nods slowly. "How come you can even understand me?" she asks.

"I have read your physiology, your nervous system, it was enough to understand your simplistic language," the Prothean explains plainly, his hoarse voice stating a simple fact, without meaning to insult.

"Okay, that's... I guess it needed to be done, but please, no more touching. It's a bit overwhelming and creepy," Shepard says sternly, before giving him an evaluating stare. "What happened to your people in that vision... is happening to my people right now."

"The cycle is upon you?" the Prothean asks, suddenly interested. "You are fighting the Reapers?"

"Yes, we are," Liara steps forth, giving the Prothean that certain dissecting look that Shepard remembers the asari eyeing her with upon learning that she carried the knowledge of the Prothean beacon in her mind. "We would be honored to have you fight alongside us."

"I am sure, but... is this what the galaxy's hopes rest on in this cycle?" the Prothean's stare now is disbelieving, almost condescending. "Asari and humans, beyond the Reaper notice as too primitive in our cycle, leading the battle in this cycle? How the mighty have fallen," he shakes his head dismissively.

EDI comes closer as well to speak. "My analysis have shown that the technological advancement of the asari and the humans have come close to the level achieved by the Protheans at the height of their empire."

The Prothean gives the AI a hateful stare. "A synthetic?" he growls, then looking at Shepard. "Human, this is not a good beginning. I do not approve of working with a synthetic."

"Well, tough," Shepard says. "I have grown to trust EDI. You, on the other hand, I know nothing of. If I'll have to choose..."

"Please! I'm sure we can get along just fine," Liara speaks pleadingly. "I can assure you that EDI is completely devoted to fighting the Reapers alongside us," she tells the Prothean.

"We will see..." their new and reluctant ally replies thoughtfully, then moving past them to approach Wrex. "And this is even worse," he says, raising a hand to point at Wrex. "You have brought a krog-"

A heavy fist lands in the Prothean's face, dropping him like a sack of potatoes, at the same time as Liara lets out a scream of anguish. "Wrex!" she shouts. "What are you doing, you... you... you krogan!"

"Your insults could really use some work, Liara," Wrex just snorts. "Besides, I thought he was going to touch me. I'm not letting anyone mess with my head. Well, except that asa-"

"Not the time, Wrex!" Shepard hastily interrupts, realizing that Liara is going through enough emotional turmoil right now, fussing over the unconscious Prothean and definitely not deserving to be traumatized by the mental images of Wrex and Aethyta.

"I can't believe we just found a real living Prothean and he was knocked out by a krogan..." Liara sighs, checking the unfortunate Prothean's life signs, then exhaling with relief. "Well, he's just knocked out cold. Hopefully he will still want to join us after he comes to..."

"Let's just leave him no option and bring him to the Normandy while he's unconscious," Morgan suggests, giving Wrex a glare. "And for knocking him out, you'll get to carry him back to the shuttle."

"I am not touching him," Wrex backs off, looking resentful. "Besides, he was annoying me."

Shepard sighs. "EDI, would you be so kind as to..."

"It will be my pleasure, Shepard," EDI replies, quickly gathering the heavy Prothean in her synthetic arms and carrying him back towards the shuttle. The others follow, Shepard noticing Liara picking up some kind of a shard from the stasis pod and then catching up with the group.

"Well, this has been quite the day, hasn't it?" Morgan smiles at Liara as the asari settles in to walk by her side.

"Yes, it has," her lover replies softly. "I can still scarcely believe it all. A real, living Prothean. Today we spoke with a real, living Prothean!"

"We did, yes," Morgan reaches out and takes Liara's hand, feeling the asari's excitement bubbling over, as she gives a stare to their krogan, walking ahead of them. "...and then Wrex punched him in the face..."


	62. Meet Prothy, the Prothean

**Chapter 61 - Meet Prothy, the Prothean**

"Couldn't you have found a better place for him than the cargo hold?" Liara looks a little upset, pacing outside the Prothean's new quarters, glaring at the two Alliance soldiers stationed outside the doors. "And is this security truly necessary? He might take offense at such undeserved treatment."

Shepard has just finished reporting the surprising news of recovery of a living Prothean to Admiral Hackett, and she herself is a little surprised about the soldiers swarming the engineering deck. "I guess someone has dusted off the regs for first contact protocol with new species," she shrugs, then facing the two Alliance soldiers standing on guard. "Dismissed. We'll take it from here, boys."

"Thank you, Shepard," Liara whispers as the soldiers walk away and they both enter the cargo bay. The Prothean is sitting on his knees on the floor, almost like meditating, but his eyes are wide open, staring at the floor in front of him. As he notices their arrival, he slowly rises and faces Shepard with what seems like a challenging stare.

"I told the guards outside to bugger off," Shepard speaks, holding the Prothean's gaze. "Was I right to do so?"

"That depends on you," the Prothean replies hoarsely, swiftly reaching towards Shepard and grabbing her hand before she can withdraw it. Again, a flood of distressing images washes over her, like a slideshow depicting the extinction of Prothean species. In turn, their new guest seems to be drawing on her feelings, her emotions. "I sense fear in you. Anxiety and distress. The Reapers are winning."

Shepard breaks free from his grasp, angrily swatting his hands away. "Don't fucking do that ever again, not without a permission... which won't be coming anytime soon," she snarls.

"Shepard, please," Liara looks at her pleadingly. "Think of what we can learn this way!" Morgan is about to suggest that Liara can let the Prothean touch her all she wants, but then quickly decides that she definitely does **not** want to see that happening, and chokes back the comment. "It is simply amazing the way you are able to communicate your feelings, your memories, all by simple touch!" Liara gushes, staring almost adoringly at the Prothean. "I take that your beacons are built to work the same way?" she asks.

"You found one of the beacons?" he looks at Liara.

"That was me," Shepard says. "Being the reckless fool I am, I let myself touch it and it burned that warning, the distress signal in my brain."

"You saw our destruction, our warnings?" the Prothean exclaims angrily at her. "Why didn't you heed them? Why didn't you prepare for the Reapers?"

"We did manage to delay the invasion for three years, actually. That was more than your species managed, I believe?" Shepard snaps back. "Besides, it was difficult to convince others that the images from the beacon were real, not merely a figment of my imagination."

The Prothean gives her that snide and dismissive look again. "I see that communication remains extremely primitive in this cycle."

"Primitive?" Shepard fumes. "Well, excuse me, but I don't see what's so great about your method of communication. I rather like being able to shake someone's hand without being traumatized by flashbacks of them receiving their potty training."

"Well, at least you managed to delay your extinction," their guest admits grudgingly.

"And now we have your plans for the Crucible," Liara says proudly. "The super-weapon that was supposed to destroy the Reapers. We have started building it." The Prothean gives her an extremely blank stare. "The... weapon your people were working on?" Liara becomes hesitant, then bringing up the Crucible blueprints with her omni-tool. "I hoped you would know of it. We need help to finish it."

The Prothean stares at the blueprints for a long time, then shrugging. "I know our scientists were convinced it would help defeat the Reapers, but we never finished it. It was too late." His stare falls on Shepard. "I know nothing of this weapon. I am a soldier, not a scientist. I am skilled in one art and one art only: killing Reapers. Only when the last Reaper has been destroyed will my purpose be satisfied. I have no other reason to exist."

Shepard sighs, her heart aching at the briefly devastated expression on Liara's face, her lover quickly managing to regroup and hide her disappointment. _So much for the wisest counselor or prime scientist of his time. This one is not only extremely irritating and arrogant, he is also completely useless to us. Though, I suppose one more gun against the Reapers won't hurt. And a Prothean fighting at our side would be a powerful symbol._

The Prothean turns towards her. "Those who share my purpose become my allies. Those who do not, become casualties," he says coldly.

"I already told you that we're fighting the Reapers," Shepard shrugs. "I see no need to repeat myself."

"I have seen your thoughts... Commander," the Prothean says with an annoyingly knowing stare. "You still cling to the hope that you can win this war while keeping your honor intact. Abandon these thoughts. When you will stand in the ashes of trillion dead souls, ask their ghosts and they will tell you that your precious honor matters little."

_Three hundred thousand batarians maybe are not trillions, but the Butcher of Aratoht has no honor left to keep intact. She can just hope to restore some of it, to take a few steps on the road to redemption,_ Shepard thinks grimly, noticing Liara watching her with a soft, sorrowful look in her eyes. "I don't talk to ghosts," she finally says hoarsely. "And if you imply that I am not prepared to do what it takes to end this war, then your much vaunted means of communication and extracting memories are doing a poor job."

Liara steps up to the Prothean, looking determined to change the pattern of the conversation, handing a case with the shard from the stasis pod to their guest. "I assume this belongs to you," she says. "What is it?"

"A memory shard," the Prothean says.

"It does not have any useful information on the Crucible?" Liara asks.

"No... it contains only pain," comes the reply. Four unsettling yellow eyes turn to stare fiercely at Shepard. "I cannot help you build this weapon. But I can help you fight, if you would have me."

Shepard gives a brief glance to the hopeful and excited looking Liara, overjoyed at the thought of retaining the Prothean on the Normandy. _I hope I don't come to regret this decision, but really, I can't do this to her, there's only one answer I can give here._ "You may remain onboard, as long as you agree to take orders from me," Shepard says, the Prothean simply nodding, as if her comment was something self-explanatory.

The Prothean seems satisfied and almost as if expecting them to go away and stop bothering him, when Liara speaks up again. "I was hoping that you might answer a few more questions for me," she says a little nervously, wringing her hands. "I have written over a dozen articles on your species. My work has been published in several journals," a hint of pride slips into her voice.

"Asari have mastered writing?" the Prothean says, his voice completely flat. "How very amusing."

"I'm sorry, what?" Liara looks at him, confused, while Shepard silently grits her teeth.

_Treat her well or get spaced, you arrogant piece of shit,_ Shepard chants mentally. "Just answer her questions, and try not to be such a dick about it."

Liara immediately jumps on the opportunity, starting to pepper the Prothean with her questions, first about their sensory abilities, wanting to know everything in great detail about it, and Shepard soon begins to grow bored from the increasingly complicated terms and explanations. "So, you can read something from any object that way?" she bluntly butts into the discussion, sensing that Liara isn't about to stop anytime soon. "What about this room?"

Their guest drops on one knee and presses the tips of his two long fingers against the floor. "Liquid? A form of... incubation?" he ventures. "I see DNA belonging to a krogan. He was strong, prone to violence."

"So like any other krogan," Shepard grins. "But you are right, these were Grunt's quarters during his stay on the Normandy."

"Please, Shepard, this isn't the time for unnecessary tests or games," Liara berates her, making Morgan blink in surprise. "Let us not squander this opportunity, but use it to ask something important and relevant. Such as... how was the Prothean government structured? Or perhaps something about your religious beliefs? Or what about-"

"You call that important, asari?" the Prothean shakes his head dismissively. "Do not be foolish. We are dead now, and this knowledge benefits nobody. All that matters now is how to best the Reapers."

"I'm sorry... I did not wish to offend," the very fact that Liara is apologizing when it is the Prothean who is being increasingly rude, fuels Shepard's anger even more. "Studying your history has been a lifelong passion of mine."

"Pointless squandering of your talents, I'm sure," the Prothean shrugs. "When I was born, my planet was already burning under the Reaper onslaught. The things you ask about no longer had any meaning or importance. It is enough to know that we were the dominant race of our cycle and that we ruled the galaxy."

"My studies indicate that you were the only race engaged in space travel at the time," Liara says, undeterred at their guest's dismissive tone. "Was that true?"

"The Prothean Empire was composed of many subjects. All eventually called themselves 'Prothean'. Except those who decided to oppose us instead. Many tried, but none succeeded," comes the grim reply.

"I had no idea Protheans were so..." Liara hesitates, looking for the appropriate word. "...severe."

"Not the word I'd have chosen," Shepard says, scowling at the Prothean.

"Such severity was forced by necessity. Very early we encountered the dangers posed by machine intelligence. They rebelled against us, and we saw that the only way to defeat them was to unite all organic life within our empire. We were about to defeat the machines in the Metacon War, when the Reapers arrived and with dismay, we realized that the machines had long since surpassed us in ways beyond our imagination."

"That explains the reaction towards EDI," Liara nods thoughtfully. "While we have had our... differences with the synthetics, I will be happy to vouch for EDI's unwavering loyalty."

"Yes, you will need to work alongside EDI if you want to stay onboard of the ship," Shepard agrees, watching the Prothean's expression become even more sour. _He'll be so thrilled to hear about the geth, I'm sure,_ she sighs inwardly. _Perhaps we shouldn't continue this line of questioning, just in case..._ "Back on Eden Prime, you clearly expected that more of your people would have survived into this cycle," she bluntly changes the subject again.

"Yes. Under my leadership, a new Prothean Empire would have arisen," the Prothean explains. "We would have commanded the races of your time to prepare for the next Reaper invasion. But we were betrayed from within by indoctrinated agents, and the Reapers discovered our plan."

Shepard exchanges a worried glance with Liara, both thinking back to their recent talk, the words of the Prothean preying on their fears of the threat to Crucible's safety. _I need to learn to trust Hackett when he says that they are taking extreme care with the indoctrination threats,_ she tells herself. _Gods, it's so much harder with things beyond my control. _

"I have countless other questions, but I do not wish to overwhelm," Liara then says, Shepard noticing that she looks a little glum after the mention of the indoctrination threat. "It can wait for another time."

"I can hardly wait," the Prothean replies. "I must say, this whole conversation has been... most amusing."

"I don't remember anything particularly funny about it," Shepard shrugs.

"The mere discovery that the most primitive races of my time now rule the galaxy? The asari, the humans, the turians..."

"There's also the salarians," Liara remarks.

"The lizard people evolved?" the Prothean stares at her in disbelief.

"I believe they are amphibian," Liara says, folding her arms across her chest, her voice dropping a few levels to reach a frosty tone.

Their guest gives her an uncomfortably long stare. "They used to eat flies," he says then. "And we used to eat their livers. Raw. The greatest delicacy of our cycle."

Liara looks disgusted as she proudly lifts her chin and turns around, keeping her head high and walking away. "Smoothly done," Shepard growls at their Prothean guest.

"She wanted to learn more about my species. I merely told her what she wished to know," he shrugs in response, then giving her another long look. "Commander. You may count on me to pull my weight in battle. I am known as Javik."

"You may be known as Javik," Shepard says, turning around to catch up with Liara. "But I'll be calling you Prothy the Prothean. I suggest you get used to it."

Ignoring the way that Javik's clenched fists briefly glow with the green biotic energy, Shepard rushes out of the cargo hold, glad to see Liara standing at the elevator and waiting on her. "Not quite what we expected, is he?" she asks softly.

"No. Not at all what I expected," Liara replies quietly. "But despite everything, I am sure he has plenty of stories to tell. Getting him to share those stories will be the hard part."

"Your plate is really filling up fast," Shepard remarks. "The Broker work, the Crucible blueprints, and now a real, living Prothean. His name is Javik, by the way. I still insist we call him Prothy like Joker suggested."

"I do not want him to react poorly to my interrogation, so I think I should call him Javik," Liara says, then taking Morgan's hands in hers."And you listed a lot of important things, indeed. I have not read the Broker data feeds for almost twenty hours, and my work on the Crucible plans has all but ceased. Yet, I feel that it is more important for us to spend some time together, just the two of us. There have been too few opportunities for it as of late."

"I was hoping you would say that," Morgan grins, pressing the button to summon the elevator and take them both up to her quarters. "I have my own reports to write, rounds to make, and so on, but... I can delay all that for the next few hours. We'll switch off all comms."

Up in Shepard's quarters, the first thing Liara does is to kick off her boots and sigh in relief, wiggling her toes. "I would not say no to a shower first, though," she says. "Wash off the sweat and grime from Eden Prime."

"Nice rhyme," Shepard grins. "Oh boy, I did it too," she breaks out in laughter, Liara joining her. "And yes, I could use a shower as well," Morgan adds, a little more seriously. "As you know, Dr. T'Soni, our water recycling system demands that we conserve this precious resource as much as we can. Thus, I propose that we take our shower together," she finishes by winking at Liara.

"I knew you were going to say that," Liara replies. "You know, I'm not sure we end up conserving any water that way. In fact, I suspect the exact opposite."

"You know you want to, Dr. T'Soni," Shepard teases. "I'll even let you wash my hair. You love that, don't you?" she adds, watching Liara practically tremble from temptation and desire, Shepard marveling at the reaction that this newly discovered fetish towards her hair brings out in her lover.

"Damnation, Morgan, you do not play fair," Liara smiles in gracious defeat, slowly stripping off the rest of her armor, before slipping into the shower, gloriously nude and Shepard wastes no more time in undressing and joining her.

Half an hour later they are laying splayed out on the bed, Shepard on her back and staring out the port window in the 'loft' as Liara snuggles up to her side, burying her face in Morgan's still wet strands, inhaling the scent of her favorite shampoo, something that is supposed to represent wildflowers, but Morgan doesn't actually have the reference to compare it with, she merely enjoys the subtle aroma and judging by the throaty purr Liara makes she is fond of it as well, the asari's naked leg wrapped around Morgan's, moving up and down her skin teasingly.

"You are right, I do love your hair, the scent, the texture, everything about it," Liara sighs softly.

"You're just being strange," Shepard chuckles. "I suppose it's kind of nice, but also rather useless. Unlike your lovely crest, and how... sensitive it is, in the right places," she reaches out to run her fingers alongside Liara's neck and upwards, enjoying the way the asari reacts, immediately pressing against her side tighter.

"Not yet," Liara interrupts her, despite wanting it so much, seizing her hand and moving it away. "I was hoping we could talk a little."

"Of course," Shepard replies, looking deep into her lover's eyes. "Something on your mind?"

"I was going to ask you the same," Liara confesses. "I wanted to know how you feel about where we stand in this war. Are you happy about the progress we've made?"

"I guess I am. I mean, we seem to have done everything we could, up to this point. Shame about the salarians, but it was always going to be them or the krogan. Maybe we can even salvage the rift somehow and manage to get the salarians onboard, at least partly," Shepard replies after a moment of thought. "I'm feeling confident about the genophage cure, I think Mordin will deliver. But..." she remembers her recent talk with Wrex. "It seems that the Reapers have started to mass on Tuchanka. We will have a real battle on our hands."

"Well, it was never going to be easy," Liara says. "It is all that we can do, all that can be asked of us. We can only fight on one front at a time, Morgan."

"Yeah, I know," she sighs. "And it's the fronts that I'm not fighting on that I worry most about. Because I can't do anything about it."

"Earth?" Liara asks. "It's eating at you, isn't it?"

"Earth and Palaven both, every day. I have not checked the news feeds for 72 hours, fearing what I might discover," Shepard confesses. "I will do it later, though. Right now... I wish to put my worries aside for a few hours, at least."

Liara softly rolls on top of her, and she immediately wraps her arms and legs around her lover, feeling the heat in her body increase tenfold from the contact. "Allow me to suggest a way to forget your fears," the asari whispers, her lips brushing against Morgan's cheek, moving on to her mouth, teeth gently grazing her lower lip before claiming a tender kiss. Shepard traces her fingers all the way down Liara's spine, feeling her shiver with delight.

"There's only one way to make me forget all that," she whispers, watching Liara's eyes darkening. "And that is to lose myself in you."


	63. Remembering Nezzy

**Chapter 62 - Remembering Nezzy**

"Commander Shepard? If I may..." as Morgan makes her way past the CIC, she is interrupted by the permanently embarrassed and hesitant looking Specialist Samantha Traynor.

"Yes, what is it, Specialist Traynor?" she asks, trying to appear welcoming, hoping to ease the girl's hesitancy. _I wonder if she's like that with everybody, or is this just some kind of hero worship._

"While you were deployed on Eden Prime, I managed to find something while scanning the Alliance channels," Traynor manages an entire sentence without stuttering. "Or well, EDI found it and I managed to... uh, analyze the crap out of it, so I guess she deserves most of the credit, and-"

"Samantha, please, just calm down and breathe," Morgan steps closer, smiling as she pats the nervous looking specialist on the shoulder. Traynor looks mortified, blushing furiously as she stares at Shepard's hand and she withdraws it immediately. _Oh god, don't tell me it's more than hero worship. She has a crush on me, hasn't she?_ she sighs inwardly. "Now, tell me what you and EDI found out."

"Grissom Academy is requesting help. The Reaper invasion front is approaching them," Traynor explains, relaxing a little bit. "A turian evac transport responded to their distress signal, so... normally I would have said that everything is under control. But... there was something... off about the turian signal. EDI and I performed our analysis and discovered that it was fake. EDI suspects it is Cerberus..."

Shepard nods slowly, fists involuntary clenching. "Yes, fake turian signals are like Tim's trademark," she says, gritting her teeth. "He once used it to lure us to an 'abandoned' Collector ship."

"Yes, ah... EDI mentioned something to that extent," Traynor nods, looking a little worried. "She said I do not want to know the details..."

"Trust me, you don't," Shepard smiles grimly. "So, everyone now thinks that Grissom is being evacuated, and meanwhile Cerberus are moving in to do... whatever it is that they intend to do. I doubt it's anything nice and benevolent."

"What do you think they are after, Commander?" Traynor's voice trembles slightly.

"I don't know, Traynor. But a specialized school filled with biotic children? Could be many reasons, none of them good," Shepard says. "Capture them, fit them out with those Reaper implants they are sticking into their shock troops, get an almost unstoppable, mind-wiped army at your disposal."

"That's... monstrous!" Traynor looks shocked.

"No, that's Cerberus," Shepard says. "Please, Specialist, tell Joker to plot a course to Grissom Academy, ASAP. I'll go organize a squad. Oh, and Traynor. Good job, catching that. Damn good job." She turns around and leaves without seeing the broad grin that slowly spreads on Samantha Traynor's blushing face.

* * *

Liara finishes reading the last of the agent reports with a heavy sigh, leaning back in her chair and closing her eyes, trying to ignore Glyph's chirping and chattering as the info drone hovers around her. Five more agents failing to report in over the past twenty four hours, and she feels as if her spider web is slowly breaking at the seams.

Even more disturbing are the reports the other agents have been sending. New fronts are opening up faster than they can react and counter them, and Reapers are truly so close to being invincible that they do not fear spreading their forces thin across the galaxy. So many worlds have fallen already, including several asari colonies, the humans truly facing the brunt of the attack, their planets requiring evacuation one after another.

And then there are the casualty reports, staggering and demoralizing to look at. Over a billion lives believed to be extinguished on Palaven. Things are even worse on Earth, as Shepard has suspected it might be. The latest estimates put the count of casualties at 2.3 billion. Briefly, Liara considers 'adjusting' these numbers, fearing how seeing them would affect Morgan, but she is a scientist above everything. Forging facts is anathema to her, even to protect someone she loves, she simply cannot bring herself to do so. S_he deserves the truth_, she decides. _I can only be there to soften the blow._

Liara opens her eyes to look at one of the consoles storing the Crucible data. She knows that despite having sent a lot of scientists and engineers to Hackett, it does not make her own research any less important, and yet, the constant stream of depressing news have made it difficult for her to focus on the complicated equations and algorithms, and she realizes that she would be simply wasting her time without getting anything done. _Why did Javik have to be this vengeance obsessed soldier? He can help, yes, but oh how we could have done with a Prothean scientist who had worked on the Crucible,_ she thinks, letting out a heavy sigh. _He's so far from how I imagined a Prothean would be... I'm sure that when I compare my earlier notes on his people with how they truly are, I will feel like a complete and utter fool, a naive idealist and daydreamer. _

Liara rises from the chair, getting angry at herself about this moping even as she realizes there's not much she can do to avoid feeling this way. She eventually heads out of her quarters, determined to find Shepard, hoping that Morgan's company would improve her mood. On the way to the elevator, however, her eyes fall on the doors to the lounge and she feels a strange tug at her heart, compelling the young asari to stop in her tracks. _Maybe I should go and talk a bit with... dad,_ she thinks. _I'm sure she would like that, too. I hope so, at least._

Aethyta is reclining on the sofa as she enters, typing furiously on a datapad propped against her bent knee. She rears her head and regards Liara with a curious, almost surprised expression on her face, but she appears happy to see her daughter. "Decided to check in on your dad?" she asks. "Well, come on in, kid, make yourself at home," Aethyta pats on the sofa next to her and Liara cautiously takes a seat, feeling a little tense, sitting with her back arched straight.

"We have not talked much since that last time when I... uh, knocked myself out with elassa," Liara blushes a little. "I thought we could... talk some more, if you want to."

"Certainly," Aethyta nods. "I'm surprised Shepard has let you out of her sight, she doesn't do that very often."

"I'm more than fine with that arrangement," Liara allows herself a small smile. "She is very good for me."

"Indeed. You could have done worse as far as bondmates go. Don't tell her I said that, though, she's far too smug already," Aethyta chuckles. "You're almost making me curious about what joining with a human would be like. Never gone down that road myself, that's why I cannot offer you any helpful tips, either."

"Ah... that really is **not** necessary," Liara protests weakly.

"I think I'll send her some detailed essays on how to best please an asari lover," Aethyta decides. "Goddess knows, you probably aren't much help to her, with your pathetic experience. Watching your two year dry spell on Nos Astra depressed even me."

Liara finds herself blushing hotly. "This isn't really what I came to talk with you about!"

"Well, I wasn't there to give you The Talk when you were growing up, so I'm making up for it now," Aethyta grins broadly, as Liara just groans. "But very well, what did you want to talk about then?"

"You know that mother never mentioned you to me," Liara says softly, watching how Aethyta's face immediately falls at the mention of Benezia. "I... wanted to know more about your relationship. I understand that you might not want to speak of it, but... I feel it is important for me to know."

"A fair request," Aethyta eventually agrees. "Nezzy and I were together for more than a century. I... loved her. She was so smart, always thinking. And nice too, hell of a lot nicer than I am. I think I mentioned her rack already, but it **is** an important detail."

"Let's not go there again," Liara sighs.

"How did my daughter turn out to be such a prude?" Aethyta chuckles. "Anyway, Nezzy was also the only one who listened when I said that our people were stuck in the past. Where we disagreed was that I wanted for us to stand on our own, when she wanted to work with other species and build alliances."

"No offense, dad, but I think I'll side with mother on that point," Liara says. "Do you think that's why..."

"Why it all ended? Nah. Well, maybe... I don't know," Aethyta shrugs her shoulders. "She just wanted to solve things the smart way. I wanted to fight."

"Those means aren't mutually exclusive," Liara shakes her head. "I prefer to solve things in a non-violent way, but I will fight when it's necessary. And Shepard thrives on conflict, but she occasionally thinks her way out of trouble, too. Though, yes... mostly she just shoots things, but... uh, cleverly."

"I'm not surprised about you, kid. You have Nezzy's smarts, hell, you already have as much as she had, if not more. Add that quarter-krogan side, and what you have is an impressive and deadly combination!"

"I wish you had not mentioned that krogan parentage," Liara glares. "Now everyone on the ship are making jokes about it!"

"Well, it doesn't help when you actually go and try to head-butt a krogan," Aethyta laughs. Liara stares at her curiously. "Your friend Urdnot Wrex told me you tried to do that to him on Eden Prime..."

"Oh..." Liara blushes. "Truly, I must learn to stop digging my own grave."

"You're just too easy a target, I'm sorry but it's true, kid," Aethyta smiles. "But yes... I knew Nezzy was going to leave me, sooner or later. Can't be the wise counselor when you're married."

"That doesn't make sense," Liara shakes her head.

"Sure it does. Everything has to do with sex appeal," Aethyta explains. "Most species only pay attention if they want to have sex with you, so you have to be available, mysterious."

"That's a depressingly cynical view to have," Liara sighs. "I hope that I will not arrive to the same conclusion."

"Maybe you won't. I can sense something between you and Shepard that I... I do not witness in many. I thought I had it with Nezzy, but..." Aethyta falls silent, thoughtful for a moment, before resuming talking. "I knew any daughter of hers would be special. So the one final thing I asked of her was to let you go your own way, no matter what she wanted."

"...really?" Liara suddenly feels her chest becoming painfully tight.

"I told her, "You're treating her like a baby bird, Nezzy, but she's going to raise one hell of a storm with those little wings."," Aethyta says.

"...Little Wing?" Liara suddenly finds it difficult to breathe, her words a mere whisper.

"Yeah," Aethyta gives her a concerned stare. "You feeling okay, kid?" Liara only manages a muted nod, trying to steady herself. "You know, I've been trying to remember her like this, rather than whatever that Saren bastard turned her into," the matriarch says, her deep voice tinged with sadness.

"It wasn't really her fault," Liara says, slowly recovering from trying to keep her emotions from spilling over. "She was trying to stop Saren, to lead him back to the path of righteousness. But she fell prey to the Reaper indoctrination."

"I have heard stories about the indoctrination," Aethyta says. "Most still assume that in regard to Benezia, it is just a paltry excuse to whitewash her crimes..."

"What? That is ridiculous!" Liara exclaims angrily. "I saw her and I know for certain that she was indoctrinated! I saw her fighting it with every fiber of her being! She... she even broke free and managed to help Shepard on Noveria before she died... in my arms. She said I'd made her proud..."

A choked sob escapes Aethyta's lips as she brings up her palms to cover her face. "...all this time I blamed Nezzy for it," she whispers. "Thousand years old, and I still don't know crap... thanks for telling me, kid."

"Dad?" Liara asks, her heart aching at the sight of her father struggling not to cry in front of her. "Can I... hug you?" she asks timidly, and Aethyta nods without a moment of pause. Immediately, Liara throws herself in her father's embrace, feeling Aethyta's hands wrapping around her shoulders tightly and comfortingly.

They continue to hold each other for a long while, until Liara hears a buzz on the comms, Shepard trying to reach her and trying to locate her. "Go on now kid, scoot," Aethyta gently pushes her away, smiling. "Your persistent human won't leave you alone for too long, it seems."

"No, she won't," Liara smiles back. "But I'll be back later to talk some more, dad," she promises as she takes her leave. _I did not believe I will feel this way about my father, but I'm so glad to have found her,_ she thinks with fondness, heading out to meet up with Shepard.

* * *

Shepard arrives in the docking bay to find some of her squad already gathered there, James, EDI, but also Garrus, with Liara on the way as well. "Hey Garrus," she calls out. "I thought you weren't supposed to be wandering around? Not going to earn many bonus points with Chakwas this way, you know."

Garrus gives her a gloomy stare. "She's been all over me, I just had to get away for a bit," he says. "Wasn't my intention to subtly squeeze along on this mission, Shepard."

"Fair enough," Shepard nods. "I know that lying around in the medbay is hell for someone like you and I. Doctor says you'll be good to go by the time we reach Tuchanka, though."

"Spirits be praised," Garrus breathes out a sigh of relief. "Though I am surprised that you're not bringing your new friend along for this mission."

"You must mean Prothy the Prothean," Shepard says, much to the amusement of the others. "Well, I figure we should watch him for a bit more before I trust turning my back on him in the battlefield. He's been pretty confrontational so far."

"I've ran into him a few times," James speaks up. "Seems like the guy's not all there. But yeah, brought forward 50.000 years? Being the last of your kind? That's bound to make you a little _loco_, right? Still, I bet Doc's all over the moon now."

"There is so much he can tell us that it is hard not to feel excited," Liara says, arriving to join them, her soft approach taking them by surprise. "Though, he has been... rather cold and unresponsive to all inquiries, thus far," she admits, looking a little disheartened.

"Hopefully you can at least discover what makes up a Prothean's diet," Garrus tells Liara. "What if it's boiled asari with a side of fried turian? You'd probably roll with it in the name of science, T'Soni, but I'm not taking that one for the team."

"Liara's not allowed to subject herself to something like that," Shepard says sternly. "Besides, we already discovered that they prefer salarian livers. I guess someone should warn Mordin about that."

"Mordin can probably take care of himself," James grins. "I wouldn't risk taking him on, and that's saying something."

"Uh-oh," EDI suddenly interrupts the debate with her exclamation. "Speaking of the Prothean... we have had difficulties making him understand the human custom of separate-sex restroom facilities. Dr. Chakwas does not appear to be amused."

Shepard groans, putting a palm to her face. "...we can always put some kind of warning sign on the restrooms for female staff. Like one of those traffic signs with a Prothean face on it?"

"I will consider it, if my attempts at enlightening him will meet with failure," EDI says. "I will update you if there is positive progress."

"...EDI, do you have some kind of 'Craft Disturbing Mental Image' sub-protocol installed that I don't know about?" Shepard sighs. "Anyhow... I should probably update you all on our mission goals. And also, I should kick Garrus' sorry ass back to the medbay."

"I'm going, I'm going," the turian grumbles, walking away. "Seriously worse than Chakwas."

"Liara," Shepard turns towards her asari lover, giving her a fond stare. "I think between myself, James and EDI, we should be able to handle this one, if you wish to stay onboard and continue your studies of the Crucible data."

A shadow seems to pass over Liara's face and she shakes her head vehemently. "No, I think I would welcome a distraction," she says. "And I do not feel comfortable leaving you without biotic support."

"I was kind of hoping you would say that," Shepard smiles. "So, the situation is like this. There's this Cerberus cruiser outside the Grissom Academy, and at least a dozen fighters on blockade duty. Direct fight is inadvisable, even with Normandy's upgrades. Fortunately, we have a contact inside who will open an auxiliary cargo port so Steve can take us there in a shuttle to dock."

"What do those Cerberus bastards want here?" James asks, both surprised and angry.

"They're after the students. Kids with biotic potential," Morgan replies, feeling the rage pumping through her system as well. "Three guesses what they plan to do with them."

"We can't allow that to happen," Liara shakes her head. "Outfitted with the Reaper implants, these biotics would be incredibly dangerous and would make Cerberus into an even deadlier enemy."

"So far we have managed to embarrass all their plots. Let's not stop now," Morgan says, ordering everyone to jump into the shuttle, following in as last. "Alright, Joker," she tells her pilot on the comms. "Wait for us to get clear, then follow through with what we discussed."

"Copy that, Commander," Joker replies. "One hell of a distraction coming right up!"


	64. The Esteemed Jacqueline Nought

_A/N: Not super happy with this_, _because I don't think I did as much with this chapter as I could have, but I kind of ran out of ideas on how to make it more exciting, so this will just have to do. _**  
**

**Chapter 63 - The Esteemed Jacqueline Nought**

_The kids are getting better at this shit, but I'm worried. I don't think we've got enough time to pull this off and there's just no way they could really survive out there without way more training. Not without any field experience at all. _

_Doing my best to get them ready. Didn't think I'd ever care this much. But I won't let anyone hurt them. They're my kids. _

_MINE. _

Shepard places the datapad back on the table in one of the partially ruined and slightly burning study halls. "Well, that's one hell of an instructor," she says. "She sounds slightly demented and utterly dedicated. Should be a fun combination."

EDI picks up the datapad and quickly scans it. "Oddly recognizable pattern of typing," she says a little mysteriously, and Shepard gives her an inquisitive stare. "Oh, do not mind me, Commander. If my assumptions are correct, and there is an 87% chance that they are, we are about to experience a very touching reunion within the next quarter of an hour."

"...EDI, I hate surprises, you know that!" Shepard glares at the AI, who just quietly says something that sounds suspiciously like 'tough' and gracefully moves away. "Anyway, looks like their teacher doesn't quite agree with Sanders about these kids being ready for frontlines."

"Whoever she may be, she is correct," Liara says sternly. "We are not yet so desperate to send our children into battle. And it is up to us to make sure that we never grow that desperate."

"Agreed on that, but perhaps we should move forward, Commander?" James says impatiently. "I can't stand the thought of them loading more of these kids into their shuttles, while we stand around chatting."

"You've got it, James," Morgan nods, knowing that Vega is right. She too hated the feeling of helplessness, watching through bulletproof glass how the Cerberus bastards dragged away a screaming youth no more than sixteen years of age. At least they managed to save another kid and his wounded sister, sending them back to relative safety with the director of this facility, Kahlee Sanders, holding her position in the security command center.

In the next classroom, they watch one of the kids getting brutally shot in the back for merely being a math genius, having no biotic potential at all and thus being useless to Cerberus. The Cerberus squad pay for this transgression dearly. Enraged by the sight, James seems to have undergone a transformation into a vengeful krogan, slaughtering Cerberus troops left and right with reckless abandon and total disregard for his own safety, and Shepard is forced to order him to slow down and regain his already not always dependable common sense.

Some of the Cerberus operatives carry with them files on each student that they have deemed attractive for their nefarious purposes. Several students are listed as high-priority targets, Tim demanding that they are taken alive at all costs. One of such high-priority targets is a student named Prangley, wanted for his top-level biotic abilities and leadership testing scores, making him prime candidate for indoctrination and subsequent long-term infiltration relocation. _They don't even bother to hide it anymore, _Shepard thinks. _Does he actually still believe that these indoctrinated troops will serve him and Cerberus? He's just creating more shock troops for the Reapers in the end, and surely he would see it if he wasn't... hmm, indoctrinated himself? Hmm, I just wonder. _

There's also another high-priority target by the name of Rodriguez, considered a vital retrieval subject due to her particularly high aptitude scores. Despite limited biotic ability, she is also considered prime candidate for indoctrination and enhancement under the Phantom initiative. _What the hell is a Phantom initiative?_ Shepard wonders. _Probably nothing good. None of the surprises prepared by Cerberus have been particularly enjoyable thus far._ Other subjects are to be retrieved alive if possible, but they are to be salvaged even if killed, bodies deemed useful for use as genetic-testing materials.

Eventually they reach the so called Orion Hall, in which the largest group of students together with one of the instructors are trying to put up resistance against the Cerberus forces. As they enter, Shepard sees a very familiar figure glowing with biotics, busy ripping two Cerberus troopers apart with a well placed shockwave. "I guess you were right, EDI," she is forced to acknowledge the simple fact of the AI always being correct. "This is a hell of a surprise..."

"Shepard!" Jack exclaims, turning towards her, equally surprised. "Didn't expect the Queen of the Girl-Scouts to show up, but I'm not going to complain!"

"Hey Jack," Shepard nods. "I see you've finally let your hair down a bit," she chuckles, observing Jack's new hairdo, a patch of hair on top of her head along with a cute ponytail, leaving rest of her head bald. "Also, since when is a bit of tape wrapped around your tits along with a tiny leather jacket considered appropriate uniform for biotic instructors?"

"Ever since I took this post, Shepard," Jack snaps angrily.

"Well, it does look kinda hot," James pipes up, earning a glare from almost everyone present.

"Is that EDI?" the psychotic-biotic asks, looking at the AI's new platform. "Nice body, well done. Now you look like a proper sex-bot, not just simply sex-toy."

"It is good to see you too, Jack," EDI replies pleasantly.

"And that's the blue ass you like to squeeze, Shepard?" Jack turns to Liara, being her customary polite self.

Before Shepard can shut Jack off, Liara replies quickly. "And you would be miss Jacqueline? Jacqueline Nought?" she asks with a scarily sweet smile on her indigo lips. "Does your soul still burn with the fire of darkness?"

Shepard blinks, thinking Liara has gone completely mental, but then sees Jack's mouth flapping wide open in surprise. "Uh... yeah," the human biotic appears strangely humble and confused. "...let's just... forget I said anything, okay?" she manages a weak grin, as Liara for some reason looks victoriously smug.

The touching reunion is interrupted moments later, however, as Cerberus sends in another infiltration squad, this one accompanied by a heavy Atlas mech. "Get to safety, kids!" Jack immediately yells, ordering her students to dash for cover. "This one's a bit out of your league! Shepard... take that thing out, will you?"

Shepard sighs, diving for cover alongside Liara. "Sending a heavy mech to wreak havoc in a school?" she says in frustration, giving the asari a warning look. "Let's try to avoid our Sur'Kesh experiences, shall we?"

Liara looks annoyed at the reminder, patiently waiting in cover until EDI has finished disabling shields of the Atlas. The students launch salvos of biotic attacks at the Cerberus troops, encouraged by the knowledge that the enemy won't fire on them to kill, planning to take them alive. This allows Shepard and her crew to focus solely on the Atlas, their combined weapons fire eventually bringing the thing down, the dead Cerberus pilot falling through the shattered glass of the small cabin and toppling on the ground, the disabled piece of junk collapsing on top of the corpse and squishing it flat.

As soon as the last of the Cerberus troopers falls, Jack walks up to Morgan and before she can blink an eye, slaps her on the face, hard. "How many times did I tell you not to trust Cerberus?" she snaps.

Shepard shakes her head to clear it a little, before answering with the same, a heavy backhanded slap that Jack clearly does not anticipate. "I didn't trust them for a moment," she shrugs in reply. "I kicked them off my ship as soon as we were done with the Collectors, remember?"

"Well, in that case, that was for not letting me play with Miranda," Jack says. "Whatever. Right now, all I care about is getting my guys," she points towards the group of students, watching their exchange in awe, "out of here."

"How the hell did someone figure out it would be a good idea to let you anywhere near kids?" Shepard asks with disbelief.

"I know, right?" Jack laughs. "Someone among the Alliance brass knew I helped you against the Collectors. They offered me this job."

"That's even stranger. Being associated with me shouldn't have made you popular with the Alliance, quite the contrary," Shepard wonders.

"Morgan, considering Anderson's ties with Kahlee Sanders, I'm sure the connection is obvious," Liara points out.

"Dr. T'Soni is most assuredly correct in her assessment," EDI nods.

"Whatever," Jack shrugs. "Don't know how I got talked into this, but I ended up enjoying it... and the students responded well to my teaching style."

The students cheer at hearing their instructor's words. "The psychotic-biotic!" one of them yells. "I will destroy you!" another one adds.

"The positive response in the male students could be attributed to the scarceness of clothing," EDI suggests innocently. "Of course, it is merely a hypothesis."

"I don't remember EDI being such a smartass," Jack grumbles. "Anyway, I suggest you get me and my guys off this station, because I doubt that Cerberus are going to quit before they have captured all of them."

"Yeah, agreed. And I doubt they're going to run out of shock troops anytime soon," Shepard admits unhappily. "Any idea of the crew numbers on a Cerberus cruiser of this size?" she asks Liara.

"Up to eight hundred," Liara replies, James whistling and shaking his head upon hearing the answer. "Now you see why The Illusive Man is so very upset with me, Morgan," she adds with a wink.

"And why I adore you so much," Morgan grins back, amused at the way Jack makes gagging noises from observing their exchange. "Shame we don't have anything to overload with explosives and plunge into that cruiser... I'm rather too fond of the Normandy and the people onboard to suggest that!"

"I would have to protest in strongest possible terms," EDI says.

"Anyway, considering that cruiser and the fighters are back holding the blockade, we can no longer escape in the Normandy's shuttle. Cortez has already returned to the ship," Shepard starts to explain the plan, getting rudely interrupted by Jack.

"So, your heroic attempt to help us amounted to... getting stuck together with us on the Academy?" the psychotic-biotic snarls. "That's just fu... frigging brilliant."

"Eh?" Shepard blinks, surprised at Jack's strange aversion to her once favorite word. "Anyway, worry not, you of little faith. We're going to escape, and we will do so using a Cerberus shuttle, thus making sure they do not fire upon us. All we need to do is to clear our way to the docking bay and seize control of a shuttle. Piece of cake, yes?"

* * *

"Yee-haw!" James cheers with glee, piloting the stolen Atlas mech, snatched from a pair of Cerberus engineers prepping it for their own use. "Can we take this toy with us when we leave, Lola?" he shouts, cheerfully launching another rocket at the hapless Cerberus troops, trying to hide between makeshift barricades without much success. The mass accelerator canon rips through one Cerberus squad after another, the surprised foes late in realizing that the mech is no longer piloted by one of theirs.

"Doubt we'll have room for it in the shuttle," Morgan replies, carefully following James together with her squad, slowly carving their way to the shuttle bay. "Unless you're volunteering to be left behind?" Jack and all of the rescued students are staying at the back, keeping safe distance, Shepard advising the cautious approach, remembering Vega's shuttle piloting abilities.

"The shuttle bay is directly ahead of us, Shepard," EDI informs them. "I am detecting a large Cerberus presence in the area. Comm chatter confirms desperate demands for immediate reinforcements."

"It's nice to know we're making them miserable," Shepard chuckles grimly, looking ahead at James and his Atlas. "LT, you reckon that toy of yours can take much more?" she asks, noticing the cracked glass in front of the pilot's cabin and partly damaged armor plating.

"No idea, Commander, but I'm not getting out of it now, I can see the shuttles from here, and... oh, damn," he suddenly swears. "Those _hijos de puta _have their own Atlas... this is going to be rough."

"Focus on that, James!" Shepard shouts, watching dozens and dozens of Cerberus troops bursting out of the loaded docking bays, right into the path of their firing line and biotic attacks, having nowhere to hide, the only option to head back to their shuttles and discover what The Illusive Man does with deserters.

James forces the Atlas to crank out everything that it has left, ripping into the enemy mech as soon as it appears in the firing line, but despite suffering a great deal of punishment, the opposing mech still receives the chance to retaliate. As Shepard sees the incoming rocket barrage, she instinctively pulls Liara closer to her, ignoring the asari's swearing as Morgan interrupts her concentration. The rocket takes out the legs from under James' Atlas, and the remains of the heavy mech topple forward, crashing against the ground, Shepard hoping that by some miracle James has remained unhurt.

Fortunately, Jack has made the right call of judgment by leading her biotic students to aid them now, and with their support, the remaining Cerberus forces are whittled down quickly, few falling back to the shuttle bays for cover, taking some potshots now and then, desperate for more reinforcements.

"They'll just keep sending more and more troops," Liara exclaims. "We have a brief window to escape now, let's make the best of it!"

"Agreed, but we need to help James," Shepard says, trying to push the Cerberus mech over, but predictably failing to do so, until a smirking Jack gives her a hand with a simple biotic lift. James is very much alive in the pilot's seat, immediately unfastening the straps and trying to climb out through the hole in the broken glass, Shepard and EDI each grabbing one of his arms and pulling him through.

"That hurt," Vega says, as they lower him on the floor, noticing that his legs are a bleeding mess, armor impaled with countless metal splinters from the blast. "Can we do it again?" he then grins broadly, despite obviously being in pain.

"EDI would you do the honors again?" Shepard looks at her, and the synthetic AI picks up the heavily armed Lieutenant Vega. "You're getting good at carrying the wounded and the unconscious."

"I imagine EDI is already filing a complaint about your gross misuse of her potential," Liara smirks as they swiftly walk towards the nearest shuttle, occasionally having to provide some suppressive fire to discourage the remaining Cerberus soldiers from trying anything.

"So you want to carry him, Liara?" Shepard chuckles, seeing Liara vehemently shaking her head, and James nodding just as enthusiastically.

"On the other hand, I'm quite happy with the current arrangement," the asari says, laying down a singularity field just around the corner of the shuttle bay they are heading to, pulling a not particularly clever Cerberus trooper into it, and Jack immediately rips the indoctrinated bastard apart with her biotics.

"Alright, everyone into the shuttle!" Shepard shouts, together with Liara remaining outside the shuttle and watching EDI carry James inside, followed by the students, Kahlee Sanders and finally Jack, before Morgan quickly hurries to take her place in the pilot's seat, Liara dropping in next to her. "Joker, do you copy?" she hurriedly calls out on the comms. "We're leaving on a Cerberus shuttle. Don't blow us out of the sky, alright?"

"Right, got it," she hears Joker's voice. "Have you on the sensors. Should be just a minute... uh-oh..."

"Uh-oh? What do you mean, uh-oh?" Shepard asks nervously.

"Fighters breaking off and heading to intercept," Joker says hurriedly. "Looks like your little plan isn't fooling them, Commander."

"But we are a completely trustworthy and not at all suspicious Cerberus shuttle trying to sneak away from the facility," Morgan sighs. "A commonly used maneuver by Cerberus forces, I'm sure!" _He is right, this was kind of a stupid plan. Then again, I'm not sure we had a lot of alternatives, short of killing all of the Cerberus forces, and I doubt we could last that war of attrition._

Joker manages a strained laugh. "Sounds like one of your plans, Commander. But despair not, cavalry is nearly there."

"Actually wasn't my plan this time," Shepard throws a quick glance at Sanders, then back to the consoles, watching the fighters quickly approaching.

"Got them in visual range," Liara exclaims nervously, tugging on her arm. Fortunately, the Normandy appears at the same time, the blue beam of the GARDIAN laser incinerating two of the fighters, but the third one manages to fire a few shots upon them, Shepard doing all she can to change their flight path in unpredictable ways, which mostly makes her look like she is flying under influence.

"Whatever happened to that 'capture alive at any cost' policy," Morgan complains, as the fighter's attacks just barely miss them. Then, the Normandy's weapons activate again, and the last fighter is no more, Joker quickly pulling up close and letting them dock, knowing that more Cerberus fighters are on the way.

"Should be safe now, Commander. Good luck catching us," Joker chuckles. "Oh yeah, good to have you onboard Jack. Say, now that you're military, you gonna wear uniform? Or are you just getting the officer's bars tattooed on?"

"Screw you, fu... f-flight lieutenant," Jack replies angrily.

"...eh... heh, what the... what the hell was that?" Shepard can mentally picture Joker rolling his eyes at Jack's tame retort.

"Jack agreed to watch her language in order to maintain the necessary professionalism we require from our teachers," Sanders explains politely.

Shepard chuckles inwardly at that, but Joker is predictably having a field day with this revelation. "Does she have s swear jar or something?" he laughs. "I bet if we would open that thing, we could afford another dreadnaught, or at least a cruiser."

"Alright, cover your ears kids," Jack tells her grinning students. "Hey, Joker! F-"


	65. That Stupid Fortune Cookie

_A/N: This is what happens when I cannot think of a proper chapter title. _

**Chapter 64 - That Stupid Fortune Cookie**

"Shepard, I received your latest operation report from Admiral Hackett. Damn good job at the Grissom Academy," Anderson says, smiling at her. This is the first time they have made contact since parting in the Vancouver harbor and she feels so relieved to see him on the QEC link, lifted by the very thought of him being alive and kicking. "There was one thing that was not included in the report, and..."

"Don't worry, Anderson," she interrupts him with a flippant grin. "Your old flame is doing just fine. We transferred her, Jack and the students to SSV Nairobi a few hours ago."

"Well, I am glad that your famous tact and courtesy are still ever-present," Anderson shakes his head. "Hackett made a passing mention that your deference to protocol has all but evaporated since we sprung you free from your house arrest. In any case, Shepard, I thank you for the news. You cannot imagine how relieved I am to know that."

"I can imagine just fine," Shepard replies, shrugging her shoulders_. I spent six months not knowing what was going on with Liara's life,_ she thinks, deciding not to voice these thoughts. "By the way, she asked me to tell you to 'stay alive'. I imagine it means more than what I think it does."

Anderson smiles serenely. "Yes, it does," he replies slowly. "Thank you for the first good news this week."

"Everything's gone to hell, hasn't it?" Morgan asks quietly. "I just forced Liara to give up the casualty figures for Earth. 2.3 billion gone... how are you even holding out?"

"Dodging the industrial areas and populated centers, those are the prime target for destruction and harvesting," Anderson replies grimly. "Hear what they did to Adelaide? Didn't even bother to harvest. Just nuked from orbit, blasted off the face of the planet. If they didn't want to harvest us, they could probably do that with the entire planet."

"Seems like time is running out fast," Shepard concludes, a miserable feeling at the pit of her stomach. _And the Crucible is far from completed, still. Gods, how could we possibly make it in time? How many will be left alive by the time we get back to Earth, if we even get that far? Maybe too few to even bother launching this mad rescue?_

"You'll get the job done, Shepard. You always do," Anderson's words lift her spirits just a little. "The men and women trying to hold the line down here believe in you. And I know you will not let them down."

"Helps to know that, Anderson, it really does," she manages a small smile, then immediately starting to grow concerned, seeing that Anderson is no longer staring at her but turning his head to speak to someone else nearby.

"Looks like we need to relocate, Shepard," he says grimly. "Damn bastards have found us again. We'll talk soon, I promise."

"I'm holding you to that, sir," she replies, with a heavy heart watching Anderson's image fading off the screen.

She stands like frozen for a good while in the comm room, fighting the images of scorched, destroyed cities back on Earth, trying to get them out of her mind. _Don't think about that,_ she tells herself. _Don't let it drag you down. Focus on your task at hand, on what you __**can**__ do to help. On the people around you, those that you care about. Liara, stay strong for her._

It helps a little, and she eventually leaves the comm room, heading back to the elevator, passing the CIC to give Traynor a little bit of praise for leading them onto the trail to Grissom Academy. The young Specialist beams happily at her kind words, making Shepard a little worried if her obvious attraction won't become a problem. _Still, I had to acknowledge she did a really good job there, it is only fair. And I suppose I can always have a friendly chat with her at some point to dissuade her from any... illusions,_ she thinks, hoping it won't go as far.

Her next destination is Liara's quarters, where she finds her favorite asari glued to the consoles, typing something furiously as calculations beyond Shepard's comprehension flash on the screen, Liara busy working on the Crucible equations, acknowledging Morgan's presence with a smile and a nod before returning to her task.

Shepard tries to remain quiet, unwilling to interrupt her from this important task, but still feeling the need to remain in her calming presence, so she sits down at one of the consoles, browsing through the news feeds and messages on her private terminal.

After a while of them both working in complete silence, Liara hits a button on her console and leans back in her chair, breathing out a sigh of relief. "Finally. Hackett will be pleased to have that part taken care of," she says, shaking her head at Morgan's inquisitive stare. "Trust me, you don't want to know the details. They would just bore you," she grins, before changing the topic. "How far are we from the Citadel?"

"Few hours, according to Joker," Shepard replies. "I spoke to Mordin, he believes he needs less than two days to finish the cure. So, it'll just be a short stay at the Citadel this time, I'm afraid."

Liara shrugs. "Of course. I would not dream to suggest that something could be more important than our mission. There are a few things I would like to take care of, several contacts to speak with, arrange more supply drops for the Crucible, and other small issues."

"Fair enough," Morgan nods. "I've got a message from Lawson. It seems as if she wants to meet up, no idea why. I hope she won't ask to join up, the Alliance brass will implode in self-righteous fury if I'm seen fraternizing with a known Cerberus operative... even if she's probably ex-Cerberus by now."

"She is," Liara replies. "She has been on the run from the Illusive Man for a while now."

"In that case, I'll happily aid her, if I can," Shepard smiles. "Also, Kaidan seems to be up on his feet again, so I'll probably check in on him. Do you want to join me?"

"I'd love to, but since time is an issue, it would be better if we dealt with our own tasks," Liara says. "But... we can always meet up at Apollo's afterwards," she adds, reading the sense of disappointment on Morgan's face.

"Sounds good," Shepard nods. "Miranda's message reminded me what I was thinking about Cerberus just now. Damn, we've foiled so many of their operations recently, Sanctum, Eden Prime, Sur'Kesh, Grissom Academy... and they still keep coming and coming! How can they afford to sustain such losses and still remain a threat?"

"We have certainly inflicted heavy losses upon them, yes," Liara agrees. "But they seem to be able to generate impressive amount of shock troops on a short notice."

"That's what I was wondering about," Shepard says. "I'm not hearing about any massive desertions amongst the Alliance. And to train them would require considerable time! Where are all these troops coming from?"

"I have my own theory about that," Liara replies, looking worried and unhappy at whatever thoughts are on her mind. "I have asked some of my agents to investigate facilities that could be used as training grounds, but so far they have had no luck. This work will continue, but Morgan... there is also a possibility that the troops we are fighting are not trained conventionally."

"Indoctrinated and then fitted with Reaper implants?" Morgan asks. Liara nods in reply. "I was afraid you were going to say that. So we might not even be fighting volunteers. They... they might not even support the Cerberus cause," she realizes with cold feeling of dread in her stomach. "Oh god... that monster! This way, he could be turning innocent people against us!"

"I don't have any proof right now, but the implications are there," Liara admits sadly. "I'm sorry."

"Well, we were going to kill him sooner or later," Morgan says, trying to shake off her anger. "Just add another reason to do it to the already impressive list."

"We can do it, Morgan," Liara speaks softly, rising to approach Shepard's seat, starting to softly rub her shoulders, feeling the tension ebb away under the guidance of her tender touch. "Don't you ever stop believing that."

"Just keep telling me that, Liara," Morgan smiles, feeling at ease. "The more you repeat it, the stronger I will believe that we can pull this off..."

* * *

Approaching the Citadel is becoming an adventure in itself, trying to squeeze through the myriad of refugee ships, all as one requesting permission to dock and not receiving it, the station already packed far beyond the capacity of what it can support. _Why are they all flocking towards the Citadel?_ Shepard wonders, finally stepping off the Normandy. _Do they truly believe that it cannot come under the Reaper attack? It already did once, so that makes no sense. And the more people come here, the more attractive it becomes to the Reapers._

She is surprised to see James and Steve Cortez standing a little ways off the Normandy airlock, leaning over the railing and observing all the different ships outside. "Never thought I'd see you leaving the armory, Steve," Shepard says, giving Vega thumbs up. "Well done, James."

"Maybe so Commander, but Esteban's been depressing, comparing himself to this old, banged up turian frigate," James says, pointing at a once proud turian ship, now in a particularly sorry state, limping back to the dry dock.

"Would have been better to just go down fighting," Steve says.

"We don't think like that on the Normandy, Steve," Shepard shakes her head. "We're not quitters. Too much rests on our shoulders to just give up. Even tired old wrecks like that frigate can be fixed and sent back out to save lives."

"Well said, Lola," James agrees, pointing at an Alliance ship drifting by outside. "Case in point, isn't that the SSV London? The one that was decommissioned years ago?"

"Yeah, look, no guns," Cortez nods. "Someone must have salvaged it from a shipyard who knows where. And she's still flying... even manages to look beautiful."

"See?" Shepard claps him on the shoulder. "Vega and I aren't just spouting platitudes here. You'll be fine, Steve. As long as you let yourself think so."

"Perhaps you are right, Commander. Vega," Steve says, pulling away from the railings and turning around to leave. "I've heard the refugees have put up a memorial wall. Think I'll... just stop by there to... have a look."

Shepard nods at him, then turning back to Vega. "Whatever his problems are... good job, James," she says, giving the Lieutenant an approving nod.

"Heh, I've got to hand it to you, Lola," he smiles back. "You managed to say the right things without knowing what the hell you were talking about. That's damn impressive." Shepard fixes him with an inquisitive glance. "He lost his husband when the Collectors hit Ferris Fields."

"Oh... damn," Shepard sighs. "Well, I'm glad I didn't say something really stupid then."

As she parts with James and heads towards the exit from the docking bay, she is interrupted by a quiet voice calling out her name, almost like a whisper. "Commander Shepard," Miranda steps out from the shadows, offering a smile. "It has been far too long. We live in... interesting times."

"You could say that," Shepard chuckles, allowing Lawson to lead her towards a secluded corner of the docking bay, nobody within their earshot and able to overhear their conversation. "I did once crack open a fortune cookie to find that 'May you live in interesting times' proverb inside. Right before I joined Anderson on the SR-1. I'm tempted to track down whoever baked that cookie and shoot the bastard."

Miranda laughs, before turning serious again. "I couldn't get anywhere near you when the Alliance had you locked up, Commander," she says.

"A well known Cerberus operative seeking contact with me would not have really helped my case, you know," Shepard points out. "So I'm kind of glad you didn't reach me."

"I'm still surprised that they didn't just court-martial you," Miranda tells her. "The Alliance is not known for its flexibility."

"They would have gotten around to it sooner or later," Shepard shrugs. "Alliance also is not known for its speed in decision making."

"They should have listened to you a long time ago," Miranda exclaims, passion in her voice. "About the Reapers, about... everything!"

"I have seen enough about the Reapers to understand that it would not have changed anything," Shepard replies tiredly. "All we ever did was just to delay them, bit by bit. If it proves to be enough in the end... hell, I might even accept some of the praise." Miranda looks about to protest, but Morgan cuts her off. "Seriously though, you are not here to talk about all that."

"I needed to come here to talk to a few people," Miranda says after a slight pause. "Like you. The Citadel is a good place... for now."

"Yes, for now... safe from Reapers... and Cerberus," Shepard points out meaningfully.

"I assume you know by now that I'm on the run," Miranda says, Shepard nodding at that. "The Illusive Man does not take rejection well. But I knew there would be repercussions for walking away from Cerberus."

"Your sister?" Shepard asks, suddenly realizing the issue that Miranda has been pussyfooting about.

"I have not heard from Oriana in a while. I'm getting worried," Miranda finally admits.

"Did you move her location again before resigning from Cerberus?" Shepard asks.

"I did. But... my plan appears to have failed," Miranda says. "I know it would be logical to think that this is the Illusive Man getting his revenge, but somehow my gut feeling tells me that my father is involved."

"You know, remembering what I once told you... maybe it's both?"

"Perhaps, Shepard. I'm still early in my investigation. There are several leads on the Citadel that I am pursuing," Miranda admits. "I have a hunch about what happened, but I'll fill you in when I'm certain."

"So... basically you wanted to meet me to tell me that you have a problem that I can in no way or shape help you with?" Shepard asks, grinning.

"I guess that about summarizes it, yes," Miranda admits awkwardly. "Or maybe I just wanted to see you, Commander."

"That's fine too, Miranda. I was relieved to hear from you, to know you are alright."

Miranda smiles, a little sadly. "I should not delay you, Commander. And I should get out of sight, let you get back to help with whatever next big move that the Alliance is planning."

"You know it's classified," Shepard smiles back at her, tapping at the side of her nose. "Be safe, Miranda."

"You too, Commander," the ex-Cerberus operative replies and walks away, soon disappearing in the crowds, as Shepard is free to continue on with her walk towards Huerta Memorial Hospital.

The hospital is just as stuffed with patients as it was on her previous visit, which means that the doctors are tasked to full capacity and are simply not accepting any more patients, diverting them to other hospitals, even if Shepard does not believe that the situation there is any better. Considering that the overall population of refugees on the Citadel has grown dramatically, all this essentially means that there are a lot of wounded and sick out in the Wards and refugee sectors, not getting basic medical attention and dying from their perfectly treatable ailments.

She cannot spot Thane in his usual place, immediately growing worried that the inevitable has happened, before a nurse explains to her that the drell is currently undergoing the procedures required to sustain his fragile state. At least Kaidan looks better when she enters his room, back in his uniform, staring out of the window, spinning around as he hears her approach. "Shepard," he smiles. "If you came to spring me, you're a touch late. Dr. Michel tells me that I'll be getting out real soon. Also..." he hesitates a little. "Maybe you already saw the vids, but I accepted Udina's offer."

"No, I didn't know," Shepard shakes her head. "Spectre Kaidan Alenko. Sounds impressive."

"Only the second human Spectre," Kaidan nods. "It's humbling, following in your footsteps. Udina thinks they might have a pretty big ceremony, even with the war."

"Wish I could stay for that, but the mission requires that we leave Citadel in a few hours," Shepard says quickly. _No, I'm kind of glad I can't stay. I'm fine with Kaidan getting his praise, but watching Udina strutting around like peacock... no thanks._ "I guess Dr. Michel isn't going to let you join us for that."

Kaidan laughs, a little awkwardly. "No, I... doubt that," he says. "Not with this whole ceremony planned and everything, I expect I will be very busy."

"And afterwards?" Shepard asks. "Still undecided about joining us on the Normandy?"

"I have been thinking about that, Shepard," Alenko admits. "But I don't want to promise anything. Udina stopped by to ask the same, by the way. The man isn't so bad once you get to know him, Shepard. Seems like he has a lot of plans for me."

"Does he now?" Shepard narrows her eyes.

"Yeah. Seemed to imply I will have too many responsibilities as a Spectre to serve on the Normandy. He's probably got a pile of tasks that he doesn't want to entrust turian or asari Spectres with, and knowing your regrettably sour relationship with him..."

_He's making it sound as if Udina has promoted him just to wash his dirty laundry,_ Shepard sighs inwardly. "I just don't trust the man. You'll be careful with him, yeah?" she tells Kaidan.

"He said you would warn me about working with him, now isn't that curious?" there is tension in Kaidan's voice when he replies, and Shepard immediately understands. _Udina's been stopping by ever so often, offering subtle whispers about my activities, maybe feeding Kaidan's suspicions, trying to turn him against me... damn that bastard. _

"Well... I'm just glad to see you're doing alright, Kaidan," she finally says, offering her hand for a shake. _I'm not going to stick around and demean myself by arguing that he should trust me and not Udina, we've been down that road once before and it doesn't change anything in the end, anyway._ "Be safe, Spectre Alenko."

"Take care, Commander," Kaidan replies stiffly, shaking her hand. "Godspeed to you and the Normandy."


	66. How To Bluff a Krogan

**Chapter 65 - How To Bluff a Krogan**

"Over here!" Shepard exclaims, waving her hand over the crowds gathered at the Apollo's Cafe, trying to get Liara's attention, as she sees her lover approaching, craning her head to spot Morgan. "Liara, over here!"

Finally, Liara notices her and squeezes through the busy groups of people to reach Shepard's table. "Goddess, the crowds have become terrible even on the Presidium," she laments. "No longer the quiet place for serene reflection that I adored so."

"You can say that again," Morgan sighs. "So, how was your day?"

"Oh, busy but just fine," Liara replies. "I managed to acquire services of three mercenary groups, hired two new agents for the network and secured a shipment of twenty tons of platinum for the Crucible project. What did you do?"

"Err... in comparison? I have been horribly slacking," Morgan admits sheepishly. "I did speak to Kaidan, but that... didn't go so well."

"What? Why not? I thought things had improved between you?" Liara looks distressed.

"So did I, but Udina looks to have been working behind the scenes," Shepard says. "First the Spectre promotion, then probably dropping some hints here and there to erode the fragile trust we fought so hard to restore. I doubt we will see Kaidan back on the Normandy anytime soon."

Liara's face falls in disappointment. "That is unfortunate," she says. "Perhaps he will reconsider in time."

"Perhaps he will," Shepard admits, shrugging. "Also, I met Miranda. She's very worried about her sister. If you could have your network look out for a young woman by the name of Oriana Lawson... but now probably going by an assumed last name."

"Of course, I will tell my agents to keep an eye out for any news," Liara nods, then turning her attention to the dessert that Shepard has already ordered for her, savoring the first bite. "Oh... this is wonderful! What is it?"

"Something called tiramisu," Morgan replies. "Haven't had it for over twenty years, myself, so I just had to order when I saw it on the menu. One of the ships my mother served when I was eight or nine had an Italian cook. He used to make it now and then. Boy, that man was a real magician in the kitchen, he could create wonders out of thin air. Kind of like a reverse-Rupert, who could take the most expensive ingredients and make the end result taste like ass. Ah, good old Rupert, I hope you're resting in peace... he died on the Collector Base," she adds, sensing Liara's inquisitive stare.

Liara turns away, taking another bite of the dessert and then looking around the Presidium. "You know... when we return from Tuchanka, no matter what happens there, the whole galaxy will be changed," she says thoughtfully.

"I hadn't considered it, but you're right," Morgan nods. "If we cure the genophage, the krogan will take a larger part in galactic politics going forward. If we don't cure the genophage... there will be no krogan boots on Palaven, Earth or Thessia, and our chances of success will be extremely slim."

"We will cure the genophage," Liara says firmly. "Not just because we need to, but because it is the right thing to do. The krogan have suffered for far too long."

"I agree. Mordin will get it done. As soon as we get back on the ship, I'm setting the course to Tuchanka," Shepard says, then waving her spoon around threateningly. "So you better finish your dessert or else I'm going to steal it..."

* * *

The Normandy is swiftly approaching the Krogan DMZ, when Shepard receives the news that Primarch Victus wishes to speak with her in the War Room. When Shepard arrives there, she sees the turian pacing back and forth the room, looking far more nervous than he had been when staring down a brute at point blank range. "Something the matter, Primarch?" she asks, stepping closer.

"Yes, you could say that," Victus nods. "There is a... small matter with a missing turian vessel."

"Uh... we're heading to Tuchanka to cure genophage and get krogan aid so that we can save your race from extinction. Is this really the time for small matters, Primarch?" Shepard asks, feeling a little confused.

"The ship I'm talking about crashed on Tuchanka," Victus says. "They are now pinned down by the Reaper forces scouting the planet."

Shepard finds herself stunned from surprise. "What the hell are your people doing on Tuchanka of all places?" she asks. "Primarch, if you are somehow trying to sabotage what we are trying to build with Wrex, I must warn you..."

"It is... quite the opposite, Commander," Victus replies, looking uncomfortable. "But I cannot tell you more than that. The details must remain classified. I can only tell you that these men must be rescued and you have to aid them in completing their mission. It is a matter of galactic peace."

Shepard gives Victus her best evaluating stare. The turians have always been difficult to read, but as far as she can tell, the man before her appears sincere, she detects no deceit in his words and her gut feeling insists that she lends her help. "I will do it, though I wish you would give me more to go on, Primarch," she eventually says.

"The commanding officer is Lieutenant Tarquin Victus," the turian finally says, avoiding her stare. "He'll be your contact."

"Relation?" Shepard asks.

"My son. I needed someone I could trust completely."

"You're just lucky that Mordin still needs a day or so for the cure," Morgan says. "Else I'd have a real problem explaining to Wrex why we're not getting right down to curing his people. At least now we can take care of your little problem without attracting too much attention." She turns to leave, before stopping and looking back over her shoulder. "I trust the necessary coordinates will be forwarded to my pilot."

"He already has all the relevant information," Victus nods. "Thank you, Commander. Once you have dealt with this issue, you will see that your decision to aid was the right one."

"Well, I better feel that way, or else our partnership will become extremely sour," Shepard points out, before continuing on to walk out of the War Room. Once she has entered the conference room, she suddenly finds herself yanked aside by a pair of powerful krogan arms, a massive palm pressing against her mouth to muffle her surprised exclamation.

"I saw you whispering with that turian," Wrex says, keeping his voice quiet, which in a way makes him appear more threatening. "What was that all about?"

"Oh, we just exchanged recipes for cooking baby krogans," Shepard rolls her eyes and speaks, once Wrex has removed his palm from her mouth. "Seriously, you're just being silly, Wrex. Perhaps I can distract you with rumors about Cerberus activity on Tuchanka?"

"There are Cerberus on Tuchanka?" Wrex snarls angrily.

_Wow, that was easy. _"Yeah, I just got word about their operation from Admiral Hackett. Cerberus have taken control of an old military installation on Tuchanka, and he wanted us to kick them out," Shepard explains. "Hell, I tried to talk Victus into helping, but that weakling wasn't up for it."

"You turned to Victus before asking me?" Wrex roars. "Cerberus invade our lands, and you're asking a turian to deal with them? This is a krogan issue! I will take care of it personally!"

"Uh, who am I to argue," Morgan offers, patting him on the chest apologetically. "I'll give you the coordinates and everything. Hey, I'll even give you one of my shuttles and some of my crew, would that please you, Wrex?"

"It will do, Shepard. It will do," Wrex finally agrees, appearing less annoyed.

"I'll tell James and Prothy to meet you in the docking bay in fifteen minutes," Shepard suggests, Wrex merely nodding as he heads straight for the armory, Morgan stopping by the cargo hold to inform Javik of his deployment and then telling the same to James, grinning inwardly as the heavily armed trio lumber into the spare Kodiak shuttle in preparation for departure.

_Morgan Shepard, at least you are sly enough to outwit a krogan,_ she smiles broadly as the Normandy finally reaches the skies of Tuchanka and Wrex pulls the Kodiak out of the docking bay, and away they go, about to ruin the day of Cerberus crews entrenched on the old military base below.

"Joker, please inform Liara and Garrus to get ready for deployment and meet me in twenty minutes in the docking bay," she tells her pilot on the comms. "I will also want EDI with me for this mission."

"Again? Oh, this is intolerable, Commander," Joker protests. "My morale is at an all time low right now."

"Well, if you don't do what I say, your count of unbroken bones will be at an all time low," Morgan chuckles, hearing Joker's grumbling in response.

Her squadmates soon join her in the armory in various states of readiness, slowly starting to prepare themselves for the mission. "Chakwas gave you the all clear, did I understand that right?" she asks of Garrus, watching the turian wince at the question.

"Yeah, but not before shouting an earful about me being irritating and irresponsible," he shrugs. "Sometimes I don't understand doctors. They should be glad that their patients are getting better, shouldn't they? That woman just wanted to keep me there for eternity."

Shepard chuckles. "Well, you can be a little stubborn, Garrus," Liara nods enthusiastically at that. "Anyway, about the mission. We're going to lend help to a turian vessel, shot down over Tuchanka. Garrus... you wouldn't know anything about that?"

Even one look at Garrus' surprised expression is enough to tell her that he has absolutely no clue about what is going on. "Turian ship on Tuchanka? No idea, Commander," he shakes his head. "Nobody told me anything about that. Must be information on a need-to-know basis."

"Well, we do need to know," Shepard sighs. "I guess the only way to find out what's going on is to go down there and see for ourselves. I don't suppose anyone else has useful intel about this?" she stares at EDI and Liara.

"We picked up increasing turian comm chatter as soon as we entered the system, but it was all encrypted," EDI replies politely. "Specialist Traynor advised against attempts to decrypt it, based on moral grounds."

"I have not heard anything about secret turian operations on Tuchanka," Liara shakes her head. "I'm sorry, Shepard."

"It's alright, I knew it was a long shot," Morgan says, before urging everyone to get into the shuttle, Cortez already waiting for them. "Now let's go save us some turians!"

* * *

"Hmmh," Wrex grunts, steering the shuttle towards the coordinates provided by Shepard. "I think I know this place. Ancient ground-to-space cannon facility that hasn't been used since the Rebellions."

"Is it still operational?" James asks.

"It shouldn't be," Wrex replies. "But Cerberus must think it to be of some value, or else they would not be here."

"It appears that krogan have mastered elementary deduction," Javik comments from his seat in the back. "When will the wonders cease?"

"The krogan have also mastered the art of punching annoying Protheans in the face," Wrex growls in reply. "Especially Protheans who do not understand what it means to be silent and take orders."

"I don't take orders from you, primitive reptile," Javik scoffs. "I will only listen to Commander Shepard, and even then with great reluctance."

"I thought she made it clear that for the purpose of this mission, I am Commander Shepard," Wrex says. "So you will listen to me or get your ass kicked."

"You're Commander Shepard?" James Vega laughs. "Well, let me just tell you, Lola... you have really let yourself go since I last saw you!"

Wrex sighs deeply. "Keep it up and I might just forget that I am only supposed to shoot Cerberus..."

Slowly they approach the ancient krogan facility. There are two gigantic main cannons that they can spot, their frames look tarnished and crumbling, but even knowing that their stealth dampeners hide their Kodiak, Wrex pulls the shuttle lower and out of range of the cannons, just in case Cerberus have managed to get them operational... which they have, as is revealed a moment later, the entire ground and the facility shaking as massive discharges of energy blow right past the shuttle, heading towards something outside the range of their scanners.

"What the... not operational, so much for that," James curses as Wrex slowly brings the shuttle to land at a quiet corner on the side of the old base. "That makes it pretty clear what they are up to here."

"Wonder what they're shooting at up there," Wrex looks thoughtful. "We have no ships, and Shepard thinks that Cerberus and Reapers are on the same side."

"It is possible they are merely testing the weapons system," Javik remarks. "Looking at the state it is in, they have only recently made it operational."

"And now we're going to take it away from them. I almost want to thank them for their services. Swift deaths will suffice as gratitude!" Wrex roars, charging forward with his customary subtlety.

* * *

Around thirty dead Cerberus troops later, Wrex, Javik and James stand around the ancient control center, all consoles and terminals replaced with up to date Cerberus tech, giving full access to controls and scans of the area.

"I should think of a joke about how many Cerberus operatives it takes to operate and defend a giant cannon," James chuckles at himself. "But I don't think that any finite number of them could withstand the assault by a badass krogan, creepy nightmare from the past and the second most impressive and capable human in the known galaxy."

"I am glad you are at least giving Commander Shepard the credit she deserves," Javik remarks.

"Only for the amazing way in which she fills out her uniform," James comes back with a witty remark that makes the two others wince as if having a spiking toothache. "Hey, don't look at me like that, _compadres_, I know that boat has sailed long time ago. Damn, it's just impossible to compete with an asari... and I know exactly why."

"You said it, Vega," Wrex lets out a disturbingly knowing chuckle. "You said it."

"This conversation is extremely inappropriate and unsettling," Javik complains. "It appears that it is typical of inferior races to indulge themselves in lewdness and debauchery."

"Oh come on, you can't be stone-faced all the time, Prothy," James says. "You must have got up to some mischief back in your days too. What about a quickie with an attractive female of your species down in the cargo hold, right before a vital mission? Or sharing some juicy gossip about your commanding officer? Or at least... farted in your armor a couple of times?"

Javik shakes his head at the first two and shows a blank stare at the last. "Death by dismemberment for the first, death by being buried alive for the second, and... I have no idea about the last..."

"Cheerful bunch," James rolls his eyes. "So... if you had survived into this cycle and restored your empire, then you would have forced your laws and traditions upon everyone, _si_?"

"Yes, without a moment's hesitation," Javik replies sternly.

"You know... I'm just thinking, maybe it's not a bad thing that the Reapers stomped out-"

James gets interrupted by Wrex's cheerful exclamation, causing him and Javik to break off their bickering. "I have it!" the krogan sounds pleased, finally managing to bring up the complete scans of the region before them. "What's this signature for?" he points at the only icon on the screen. "Doesn't look like the Normandy."

"That seems to be a Cerberus cruiser," James replies. "Just holding a steady orbit. Probably sent those shuttles with troopers we just took care of."

"I don't like Cerberus cruisers in my sky," Wrex growls, looking up the targeting console and trying to make any sense of it. He struggles with it for a minute or so, before Javik smugly walks up to him and with one push of a button uploads the scanned coordinates of the cruiser. "Right... I was just about to do that," the krogan mutters, then looking back at Javik. "So... now I just fire, yeah?"

"Yes. The big, red button that says 'firing controls'," Javik says, looking distinctively unimpressed.

"Hey, it's written in ancient krogan dialect," Wrex replies defensively, then turning back to James. "How many Cerberus troops did Liara say usually served on a cruiser?"

"Up to eight hundred," James replies.

"Ah-ha. Well, let's hope you've done this right, Bug-Eyes," Wrex tells Javik, before pushing the button to fire the cannons. The discharge of energy is so powerful that the krogan is left shaking, and the slightly lighter James and Javik are knocked on the floor, slightly winded.

"_Santa Madre_," James exclaims, getting up and looking at the range scans before them. The icon representing the Cerberus cruiser is no longer there, evaporated. "We just took out a Cerberus cruiser."

"Ah, all in a good days work," Wrex says, sounding satisfied. "And now to notify my clan to seize this facility for the krogan. When the real enemy shows up, with these cannons... we might even teach the Reapers to cry..."


	67. Preserving Alliances

_A/N: Two missions for the price of one in a slightly lengthier chapter today. Because I'm just such a nice guy. :) Also, perhaps I just want to move on to the more exciting stuff quicker. :P  
_

**Chapter 66 - Preserving Alliances**

"I don't like this," Shepard mutters to herself, looking outside the shuttle as Cortez carefully attempts to bring them as close to the turian crash site as possible. It is a typical Tuchanka landscape, with one of those ancient partially exposed underground bunkers, unfortunately swarming with Reaper forces. She can see remains of the frigate deeper in the ruins, and smoke and fire rising from the many escape pods scattered through the area, those inside now heavily besieged by the Reapers. "Hell, what a mess."

"Attempting to raise Lieutenant Victus," EDI says, trying the turian comm frequencies, but so far not having much success.

"From what you have told me and now seeing this... things don't look good for Victus," Garrus shakes his head, also taking in the situation.

"Tarquin might still be alive, we must not lose hope," Liara attempts to sound brave.

"I didn't necessarily mean him, but his father," Garrus replies. "Promoting his son without merit might cost him dearly. And then to watch him fumble the mission? That's... beyond bad. The others in the military will not be forgiving about this debacle."

"He said he needed someone he could trust implicitly," Shepard says. "I'm really curious just what it is that he's so desperate to hide."

"Agreed, Shepard," Garrus nods. "The Primarch knows that his own seat might be on the line here, so it has to be something of incredible importance."

"I understand he did say it was the matter of galactic peace," Liara says, looking at Shepard, Morgan nodding back at her. "I suppose that would qualify."

"Commander, I would not risk landing the shuttle inside the ruins," Cortez alerts them from the pilot's seat. "I spotted several harvesters in the area."

"Sure, drop us as close as you can get without attracting attention," Shepard agrees, having no desire to watch their shuttle crash and burn after a harvester attack.

"All signs indicate that the Reapers are unaware of our presence," EDI says, as they all prepare to disembark. "Their attention is focused solely on the turians."

"Having the element of surprise on our side is so unusual, that I suddenly have no idea on how to make the best use of it," Shepard chuckles as the shuttle finally lands and the cargo bay doors open.

"In that case, Commander..." Garrus says, the first to jump out and hit solid ground. "Just watch and learn by following my lead."

"I have established contact with Lieutenant Victus, Shepard, but the connection is bad," EDI informs her as they all exit the shuttle, weapons at the ready. "Patching you through."

EDI is not kidding about the connection being bad, Shepard can barely understand the sitrep that Tarquin Victus gives her. Apparently the main force of the Ninth Platoon still at the frigate are being boxed in by the Reaper harvesters and taking heavy casualties. Just like Shepard has observed, there are also many survivors in the escape pods, scattered through the ruins. At Shepard's request, the younger Victus fires a flare that goes up deceptively close, but knowing that traversing these labyrinths will not be as easy as jogging in a straight line, Morgan is aware that reaching the turian platoon might take considerable time and effort.

"Alright, it seems as if we don't have a lot of time," Shepard says, urging her squad onwards. "Let's save these turians."

For a while, they see only husks wandering around in small groups, and they fall swiftly, allowing Shepard and her group to continue on without disclosing their presence to the bulk of the Reaper force. The first turian escape pod they come across provides disturbing sights, it looks singed from the fire of twin cannons of the mutated klixen. Several turians have managed to crawl out, injured and bearing heavy scorch marks, but now they lay with their ribcages torn open, killed and eaten by husks, their victims helpless to resist.

They have better luck at the next escape pod. The turians are entrenched just outside the pod, facing heavy fire from cannibals and marauders across a chasm, and to add to the joy, a harvester is flying just above their heads, now and then taking shots at the desperate survivors. Morgan and her team manage to sneak up on the Reapers from behind, coolly executing them without allowing a single shot to be fired in their direction. Chasing off the harvester is a more difficult proposition, but it eventually flees, taking heavy damage from their combined weapons fire, plasma rounds fired from Shepard's and EDI's omni-tools and Liara's biotics.

"Damn you, Tarquin," Garrus curses quietly as they swiftly climb up a rickety ladder to the upper floors to reach another crashed escape pod. "I'm not sure that a family name as famous as Victus can withstand the dishonor that this debacle will bring. This is more of a mess than I thought it might be."

"Nothing good ever comes from burdening your children with the successes of your parents," Liara shakes her head sadly.

"I knew you were about to say that," Shepard looks at her. "But you've outgrown Benezia already, no matter what anyone else might think. Besides..." she flashes Liara a lopsided grin. "Think of all the burdens of success that our blue babies are going to face!"

Liara just rolls her eyes in reply, while EDI jumps in to spoil the fun. "Shepard, the chances of defeating the Reapers are so astronomically slim, that you do not need to concern yourself with that probability," the AI helpfully explains.

Shepard sighs deeply as they move on. "I defeat your cold logic with my blind optimism and positive outlook, so there," she says, sticking her tongue out, EDI missing the childish gesture.

"Quiet, Commander," Garrus warns her. "Reapers ahead, and the next pod. Looks like we've got the jump on them again."

"I could get used to this," Shepard grins, as they crawl closer to the unsuspecting cannibals and marauders.

This time, the Reaper force is more numerous, and those surviving the initial ambush now turn around to face them, exposing their backs to the turian snipers at the pod. Boxed in between the two groups of attackers, the Reapers fall swiftly, failing to inflict any serious harm. As the turians cheer at them, the harvester from the previous pod returns and decides to join in and crash the party, nearly succeeding in taking the turians by surprise. This time, however, it doesn't get the chance to retreat. As it takes back to its grotesque wings again, the harvester has taken too much damage, crashing back down and falling nearly on top of the turian pod, burning fiercely before exploding in a blast so bright that it makes Shepard temporarily blind.

A few of the turians have failed to escape the blast alive, but those who do thank them and promise to rendezvous at the frigate crash site, moving through the other side of the compound at a slower pace than Shepard and her comrades. The younger Victus occasionally contacts them on the comms, the connection getting clearer as they approach, but the turian lieutenant's voice is getting more and more urgent, as he requests their ETA in every short conversation.

"You can hear it in his voice, he knows he has made a bad call, disgraced his family," Garrus remarks after their latest update from Victus.

"I'm curious what is it exactly that he did," Liara wonders. "In any case, I wonder about this kind of operation on Tuchanka without letting the krogan know about it."

"Everything we have learned so far implies that this mission revolves around something that the krogan definitely do **not** need to hear about," EDI points out.

"And because of Victus' failure, now they will," Garrus curses.

"I'm not sure I can just keep lying to Wrex. Or that I want to," Shepard sighs. "Besides, the krogan themselves would have noticed something this big going on under their noses. It's only a matter of time until they start asking some hard questions."

"I guess we can decide what to do once we actually learn what this is all about," Liara shrugs her shoulders.

"And we're about to do just that. Look!" Shepard exclaims, pointing ahead. The burning wreck of the turian frigate lays just in front of them, the remains of the turian platoon entrenched around it, trying their best to fight off the massive Reaper force moving towards them, new ground troops being constantly brought in by a pair of harvesters. "Let's play this safe! We can't lose those turians, but if we rush across, those harvesters will just drop reinforcements on our heads."

"We've got them boxed in down there," Garrus says, his mandibles forming what Shepard has come to recognize as a grin in anticipation of violence. "Let's stick to this side and snipe them down one by one."

"That could take a while if they just keep getting reinforcements," Liara says. "We need to thin out their ground troops, but we also need to drive off those harvesters!"

"Dr. T'Soni and myself can focus on the harvesters when they appear," EDI suggests. "Commander Shepard and Garrus would be more efficient at quickly eradicating the ground forces."

"Hey Garrus, looks like it's time for another contest," Morgan grins, getting her sniper rifle ready, the turian following her example.

"Bring it on, Commander," Garrus says, as they both release their shots at once, striking true.

For a while, they are able to execute their plan to perfection, until one of the harvesters drops a pair of brutes very close to their location, likely identifying them as the greatest threat. With Shepard and Garrus immediately switching their fire to the brutes, they manage to bring the last one down as it is already charging at the unprotected EDI. Not wanting to see any more brutes being introduced to the battlefield, Shepard decides to swap to the harvesters herself, aiding Liara and EDI and eventually managing to bring down one and severely cripple the other, sending it packing. With the Reaper stream of reinforcements cut off, the battle is effectively over and shortly after they cross the corpse littered battlefield to meet up with the remains of the turian platoon.

The turians have taken heavy losses and by the time Shepard reaches them, the rank soldiers are already busy chewing out Victus, looking ready to lynch their superior officer. Only Shepard's arrival at the scene forces cooler heads to prevail, as Morgan demands an explanation from Tarquin Victus.

"I made a bad call, and they are right," he points at his angry looking soldiers. "This is all my fault. I chose caution and clever tactics over a head-on attack, and my men paid the price for it."

"That's my preferred tactic... when it works," Shepard shrugs. _I guess the turians hold themselves to different principles, and I probably shouldn't question them right now._

"We could see on holo that Reaper forces were blocking our intended path. Staying on course guaranteed heavy casualties," Victus explains further. "I decided on a safer route, skirting the enemy, but when we encountered resistance in these ruins, we had no room to maneuver. I lost half of my men in this disaster."

"How many men would you have lost if you had stuck with your intended course?" Shepard asks.

"His intentions don't matter. Only the results do, Shepard," Garrus speaks up.

"Correct," Lieutenant Victus nods. "The mission is a complete failure. Once we have recovered all the survivors, we will return to the fleet."

"The Primarch seemed to believe that your mission here could determine the galactic peace," Shepard says. "I still have no idea what it is about, but Primarch does not seem like the type to lie or exaggerate. If his words were true, then you can't abandon your mission."

"There's a… bomb on this planet," Victus finally discloses the goal of their mission. "We were sent to defuse it. This bomb is enormous and capable of unquantifiable levels of destruction. And… Cerberus has it."

"What?" Shepard exclaims. Of all the possibilities, something like this she has not expected. "They really want to ruin this krogan and turian alliance, don't they? Well, we can't allow them to do that, Lieutenant Victus!"

"With all due respect, Commander Shepard, but what are we supposed to do about it?" Tarquin protests. "We're short by thirty men, and I doubt those remaining will want to follow my commands anymore…"

"Then make them!" Shepard shouts, knowing that too much rests on this. "Kick their asses! Appeal to their honor! Whatever! Fate of Palaven depends on this alliance, don't you get it?"

"I… do get it, Commander," Tarquin Victus sighs heavily. "Very well. We will do all we can to complete our mission. Your aid would be appreciated as well."

"We'll be there," Shepard nods. "Send me the navpoint coordinates. Do you have means to travel?"

"Some of our shuttles are still intact," Victus replies, uploading the relevant data to Shepard's omni-tool. "As soon as I have convinced my men to continue our mission, we will be on our way to join with you."

"You better," Shepard adds with a hint of warning, watching with a corner of her eye EDI contacting Cortez to arrange their extraction. "This is an opportunity for you to redeem yourself and your family name. I suggest you make good on it." Tarquin Victus nods before returning to his men.

Cortez swiftly brings the Kodiak in and they climb inside, listening to Victus shouting at the rest of his men in the background. "All done, Commander?" Steve asks. "Ready to return to the Normandy?"

"Not yet, Steve," Shepard shakes her head. "EDI will give you new coordinates," she motions to the synthetic AI. "Take us there, but slowly, pick the safest path. I think those turians will need a little time to clear the air before they follow us."

"Shepard, those coordinates point to a spot in the heavily populated Kelphic Valley," EDI remarks. "It is an ideal place where to place a bomb if Cerberus intends to maximize casualties."

"Yeah, it seems like that would make sense, considering they already went to such lengths to destroy krogan and turian alliance on Sur'Kesh," Shepard says thoughtfully.

"But…?" Garrus prods her, sensing that she is not telling everything.

"It makes little sense, when you think about it…" Liara speaks, equally ponderous.

"You see it too, don't you?" Shepard asks her lover, Liara nodding back at Morgan. "If it's a Cerberus bomb, why would Victus want to hide it from krogan and from us? I think it's something else entirely. Maybe it's a turian bomb?"

"Why would turians plant a bomb on Tuchanka, we need this alliance," Garrus shakes his head. "Unless it's something done long time ago… maybe to keep the krogan in line? After the Rebellions?"

"All I know is that I'm suddenly very glad I managed to distract Wrex," Shepard sighs. "Though he'll learn about it sooner or later, and I can't imagine he'll be happy..."

The turians report in twenty minutes later, their shuttles approaching their target, choosing to land on the side opposite to Shepard's. According to Victus, the bomb is within this yet another complex of ruins, recently dug up by Cerberus, who had somehow learned of its existence, also confirming Shepard's theory about the bomb's origins. Area scans paint a very grim picture about enemy numbers, and they face heavy resistance immediately after landing way outside the facility, their approach hampered by troopers as well as heavy mortar fire.

At first, they are merely able to hold their position, their advance from drop point less than twenty yards. "Perhaps it would have been advisable to come clean to the krogan and ask for their assistance," EDI suggests, before reaching out from the cover to fire a few shots to force a bold Cerberus centurion scrambling for cover.

Shepard is almost forced to agree with EDI, but then the Ninth Platoon reports of having started their own advance, and soon enough, part of the Cerberus forces retreat from the battlefield to lend their hand against the more numerous turian attackers, taking the heat off from Shepard and her crew, letting them finally press forward again. "We need to get to the cover of the buildings," Garrus grinds out, keeping his head down as the mortars prove to be incredibly annoying nuisances.

Once they have finally reached the relative safety afforded by the walls of the collapsing compound, Victus contacts her on the comms to explain their plan, which is to reach the bomb and reprogram the trigger mechanism, so that it cannot be set off. "I can't believe that we could lose this alliance, and with it all our hope for victory because of one monstrous act of the past!" Liara exclaims, as they slowly press forward, despite the heavy Cerberus resistance.

"I wouldn't exactly say monstrous... those were desperate times," Garrus shrugs.

"Well, we're taking care of one fuckup of the past in the shape of genophage, might as well take care of another," Shepard smirks, before leaning out to quickly aim her rifle and place a shot right between the little slit in the guardian's shield, sending a bullet through his indoctrinated brain.

Not long after they come out on an open ramp, the site of Cerberus excavation spreading before them. The bomb is there, and it is enormous, like one of those early hydrogen bombs she has read about in the history books. Massive metal frame keeps the bomb casing suspended above the ground, and Shepard can see what is left of the Ninth Platoon heading straight for what appears like a control station nearby the planted bomb. "That's where we're going," she tells her squad, pointing ahead.

"I'm at the control panel, Commander," Victus reports on the comms. "But Cerberus have set up a firewall around the trigger mechanisms to slow us down. I'll need time to bypass it."

Garrus cuts in, grabbing Morgan's hand and turning her slightly to the left. There is a stream of Cerberus reinforcements approaching, heading straight for Victus and his decimated platoon, rank troopers, engineers and even the dreaded Atlas, at least three dozen foes in total. "You have a hell of a welcoming party incoming, Lieutenant, tell your men to get in position!" she quickly shouts on the comms. "We'll try to cut them off!" _Not sure how smart it is to have thirty Cerberus troops focused on us, but we have to do it. No other option... _

"Understood," Victus reports back. "Commander. Thank you for giving me the chance to make this right."

"Thank me when we're done here, Lieutenant," Shepard replies, before turning to her squad. "Well... I guess this is it. Let's move out."

"Wait, Commander," Garrus interrupts. "The turian platoon still numbers close to two dozen. Let them engage Cerberus, then hit them from behind."

"But they will be wiped out!" Liara exclaims.

"Our chances to withstand this kind of firepower are miniscule at best, Dr. T'Soni," EDI agrees with Garrus.

"They understood the risks," Garrus says grimly, looking at Shepard. "You know it's the right thing to do. If we die here, then the hope for this galaxy dies with us."

Shepard grinds her teeth. "Hold fire," she says tersely, until she hears the turians opening fire on the Cerberus forces, watching the Atlas fire its rocket launcher, the impact shaking the ancient walls in the distance. "Bring down that heavy mech first, then the engineers."

Their flanking operation catches the Cerberus forces off-guard. The Atlas is destroyed before it can clumsily turn around to fire at them, but the engineers manage to plant their turrets and they manage to give Shepard and her friends a pause. Liara has been shot in the left shoulder, wincing in pain until the medi-gel kicks in, blood staining her white suit. Garrus has been nicked in his left arm, making it hard for him to hold the rifle. Shepard herself has somehow managed to be shot in the left thigh twice, having no recollection of how it might have happened. EDI's shiny frame boosts a lot of ugly dents and scratches, and Shepard already knows that Joker's complaints will be lengthy and particularly insufferable.

The battle hangs in the balance for a good while, neither side being able to press forward. "Firewall's down, I'm in!" Victus suddenly shouts on the comms. "...spirits!" he swears. "Cerberus hacked the trigger mechanism! It's set to detonate!"

Morgan feels the sweat running down her back turning into ice water. "Can you disarm it?" she shouts back.

"No time!" comes the returned shout. "I need to separate the trigger from the bomb, now!"

"Victus? Lieutenant Victus?" Shepard yells in the comms, but there is no response.

"Look!" Garrus pulls on her arm, pointing towards the bomb in the distance. There is a small shape of a turian climbing up the support beams to reach the heavy carcass of the bomb. "What the hell is he doing? Oh... don't tell me he's going to..."

"Keep shooting the Cerberus!" Shepard yells, herself being unable to keep watching Victus' insane efforts as he runs across the beams, reaching the bomb and now standing right on top of it, fiddling with something inside its casing. "They'll try to snipe him if they catch on to what he's doing!"

Everyone quickly refocuses on their efforts at keeping the Cerberus forces at bay, in particular harassing the engineers to prevent them from setting up any more turrets. Slowly, inch by inch, they are pressing Cerberus back, and the turians on the other side of the battlefield are holding their ground as well. In the distance, it seems that the bomb is now pulsating with a threatening yellow light, indicating that it is about to blow up.

"Lieutenant!" Shepard yells in the comms, growing desperate. _This isn't how I imagined it will all end. We were supposed to stop the Reapers, damn it!_

"Goddess..." Liara whispers, looking at the bomb, forgetting to fire at the Cerberus troopers. Victus is now hanging down from one side of the bomb, tearing off metal plating from its casing and reaching inside to remove something, likely the trigger. He seems to be pulling at something with all of his might, trying to tear it off.

"Victory... at any cost..." Shepard hears him speaking on the comms, as the casing with the trigger separate from the core of the bomb and topple to the ground, taking Victus with them, swallowed in the explosions and roaring fire as the construction crashes on top of the surviving soldiers of the platoon. The core remains held safely high up in the air, Victus' heroic last effort preventing its detonation.

"Damn it..." Morgan swears, watching the Cerberus forces now turn around to converge on their location. "Uh.. we might need to leave in a hurry. Cortez? Cortez, do you copy?"

"I'll say," Garrus nods, still looking quite shaken from watching Tarquin sacrifice himself to prevent the explosion. He then points to the ruins on their right, more and more armed soldiers arriving. "Cerberus reinforcements are on the way, we should make ourselves scarce."

"Those are not Cerberus soldiers, Garrus," EDI points out. "Those are krogan."

"By the goddess, EDI is right," Liara exclaims, having watched the Cerberus forces now coming under attack of the enraged krogan, getting quickly overwhelmed.

"This changes nothing, though," Shepard says, leading her squad back deeper into the ruins and away from the fighting, punching their coordinates through to Cortez. "If there's one thing I don't want to do here, it's to explain the situation to an angry clan of krogan..."


	68. The Time Capsule

_A/N: Extra schmaltzy ending for this chapter, so if you are allergic to fluff, consider taking some antihistamines. ;) _

**Chapter 67 - The Time Capsule**

The first thing that Shepard does back on the Normandy is to head directly to the War Room to see Primarch Victus, while hoping to evade Wrex, and for once luck is on her side as she catches the turian leader all alone. "Primarch," she says, not bothering to smoothen the harsh undertones in her voice. "I assume that you have been briefed about the results of our mission."

"I have, yes," he admits slowly. "I understand that you are angry, Commander."

Shepard lets out a noncommittal grunt. "I just wish you had been more upfront with me, I mean, I was going to find out for myself anyway," she sighs.

"I was worried you would tell Wrex and jeopardize this alliance," Primarch admits.

"He might be pissed off even more about us not telling him," Shepard says. "And anyway, he probably knows by now. I saw krogan troops moving in to secure the place as we made our getaway."

"It was a difficult call to make. I trust you can see why. You are woman of great integrity, Commander, but I still do not know you very well," Victus explains. "In my place, would you have been able to put your people's future in the hands of their ancient enemies, and the last race that your people have been to war with? We were at each other's throats only thirty years ago, Commander."

"I didn't say that I disagreed with your decision," Shepard smiles thinly. "I would have probably done the same thing in your place. I simply said that I **wished** you hadn't done it."

"I see," Victus nods. He hesitates a little before speaking up again. "I owe you on a deeply personal level as well, Commander. You saved my son and ensured that he got the chance to restore his honor. And the honor of our family, which I had so... recklessly placed in jeopardy."

"I am sorry that he had to die," Shepard replies simply.

"My son died with the respect of his men. His sacrifice will be recorded in the histories of the Ninth Platoon, something any father would be proud of. The time for mourning will come later, when we are done with this war," Victus replies. "I am not the first father to lose his son in this war and I won't be the last."

Just then, their talk is interrupted by a large and angry krogan, charging into the War Room and looking extremely ticked off, glaring at them both, but Victus in particular. "What is this I have to learn about a doomsday bomb on my planet?" he bellows. "You should have told me, you coward! And you!" he turns towards Shepard. "Had to lure me away, hoping to take care of it quickly and silently? I thought our friendship meant something, tell me if I was wrong, Shepard!"

"We couldn't risk another galactic war!" Victus exclaims, not giving Shepard the chance to explain herself.

"Genophage wasn't enough for your people?" Wrex snarls. "You had to plant a bomb on my planet?"

"It was done centuries ago!" Victus protests defensively. "A mistake of our ancestors that we attempted to correct!"

A slender shape of an asari glides into the War Room, Aethyta swiftly interposing herself between Wrex on one side and Shepard and Victus on the other side. "Shepard had no knowledge of this bomb being planted by the turians, before she accepted this task. And while I agree that the Primarch needed to be honest, he has paid for his mistake. His son is dead, the Ninth Platoon wiped out," the asari speaks, and Wrex listens, not daring to interrupt her. "Your anger is understandable, but misplaced. You know where to direct it."

Wrex's only reply at first is an irritated and quiet growl. "If they pull another move like that, this alliance is off," he then says.

"I doubt they have another bomb planted on Tuchanka," Shepard tries to smile, then looking at the Primarch worriedly. "...err, do you?" Victus shakes his head in reply. "Just bear with us a little longer, Wrex. We're about to cure the genophage, damn it. This is hard for all of us."

Wrex scoffs at that statement. "I've got Reapers on my planet. A bomb that almost blew up my planet. And if those two fail, we have the genophage to make sure we all go extinct anyway." He glares at Shepard again. "So don't give me that 'we all have it hard' crap, Shepard. You have no idea."

"For the sake of your people, you will just have to summon a little more patience, Wrex," Aethyta says softly.

"I have already displayed an extraordinary patience for a krogan," Wrex says, shaking his head. "I don't know if there is any left."

"I'm sure there is," Aethyta smiles, gently patting Wrex on the hand. "After all, I know that you are an extraordinary krogan," she adds, making Wrex appear amusingly flustered and hesitant all of a sudden. _Wow, she's really good at defusing situations like this,_ Shepard gives Aethyta and appreciative look. _Though, I'm not sure I'd want to sleep with Wrex just to keep him in line. _

Before Aethyta can embarrass Wrex any further, Mordin appears in the War Room, looking even more energetic and excited than usually. "Everyone here, excellent!" he addresses the gathering. "Tests verified. Results promising! Can synthesize for universal krogan immunity."

"Does that mean you will finally put your knife away?" Wrex says, looking relieved, discreetly rubbing his backside.

"Are you saying the cure is ready?" Morgan asks the salarian.

"Need at least twelve hours to finalize everything," Mordin replies. "Also need transmission vector. Cure useless if not given to entire species."

"Well..." Morgan tries to think of something. "Say, how was the genophage distributed originally? Maybe the same method could be used? It would provide for a beautiful symmetry, too."

"We used the Shroud facility," Primarch Victus admits quietly, facing away from the dark glare Wrex sends his way.

"The Shroud, of course! Constant global dispersion of air particles!" Mordin exclaims enthusiastically. "Built by salarians to repair the atmosphere of Tuchanka. Counteracted the damage from the nuclear war. Also demonstration of goodwill to krogan at the start of uplift process. Impressed population, combined with technological gifts, easy to gain krogan support against rachni." The Professor stops his explanation there, rubbing his chin thoughtfully. "Turian use of the Shroud also means original strain of genophage still stored in facility. Can use it as transmission vector. The Shroud will blanket Tuchanka with the cure."

Wrex breaks out in laughter, shaking his head at Mordin. "You **are** one clever little pyjak. That does sound like our best shot. And Shepard, I agree... it would be fitting to use the Shroud." Another glare at Victus follows.

"Yes, yes, we inflicted the genophage on your people," the Primarch exclaims, starting to lose his patience. "Does it really matter how exactly we did it?"

"Not after we cure the genophage," Shepard replies, then turning towards Mordin again. "Very well, finish your preparations and be ready. How is Eve's health?"

"Done all I could," Mordin shrugs his shoulders. "Should be enough."

"Alright. I think I'll use these remaining hours to try and get some rest," Morgan says, yawning a little, suddenly realizing how tired she is from her efforts at helping the turian platoon. Aethyta slips right beside her as she leaves the War Room. "Thanks for defusing the situation in there," she tells the asari gratefully.

"Don't mention it, babe," the matriarch smiles back. "I have my ways of handling krogan."

"I'll try to pretend that wasn't a dirty double entendre and will instead simply ask if you haven't seen Liara?" Morgan asks, grinning.

"I believe she went to the medbay to get herself patched up, after you got my daughter shot _again_," Aethyta's reproachful stare fails to convey any kind of harshness, however. "After that, she intended to speak with the Prothean. If you ask me, that guy is a pain in the ass," she leans closer to whisper in Shepard's ear. "Consider spacing him when she's not looking."

Shepard laughs. "It might come to that, yeah," she agrees, before turning towards the elevator with the intention to head back up to her quarters. "Damn that Prothy... this could take a while..."

* * *

"You ask a lot of questions, asari," Javik chuckles mockingly, standing at one of the newly installed water tanks in the cargo hold, for some reason vigorously washing his hands. "One could think you have never seen a Prothean before."

"The only Protheans I have seen have been indoctrinated," Liara replies tamely, still feeling rather intimidated by her severe host.

"They survived into this cycle?" Javik looks incredulous.

"Yes, but we called them 'Collectors'," Liara explains. "They were pawns of the Reapers. For a long time nobody even realized they had once been Protheans. Shepard had no choice but to destroy the ones she encountered. They were all indoctrinated, and had been for a long time... I'm sorry."

"Shepard fought them?" Javik asks. "But you did not?"

"I was... not with Shepard at the time," Liara confesses.

"Then the Commander deserves my gratitude for this act of mercy," Javik says, then giving Liara an unfriendly stare. "You, however... deserve only scorn for seeking to benefit from the Commander's efforts, while by your own admission doing nothing."

"What?" Liara exclaims, hurt by the unjust accusation. "I... that was not my intention at all! You are... very difficult to speak with."

"Good," Javik nods simply. "Why are you even interested in my people, asari?"

"The fate of the Protheans has always been an enigma to the galaxy," Liara replies, trying to remain polite. "They were like a mystery to solve, because we had no idea what caused your sudden and inexplicable downfall. I wanted to know what happened to your civilization. Why did such an enlightened race disappear?"

"Enlightened?" Javik stares at her, and she almost flinches at the unnerving expression in those four cold eyes.

"Well... all our discoveries seemed to point at that," she manages.

"And now that I am here?" Javik asks.

_An honest answer or a vaguely evasive one? Honest or evasive?_ "I, err... imagine it is difficult to wake fifty thousand years later to a new galaxy," Liara tries.

"This cycle cares too much about what other species think," Javik shakes his head angrily. "Krogan, turian, salarian, all were primitives in my time! What good does their help do now?"

_What sort of question is that? Isn't it obvious?_ "Well... we need their help to defeat the Reapers..."

"Then demand their help! Do not indulge their selfish requests! What will saving one krogan matter?" Javik is almost shouting at her and Liara finds herself slowly backing towards the exit.

"Excuse me?" she asks nervously.

"If they get in your way, destroy them!" Javik yells, and Liara waits no longer, turning around and fleeing the cargo hold, feeling her heart beating wildly.

_They are nothing like the people I thought I dedicated my life to study,_ she feels like sobbing after jumping in the elevator and now having difficulties in selecting her destination, Morgan's quarters or her own. _Aggressive imperialists who left the galaxy quaking in terror, not the noble benefactors, devoting themselves to thoughtful and considerate uplifting of other species. _

_My theories on them now seem full of romanticized nonsense, _she feels her own cheeks burning with shame at her childishness. _And all those professors who looked at me and nodded at my now worthless research, praising it because they did not know any better. Or perhaps they just did not dare to disagree with Benezia's daughter? _Liara feels a few tears escaping her eyes, but she hastily brushes them away. _He makes me want to just... to just tear my Serrice University diploma and erase all those wasted years from my life... I am no Doctor T'Soni... Gullible Fool T'Soni would be more appropriate... _

Eventually she selects the crew deck and rushes to her quarters before anyone can see how upset she appears. It takes a while before she recovers her wits, slowly regaining her self-belief and determination. _I found the Prothean blueprints that might just save the entire galaxy,_ she realizes. _And I'm helping to decode them, my studies have not been for nothing, and I will not allow that bastard on the lower decks to ever make me feel like that again!_

Her eyes fall on a little box on her desk, something she has been working on in her spare time. _In a few hours, we're heading back down to Tuchanka, and coming back in one piece is not guaranteed,_ she thinks. _It might be the last opportunity to show my little project to Morgan._ With this thought, Doctor Liara T'Soni eventually reaches for the intercom.

* * *

Morgan is lounging on her bed, restless, despite knowing that she needs the sleep before this mission of paramount importance. The soft beep of intercom is a little unexpected, even more so because it is Liara. "Can I come up, Morgan?" she asks. "I have something to show you."

"Silly, you know you don't need a permission," Morgan gently chides her.

In a few moments, Liara appears in her quarters, carrying a little black box in her hands, looking at it as if it contained something incredibly precious. She places the box on the table and remains sitting on her knees next to it. "I have been thinking..." she starts in a heavy voice. "Of the knowledge we have gathered on the Reapers and how easily it could be lost again. So... I put a plan in motion to preserve things for the future."

"Good idea," Morgan says, sitting back on the sofa. "Though I hope the future generations will have no need of it, once we take care of everything."

"I hope so as well, but it is always recommended to have a backup plan," Liara says. She presses a button at the side of the box, bringing up a small holo screen, which she quickly manipulates with her agile fingers. The displayed projections reveal everything they have gathered so far. "It is a record of the galaxy. Information on the Reapers, relays, different cultures... and the Crucible blueprints."

Liara stops to give Shepard a tender look before continuing. "There is, however, one entry that I wanted your opinion on..."

"And that is?" Morgan asks, curious and moved from the entire idea.

Liara's fingers poke at the screen and it brings up the image of Shepard in her dress blues, saluting. "Your own," she says softly. "I would be honored to have your input. How would you like the history to remember you?"

Shepard rises sharply, turning away from Liara, suddenly finding the lump in her throat making it difficult to breathe. "I... I..." she struggles to speak.

"Morgan, is everything alright?" there is concern in the asari's voice.

"I don't like it," Morgan shakes her head. "Not like this, it... should not be like this."

"I... have I offended?" Liara sounds devastated. "I did not mean to, I am so sorry!"

"No! No... no, you have not offended," Morgan exclaims quickly. "But it shouldn't be me, not like this. Please... let me suggest something else instead." She quickly enables her omni-tool, browsing through a variety of images, until she finally finds the one she has been thinking of. She turns back towards Liara, attempting to upload her selected image to Liara's time capsule, and the asari lets out a gasp when she sees what has replaced the lonely saluting Commander Shepard. It is the picture of herself together with Shepard, both standing proudly side by side, presenting their findings before the Council, the image of the Crucible blueprints displayed by her omni-tool. Liara looks so deadly serious and taken as she addresses the Council, and Morgan's face is swelling with adoration and pride as she looks at her lover.

"No... I... I just couldn't assume such honor, Morgan... it would be unprofessional of me..." Liara stutters, overcome with emotion. "Besides... I have not done anything to deserve this..."

"Perhaps they are right when they say that we wouldn't have a chance to defeat the Reapers without me," Morgan faces her as she speaks seriously. "But they forget that I would not have come all this way without you, Liara. Never. For that alone I will have you written in the stars alongside me. It will be this way or not at all, I insist."

"You... you know I can't deny you," Liara sighs, defeated, but happy beyond description. "What do you say if... I will speak the words about you, and you do the same for me?"

"Sure, go ahead," Morgan nods. "You first."

"Alright..." Liara rises from the floor and begins pacing as she speaks. "Earth's most famous officer was born and raised in space. Commander Morgan Shepard was a deadly tactical fighter and most enemies never saw her coming. She was a soldier, and a leader, and she made peace wherever she could. And it was a privilege to know her."

"Okay, my turn," Morgan sits down again, thinking of what to say. "Dr. Liara T'Soni was the foremost Prothean expert of her day. Through her dedicated research and knowledge, the blueprints for the Crucible were recovered. Dr. T'Soni was not known only for her keen intelligence and fierce dedication, she was also a highly skilled biotic and her loyalty to Shepard was unwavering. And it was a privilege to love her."

"What... did I say something wrong?" she asks then, looking at Liara in surprise, seeing the tears streaming down her lover's cheeks.

"Goddess, Morgan..." Liara exclaims, leaping on her like a crazed panther, and Shepard suddenly finds herself kissed with ferocity never before witnessed in her lover, the asari's hands insistently peeling her out of her uniform as if she has taken Aethyta's advice close to heart. "Goddess, please, I beg you..." Liara half-sobs, half-whispers, her needy kisses and caresses quickly setting Shepard on fire. "Goddess, please, grant me an eternity with her... my love for her knows no bounds..."

"That would suit me just fine..." Shepard whispers, starting to help Liara out of her own clothing, watching her lover's eyes slowly grow dark, clinging on to her, opening her mind, her soul, her entire being to their Joining. "...I wish I could make this last for eternity..."


	69. A Lizard's Offer

_A/N: A shorter chapter this time, just making all the final preparations before the main Tuchanka mission. I should have the next one ready for Saturday. _

_And yes my friend, I know the chapter title should probably be 'A Frog's Offer', but... that sounds kinda crappy, doesn't it? _

**Chapter 68 - A Lizard's Offer**

Her head still seems to be ringing and spinning slightly, when Morgan Shepard opens her eyes the morning after. Carefully, she examines her surroundings, first her attention attracted by the soft shape of her gloriously nude lover, pressed tightly against her, the expression on her face like frozen in a moment of perfect bliss, and Morgan tries to avoid moving and waking her. Somehow, they have managed to make their way back to the bed last night, though Morgan has no true recollection of all the details, despite it being literally mind-blowing. The chrono suggests that they have two hours left before departure, and she realizes that they cannot remain in bed any longer.

She gently shifts her weight, unsuccessfully trying to avoid rousing Liara, a tremor running through the asari as she lifts her head off Shepard's shoulder, licking her lips before opening her eyes. "Morning, beautiful," Morgan chuckles, giving her lover a fond stare.

"Morning..." Liara manages, looking rather sleepy and exhausted. "Is it time already?"

"We have a few hours," Morgan replies. "But we should eat and prepare, so we cannot linger here too long. After last night... I feel like a I really need to take on a lot of food to replenish all the spent energy."

Liara beams in a happy smile. "I quite agree, Commander of my heart."

Morgan gives her an inquisitive stare. "That was... I don't know, but that Joining somehow felt different from the other times," she remarks thoughtfully. "Did you feel it too?"

Liara hesitates a little before answering. "I'm not sure... it was very intense, but..." Shepard gives her a slightly disbelieving stare, sensing that she is holding something back. "Morgan, I... I don't think I have ever loved you as much as I did that moment when you spoke those words about me..." she says softly, pulling herself up to the Commander and then pressing her lips against Shepard's in the most tender of kisses, and it quickly makes Morgan forget everything else but the amorous attentions of her lover.

_If there's anything else beyond what she's telling me, I will simply trust her to do so on her own terms,_ Shepard decides as they part, Liara's fingers tracing her cheek affectionately. "I don't think I will be able to use those exact words you spoke last night," Liara then says, looking at the time capsule, sitting abandoned on the table. "I will have to use something a little less... impartial, just to make sure this historical record is taken seriously. Do not mistake me, I'm still grateful you said what you did, but..."

"Oh, I understand," Shepard grins. "Feel free to edit as you please. But hey, if saying things that sound like taken from a diary of a lovesick teenage girl gets me a night of amazing sex with you, well, I might just try that again."

Liara laughs. "And you just might not hear me raising any complaints about that." She then yawns, reluctantly pulling away from Shepard. "Breakfast time?" she asks. "I do feel quite ravenous."

Now it is Shepard's turn to laugh. "I'm not bloody surprised, babe. I'm not bloody surprised..."

* * *

Down in the mess hall, there are only a few people up and about, Adams and Chakwas are sitting at one table, Garrus alone at the other, and Prothy leaves the deck just as Shepard and Liara arrive, Morgan sensing her lover reflexively pressing tighter against her as the Prothean walks past them without saying a word. "He managed to... upset me a little, yesterday," Liara confesses at Morgan's urging, Shepard feeling her blood boil in anger at hearing the words of her lover. "I think I should... just leave him alone for now, it was my own fault for bothering him."

"Are you talking about our good friend Prothy?" Garrus looks up at them as they sit down at his table with trays full of food. They both nod as one in reply to the turian. "We had a little chat just now. He said he was pleasantly surprised by the development of my people, and informed me that the turians would have made excellent subservient race in his glorious empire."

"How nice of him," Shepard says, rolling her eyes. "What brought on this gesture of kindness and goodwill?"

"He was impressed by the turians placing the bomb on Tuchanka," Garrus says, sighing deeply. "But of course, he also chided me for not actually detonating it."

"Of course he would say that," Shepard groans. "I'm really starting to wonder if I have made a mistake with that guy." She notices Liara shaking her head resolutely. "What, you still think taking him on was a good idea, after everything?"

"Yes," Liara nods. "He is still getting used to us. Everything around him is completely new. He just needs more time..."

"At least James says he's handy with the rifle," Garrus shrugs. "As long as he's killing the Reapers, I will tolerate him."

"I suppose so," Shepard nods, taking a bite of her toast. "So... you met him in the mess hall. We still don't know what he eats, did you manage to find out?"

"No, he simply poured himself a glass of juice and looked over everything on offer without taking anything," Garrus explains. "But he has to have something other than salarian livers on his diet, because Mordin is alive and well, scurrying around the medbay."

"Oh, Commander?" Engineer Adams calls out to her from the other table, having overheard their conversation. "The Prothean came to ask me whether you really have fish up in your quarters. I'm not sure what it was about, but I thought you should know."

"Err, thanks Adams," Shepard replies, turning back to her friends. "I thought a few of my koi fishes had gone missing... damn that Prothy!" Garrus just laughs at that and Liara can't hide a smile either. "I'm going to get another one of those 'No Protheans Allowed' signs we put on the female restrooms and place it on my aquarium, maybe that'll stop him."

As they continue to eat and chat, Shepard suddenly sees Wrex entering the mess hall. He enters from the right doorway, and in a way that makes it clear that he has arrived here either from the men's restrooms or the Normandy's lounge, Shepard clearly suspecting the latter. As usual, Wrex doesn't bother with puny dishes, he simply crams all the food directly on the tray and even so Shepard knows he will be making at least two trips back for a refill.

"You're looking very energetic this morning, Wrex," Liara offers with a polite smile. "Looking forward to making this an important day in the history of your people?"

"The most important day, Liara," Wrex corrects her, nodding. "And yes, we are going to cure the genophage. I can feel it in my bones," he adds, stretching, then throwing a backwards glance towards the lounge. "Whatever happens down on Tuchanka, I won't be returning to the Normandy. But the farewells have been said, I am good to go."

Liara stares in the direction Wrex had glanced back to, slowly thinking about some of the things that she has seen and heard in the past few days, and Shepard watches her slowly putting two and two together. "You... and my dad... you didn't..." Wrex's grin spreads to enormous proportions of smugness at Liara's words. "Oh goddess..." Liara groans, covering her face with her palms. "This is... so embarrassing! Why, oh why, did she have to do this to me... goddess, I can't believe this! What was she thinking of?!"

"Hey, don't mouth off at your father," Wrex tells her. "She's... something special alright. Because of her... and I guess you too, Liara, I have decided that the asari won't be on the chopping block when we krogan once again rise to take the galaxy for ourselves!" he adds, but thankfully his words are followed by bellowing laughter, making Morgan hopeful that it was merely a joke.

"Oh... I see..." Liara says quietly, sharing a look with Shepard, and Morgan senses that the asari has realized her father's reasons and intentions. "Well, I'm sure we'll be thankful to you for being so considerate," she manages a small smile.

"I'm not sure what to do with your people, Garrus," Wrex says, suddenly clapping the turian on the shoulder in a way that catches Garrus completely unaware and almost sends him sprawling on the floor. "I thought about being merciful, but then I find out about my old friend hiding the fact of a turian doomsday bomb on my planet... makes you think, doesn't it?"

"Hey, Wrex..." Garrus sighs, rubbing his shoulder. "I was completely in the dark over this, honest!"

Wrex laughs with great relish. "That's all I wanted to hear," he chuckles. "Just trying to make you sweat, Garrus. Wasn't sure you could, you're always so calm."

"I'd be happy to give you some lessons on relaxing," Garrus replies.

"Don't take this the wrong way, Garrus, but I think Matriarch Aethyta has that covered," Morgan adds, smirking.

"Shepard!" Liara admonishes her, blushing furiously.

"Uh, what I meant to say... Wrex, once you're done eating, get back up to the War Room," Shepard says, pushing her tray aside and picking up the mug of coffee to take it with her. "I'm going to grab Mordin and Victus and then together we can go over our plans in greater detail."

"Just give me... few minutes..." Wrex mumbles, mouth stuffed full as they all depart, allowing him to finish his meal in peace.

* * *

"Right..." Morgan Shepard ponderously stares at the scans of the Shroud area, glaring at the blotched bright red signature denoting a Reaper. "So they have parked one of their destroyers right outside the Shroud. Figures."

"The shuttles are a no go, Commander," Joker says on the comms.

"I'm aware," she replies tersely. _The red particle beam against the deep blue carcass of the Kodiak shuttle, cutting it like knife through butter. 'Mommy! Help!'_ She shakes her head, swallowing hard, forcing the memory back down again. "Don't tell me that this is just a coincidence and it happens to just sit there for no reason!"

"If Cerberus knows of our plans, and they are indoctrinated like you believe, Shepard," Wrex says. "Then that means the Reapers also know of our plans. They will do all they can to stop us. But it won't do them any good."

"We need to get that Reaper away from the Shroud so that we can put our plans into motion," Shepard speaks. "I'm not sure a ground force alone will be enough, and the krogan have no ships that can help. Primarch..." she turns to Victus. "Can you get us some air support, anything?"

Victus nods after a moment of pause. "I will see what I can rouse on such short notice. It won't be much... but it is for Palaven, so I will do what I can."

"A combined attack?" Wrex looks at her. "My krogan hit the Reaper from the ground, while the turians provide airstrikes? Yes... that might drive it off."

"Plan appears sound. Small team can reach the Shroud facility. Finish synthesizing cure," Mordin nods approvingly. "Will have to bring Eve with us."

"We'll take the shuttles and head to a safe spot planetside," Morgan says, looking at Wrex. "I'm trusting you to coordinate with the krogan clans, we should link our forces before heading out to the Shroud."

"The clans are gathering as we speak, Shepard, do not worry about it," Wrex replies.

"Primarch Victus, get in touch with me as soon as you have news about our air support," she tells the turian leader.

"Understood, Shepard," he nods. "And good luck, to all of you."

"I think that about wraps it up," Shepard finishes, nodding to Wrex and Mordin. "Grab Eve and all the others, then get to the shuttles and be ready to leave."

"Let's do this!" Wrex roars, turning to leave the War Room. "Let's cure the genophage!"

"Chest pounding ridiculous, tiresome," Mordin mutters quietly as he passes by Shepard, making her chuckle.

She is about to follow them out, but at that precise moment, the voice of Specialist Traynor interrupts her. "Commander, there is an incoming message, marked urgent," she informs Shepard. "I'll put it in the comm room for you."

"Ugh, the timing of some people," Shepard grumbles, heading towards the comm room, surprised to see the gravely image of Dalatrass Linron expecting her. "Uh... Dalatrass? To what do I owe this dubious pleasure?"

"We know you've reached Tuchanka," Linron cuts right to the chase. "And by now, I imagine you have arrived to the inevitable conclusion that the only way for you to put your foolish plans in motion is to use the Shroud."

"Is there a point to this?" Shepard wonders openly, not caring anymore about offending the Dalatrass, their relationship already ruined beyond repair.

"Commander, you can't allow your misguided sympathy for the krogan to cloud your judgment," Linron shakes her head. "Do you honestly believe that curing the genophage will end in lasting peace?"

Shepard's only response is a hollow laughter. "You believe in a concept like 'lasting peace' and yet you are the one implying I'm misguided and naive? There is no such thing as lasting peace, it is as simple as that. And I would rather deal with krogan rebellions later than being wiped out by the Reapers **now**!"

"They will reproduce out of control! They will become more numerous than the Reapers themselves!" Linron raises her voice. "We uplifted them specifically for their violent nature, not their diplomatic skills. Another war is inevitable."

"I agree on that. There will always be more and more wars, let's not fool ourselves," Shepard smirks. "But you are not here for a philosophical debate. What do you want, Dalatrass?"

"Very well," Linron straightens up as she speaks. "Years ago, our operatives sabotaged the Shroud facility to ensure what you're planning to do couldn't be done. But Mordin Solus is well capable of detecting and repairing this malfunction. I suggest that you ensure he doesn't do so. The cure's viability will be altered just enough so that it fails. No one will notice the change."

_Gods, what she is suggesting..._ cold shiver rushes through Morgan in realization at the consequences of this monstrous betrayal. _A way to get both krogan and salarians onboard, and god knows we desperately need everyone we can get, but... how can she ask me to do this to Wrex and his people, it is... incredible, despicable beyond belief! _

"I will pretend that I did not hear this suggestion, Dalatrass Linron," she finally manages an icy reply. "Even if I could trick Wrex and the krogan, Mordin would never stand for that. Are you asking me to shoot one of your own people in the back?"

Linron merely shrugs. "How you deal with him is up to you. I am merely saying that we can provide you our very best scientists to build the Crucible, and the full support of our fleets."

_I already have the support of many salarian scientists, and several STG groups,_ Morgan smirks inwardly. _And while your fleets would be useful and welcomed, they are not as impressive as you would have me believe._ "I'm sorry, Dalatrass, but I will have to say no," she finally speaks up. "Oh, and let me add just one more thing before we part. While I actually approve of your attempts to make Councilor Udina's life utterly miserable with your complaints and allegations, I must also warn that should you try to actively sabotage our plans to fight the Reapers, I will be forced to take more extreme measures."

"Meaning what, Commander Shepard?" Linron glares at her.

"The footage from the STG base will get mysteriously leaked to the extranet," Shepard smiles coolly. "I shudder to think the explaining you would have to do, Dalatrass."

Linron shows no emotion when she looks back at Shepard. "Perhaps you misunderstood me, Commander," she says in a toneless voice, before terminating the connection. "I merely offered you a choice. What you do with it... is up to you."

_Did she seriously expect me to take her up on that offer? I'm not that desperate yet to sacrifice all my principles to achieve victory, no matter what Javik might say about that._ Morgan is still fuming on her way down to the docking bay. _I need to tell Mordin about the sabotage, though, and hopefully he will be able to fix it as Linron said he would._

Her team has gathered and are waiting impatiently as she finally arrives, faces filled with anxiety and determination. She turns to Wrex first. "Are we good to go?" she asks.

"The clans have already started to gather at the Hollows, our sacred meeting ground." Wrex replies. "We can land there and take an armed convoy against the Reaper."

"Alright! It's time we undid one of the worst mistakes in the galactic history!" Morgan speaks, rubbing her hands together and sporting a predatory grin. "Mordin, Wrex and Eve with me and Cortez in the first shuttle. Garrus, you take the others in the second shuttle. Let's go, go, go!"


	70. Rewriting Ancient History

_A/N: Well, the main Tuchanka mission predictably became a two-parter. I'll try to put up the resolution in a few days. :) Don't expect super many changes for this, because this was one of the missions I thought were excellently done in the game. But hopefully there will be enough small tweaks and original dialogue to keep you entertained. :) _

**Chapter 69 - Rewriting Ancient History**

"Wrex, it's Wreav! The Reapers are already at the Hollows! Come out with guns blazing!" the message on the comms reaches them with the LZ approximately five minutes out, and interrupting Morgan just as she is about to reveal the Shroud sabotage to Mordin and the two krogan.

The sacred meeting place looks extremely despoiled with husk remains by the time they reach it and land, Eve remaining in the shuttle, just in case. Down in the Hollows, the husks are still pressing on, but the krogan are rejoicing in the challenge, tearing through the waves of enemies easily, not leaving much for Shepard and her companions to mop up. Eventually the waves of reinforcements stop, the krogan emerging with only one or two dead, while the sacred floors of the Hollows are literally covered with a carpet of husk bodies.

"Husks? Do they seek to insult us?" Wrex roars, throwing a Reaper limb across the sacred halls of Hollows in disgust.

"Don't worry Wrex, we start small with husks, then work our way up to the destroyer," Morgan grins, as her squad all as one climb down the ancient stairway to join the gathered krogan clans on the floor below.

"Damn right," Wrex nods. "Shepard, they will sing battle-songs about this someday, I promise you that!"

"Hopefully good ones-... oh, wait, someone's on the comms," she stops on the stairs, the others halting with her. The signal is coming from the Normandy, Primarch Victus informing her that the airstrike is already on its way. "Damn it, I wish you had arranged that with me before giving them the order to engage!" she exclaims angrily in the comms. _What is he thinking of, trying to humble the krogan and steal all the glory for himself? I didn't think he was the type!_

"Complications, Shepard?" Mordin asks, standing next to her.

"Hopefully not, but the airstrike is on the way and we're behind schedule," she sighs, turning towards Wrex. "We need to wrap things up here quickly and get a move on."

Wrex nods, but as they climb down the stairs, several angry looking krogan approach them swiftly, making threatening gestures, particularly towards Mordin. "What's a salarian doing here?" one of them roars. "Nobody said anything about this!"

"Multiple krogan. Problematic," Mordin states, looking a little worried.

"Not problematic," Morgan shakes her head. "Merely loud and tiresome."

"About time you showed up, Wreav," Wrex growls at the greeting committee, before turning to Shepard. "My brood brother. We share the same mother, and nothing else."

"Ah, I see," Shepard nods. "The proverbial rotten apple of the family."

"And it's a good thing we share nothing else but our mother. At least I still remember what it means to be a true krogan!" Wreav shouts, buoyed by the cheers of his supporters, of which Morgan remarks, there are rather many. "We flay our enemies alive and drown them in a geyser of their own blood. We don't invite them into our home!"

"Well, you need him, so tough," Shepard says, folding her hands across her chest and facing Wreav with a challenging stare. "You look too stupid to cure the genophage yourself, so I suggest you make good on this opportunity."

"His kind gave us the genophage!" Wreav shouts, stepping closer to Mordin, who much to his credit neither moves back nor flinches.

"Yeah, and there's pretty much nothing he can do to make it any worse for you krogan," Shepard steps a little closer, just in case Wreav decides to try anything with Mordin. "He can only make it better. Let him try."

"But why should we trust him?" Wreav doesn't let go.

His reward for his insistence is an incredibly painful looking head-butt from Wrex. "Because I do," he says simply. "And so will you, Wreav!"

Wreav isn't about to let such an insult drop. The shotgun comes out immediately, and some of his lackeys follow his example. The sacred grounds of Hollows are about to become another shooting gallery, when suddenly there comes a loud, imperious voice. "Enough!" it speaks, and Morgan turns to see the recognizable figure of Eve standing at the top of the stairs and slowly descending as she addresses all the gathered clans, watching her like enraptured and for once staying silent.

"You can stay here and let old wounds fester, as krogan have always done," Eve tells the clans, and Morgan can't do anything else but to admire the passion in her voice, and her sheer charisma, forcing all the gathered krogan to listen. "Or you can fight the enemy you were born to destroy, and win a new future for our children. I... I choose to fight!" She stops and raises her arms to the sky. "Who will join me?"

Before any of the gathered krogan can reply, Shepard dashes up a few steps of the stairs towards Eve before turning back towards the clans. "This outsider will join you, for it seems that some of these krogan are missing a quad!" she shouts, with glee noticing the angry roars and growls meeting her exclamation.

"Not all of them!" Wrex roars. "I will stand with you! Everyone, now is the time to hold your heads high like true krogan! There's a Reaper that needs killing out there!" he points towards the Shroud. Now the crowd is almost fully on the side of Wrex and Eve with the slight exception of Wreav and a few of his followers, but in the face of increasing pressure, Wrex's half-brother is forced to nod sourly, giving his approval.

"Back towards the trucks!" Wrex commands. "We move in five!"

* * *

"Krogan ground convoy, this is turian wing Artimec. Our flight vector to the Shroud is locked. We're ten minutes out and counting." Shepard curses as she receives the update, sitting inside one of the trucks, together with Wrex, Eve, Mordin, Liara and Garrus, a tight squeeze inside the heavily armored vehicle.

"Can we get there in ten minutes?" she asks Wrex, watching the tall needle of the Shroud in the distance, covered in a mist of dispersed particles.

"It's going to be tight," Wrex admits, looking a little annoyed. "Should have known that idiot Wreav will start something."

"He's not the only krogan who wants revenge for the genophage, Wrex," Eve says. "You will have to placate them somehow."

"I'll just demand that the Council return some of our old territory," Wrex shrugs. "We will need room to expand. Recapture the glory of the ancients."

"'Glory of the ancients' led to the Krogan Rebellions," Mordin pipes up, shaking his head. "Countless deaths. Creation of genophage. Expansion plan... problematic."

"Perhaps not problematic, Mordin. With the rate at which the galactic population is being wiped out, there'll be a lot of free elbow room," Morgan says thoughtfully. "Hell... you can have the entire batarian space to yourselves, Wrex. I put my own helping hand in clearing them out, after all..." at those words, she feels a hand squeezing her shoulder supportively, and looking up her eyes meet with Liara's soft blue orbs.

"Hmm, I was hoping for something closer to the asari space," Wrex mutters. "But we'll see... we might need a lot of planets, Shepard. You haven't seen how fast we can pop them out!"

"Wrex!" Eve berates him sternly.

"What?" Wrex replies with a grin. "With the genophage cured, we'll have a lot of catching up to do."

"There's a mental image I didn't need," Garrus grumbles, looking a little unhappy.

"Right..." Shepard sighs, then remembering that she is yet to tell them about Linron's offer. "Listen, everybody, there's something you need to know. Before we left, I got a call from the Dalatrass. She tried to cut a secret deal with me."

"Deal? What deal?" Wrex immediately looks pissed off.

"She said that the STG sabotaged the Shroud years ago," Morgan explains. "The cure won't work, unless we fix it. She promised me full salarian support if I made sure that the cure would be rendered useless. The krogan would be none the wiser and I would have the support of both them and the salarians."

"A sound plan," Mordin admits. "Would have likely fooled tests. Ensured krogan support at least until Reapers defeated."

"And then they would have found out eventually and we'd have another war on our hands," Liara says, looking a little rattled. "Goddess, I can hardly believe the treachery she was considering!"

"Well, I guess she figured that without the advantage in numbers provided by the genophage cure, the krogan would be easier to put down, this time for good," Garrus muses thoughtfully, ignoring the dark glare Wrex sends him.

"She said you would be able to counter it, Mordin," Shepard says.

The salarian nods confidently. "Familiar with STG work. Can adjust. Did not come this far for nothing," he adds more proudly.

To Shepard's surprise, Eve reaches out and grabs her hand in a firm and grateful handshake. "You just spared our race another genocide, Commander," she says, moved expression in her eyes.

"And I'm proud you denied the Dalatrass," Liara speaks softly, offering a quick hug. "I... I can imagine it was tempting to have both salarians and krogan onboard..."

"I told you we could count on Shepard," Wrex says, looking at Eve, as the convoy suddenly comes to a grinding halt. "What the hell, why are we stopping?"

"This is not good," Shepard sighs. "I'll head out to check what's going on. The rest of you stay put."

"I'm going too," Liara says in a voice that discourages any potential protests.

"Could do with stretching my legs as well," Garrus nods, jumping out behind them, Wrex, Eve and Mordin remaining inside. The entire procession of twenty or so tomkah's is standing still for some reason, and Morgan leads the others to the front of the convoy.

"Goddess, just look at that," Liara exclaims, pointing across the ruined landscape of Tuchanka towards the Shroud, still at least several miles away. The Reaper destroyer is slowly patrolling around it, its black metallic carapace shining threateningly, making it look like a gigantic, angry and deadly insect. "How are we supposed to fight that thing?" she asks, sounding a little desperate.

"There will be casualties," Morgan nods grimly, as they arrive at the front of the convoy, seeing a chasm in the middle of the road, several krogan staring at it and all as one shaking their shoulders. "Oh, for crying out loud," Shepard swears, activating her comms. "Turian wing Artimec?" she calls out. "This is Shepard. We've run into more delays, can you abort?"

"Negative, Commander," comes the predictable and exasperating answer. "Our approach vector is locked. The Reaper already knows we're here." As if on cue, the wing of nine fighters flies above them, heading straight for the Reaper.

"The airstrike alone won't do it," Garrus shakes his head, watching on in frustration as his people begin to wipe themselves out against the Reaper. "We need to get in that fight now!"

The turian fighters are failing to put any sort of pressure on the Reaper, in fact, it even refuses to move, simply sitting in one spot and almost lazily shooting one fighter after another out of the sky. One of the fighters is grazed by the red particle beam as it makes a loop and turns back in the direction of the convoy. Out of control, it is now spinning towards them, Shepard shouting a warning as she tackles both Garrus and Liara to the ground.

The fighter catches the first tomkah in the convoy, ripping through its roof and cleanly taking with it the heads of its krogan crew. Then it hits the second tomkah smack in the middle, killing everyone inside instantly and throwing the ball of metal and fire against the wall of an ancient stone compound at the side of the road. The next several tomkah's in the convoy are also buried by the burning wreckage and rubble from the collapsing wall, blocks of stone falling across the chasm to form a fortunate band-aid for the road, allowing them passage.

"What is going on out there, Shepard?" Wrex yells. "We can't stay put here and get slaughtered! Get back to the tomkah and let's move!"

"Just a moment, Wrex," Shepard says, slowly getting up from the ground, relieved to see Garrus and Liara also rising unharmed. She quickly tries to contact the others, praying they were not in the vehicles that just got destroyed. James is silent. Javik is silent. Only EDI responds to her calls.

"Shepard, James and Javik are badly injured," EDI replies, her voice broken up and distorted. "I am attempting to free them from the damaged vehicle, but this platform is close to becoming non-functional. Assistance might be required."

"That's a negative, Wrex," Shepard shouts back to her krogan friend. "Time is of essence, you go ahead, get Eve out of here! I'll find a way to join you at some point!"

"Understood," Wrex says grimly and the convoy roars again, vehicles quickly brushing past them, leaving the wounded and the dead behind.

"Cortez, I need a shuttle on my position for immediate extraction!" Shepard shouts, spotting EDI' silvery frame in one of the less damaged tomkah's and together with Liara and Garrus they race towards it, trying to carefully pull their injured comrades out.

"We have to abort, Commander!" one of the surviving turian fighter pilots reports in, as they pull James out first, blood oozing from his temples, left arm hanging in an awkward angle. "The Reaper's tearing us to pieces!"

"Great, **now** those idiots **can** abort!" Shepard swears in annoyance, reaching inside the tomkah to grab Javik's limp body, wondering if Dr. Chakwas or anyone actually possesses the necessary knowledge to treat injured Protheans. As Cortez finally lands the Kodiak, EDI is pulled out of the wreckage as last, her body badly shattered, and Shepard already can hear Joker's incessant whining in her head, complaining about scratching his most precious toy.

Liara and Garrus carry James to the Kodiak, Shepard gently deposits EDI's platform next to Vega before returning to pick up Javik. "Alert Chakwas and Adams as soon as you get out of here," Shepard tells Steve Cortez, receiving a swift nod in reply.

"So... now what?" Garrus asks, as the three of them stand still, watching the shuttle depart, remaining all alone amidst the burning wreckage on the road.

"Hmm... that's interesting," Liara remarks, turning around and pointing at a dark passageway that has opened up as a section of the wall collapsed from the impact with the turian fighter. "Some kind of tunnel... perhaps we can use it?"

"Only you would think to suggest something crazy like that, T'Soni," Garrus shakes his head. "It doesn't even appear to lead towards the Shroud!"

"Well... I don't fancy crossing those plains trying to catch up with the convoy on foot," Shepard remarks, before deciding to contact Wrex. "We're moving again, Wrex," she speaks on the comms. "Trying to find a shortcut to meet up, do you know anything about strange underground tunnels here?"

"Commander," Eve replies instead. "Those tunnels lead into the City of the Ancients. No maps of the place exist. If you go in there, there's no telling where you'll come out."

"I don't suppose you can come back and pick us up?" Shepard sighs.

"Negative on that, Shepard," Wrex grunts. "The road ahead is even worse. We had to plug several chasms with our tomkah's to get through, and the rest were taken out by the Reapers. It's just us and Wreav left, so no, we're not coming back."

"Alright, we'll try the tunnels then and see where they take us. We'll keep up constant contact," Shepard reports back.

"Got it. Just crawl out somewhere and we'll find a way to pick you up, Shepard. With the turians pulling out, we no longer need to rush like crazy to the Shroud, we need a new plan anyway," Wrex says, strangely still managing to sound upbeat. "Shepard, we'll get this cure sorted, don't worry."

Morgan switches off the comms and turns to face Liara and Garrus. "We lost the turian air support and are down to two tomkah's, and he remains optimistic?" she asks, dismayed. "I have no idea how we'll get this done, people... but I guess we'll just have to try, there's no other way."

"You'll think of something," Liara smiles at her supportively. "You always do."

"And now I believe that as well," Morgan responds with a grin of her own, turning towards the dark tunnels leading below. "City of the Ancients, here we come. With a name like that... I'm sure nothing could go wrong down there!"

* * *

"So, nobody's been here for a thousand years, huh?" Shepard says after they have walked for a while, three concentrated beams from their flashlights cutting through the darkness ahead as they explore the dark tunnels of the City of the Ancients.

"Eve said so," Garrus replies. "If it wasn't so dark here, we'd probably see Liara drooling from so much history around us."

Liara manages a nervous laughter. "It is fascinating, yes, but I have not forgotten why we are here," she says.

"Well, then you've come a long way since Ilos," Garrus chuckles, the beam of his flashlight falling on the wall to their right, revealing another set of complicated drawings, reminding Morgan a little of the ancient Egyptian pharaohs.

"The discovery of the artistic side of the krogan is amazing in itself," Liara whispers in awe, taking a few shots with her omni-tool, her collection already including several such drawings and many stone statues of old krogan warlords.

"Just makes you realize how dangerous uplift process of a species really is," Morgan remarks. "The Protheans seemed to be doing things right, taking it slowly. The salarians... not so much. To have this kind of technological leap with everything else lagging behind is just insane... it defeats the purpose of evolution."

"Seems like you've been taking some lessons from Mordin," Garrus says. "Seeing Maelon's experiments on Tuchanka really changed him, didn't it?"

"For the better," Morgan nods. "I just feel that I agree with him so much more these days. There's a lot I can learn from him, too. I really look forward to having him back with us in full capacity after we're done with the cure here."

"Yes, I agree-" Liara starts, but then is rudely interrupted as rough tremors suddenly shake the whole complex around them, throwing the asari to the ground, Garrus and Morgan barely managing to remain on their feet. "What was that?" Liara asks, getting back to her feet, her flashlight broken in the fall and she reaches out to grab Morgan's hand. "Quake?"

"I hope not, I really wouldn't want this place to become our tomb," Shepard replies, pulling her along as they advance swiftly. "Let's see if we can get out of here fast."

The tunnels bring them to a sharp stairway leading downwards, and Shepard reluctantly follows along, fearing that the twisting passages are bringing them completely the wrong way. Midway along the stairs, the tremors knock them off their feet again, and they tumble downstairs to land in an undignified heap.

"I sincerely doubt that's a quake," Garrus says, gently pushing away Liara's legs from his back before rising again.

"Wrex, you guys feeling these tremors too?" Shepard calls out on the comms.

"What tremors?" Wrex sounds surprised.

"Careful, Commander," Eve warns them. "It is said that Kalros, the mother of all thresher maws, lives in this region."

"Uh... did I hear that right, Shepard?" Liara whispers quietly. "The mother of all thresher maws? That can't be good..."

"You don't say, T'Soni. When the krogan name a thresher maw, you know you're in trouble. They don't think anyone's ever going to kill it," Garrus says. "I bet that explosion has managed to piss it off, Shepard. Now we've got a Reaper **and** a thresher maw to contend with. I'm running out of ideas how to make this any more _fun_."

"I'm sure something will pop up, Garrus. Once the gods or the universe itself have decided that they really hate you, there's no limit to their imagination," Shepard chuckles, then suddenly feeling herself step into something soft, squelchy and disgusting. "Fuck!" she exclaims, leaping back, pulling Liara with her and crashing into Garrus.

The turian quickly lowers his flashlight to illuminate a disgusting looking body of a creature they have not seen before. It looks like a giant insect, with large bulbous sacs all over its body. Couple of its limbs seem to have been mutated into powerful long-range cannons, leaving no room for interpretation as to the origins of this monstrosity. One of the bulbous sacs has been torn from Morgan stepping on it, and there are several disgusting small insects popping out of the sac, hovering towards them, but not getting far as Garrus opens fire with his assault rifle, riddling the dead foe with bullets and Shepard incinerates the corpse for good measure with a plasma blast from her omni-tool.

"Well done, Shepard," Garrus mock-applauds her. "Were you looking for ways to make this more fun?"

"What the hell was that thing?" Shepard asks, stepping over the corpse and moving away swiftly, the others following fast.

"It looked like rachni," Liara remarks, sounding a little disturbed from her own words. "Have the Reapers got to them too?"

"And now I'm left feeling incredibly stupid for my decision on Noveria," Shepard grumbles, before switching the comms on again. "Wrex, we've got some kind of mutated rachni here. Watch out."

"We saw them too, Shepard," comes the reply. "Lost a few trucks to their cannons. But it doesn't matter, just get out of there fast!"

"Looks like some luck at last," Shepard says, having taken a few steps past the rachni to reveal stairway leading up, with light shining in from above. "We have a way out."

The stairs lead them out into a larger complex of ruins, still impressive and majestic, tall columns covered with ancient inscriptions, every step in this place oozing history. "I would love to study a place like this... if not for this war, of course," Liara remarks as they walk.

"Well, let's just put it up on our things-to-do list after the war," Shepard smiles at her. "It'll be just us, sand, dirt and rubble, thousands of krogan, hardly any amenities.."

"I was convinced the moment you said that it will be just us," Liara whispers back at her, both of them chuckling when they hear Garrus sighing theatrically at their exchange.

"We're back outside, Wrex," Shepard speaks on the comms again, looking around the place they have emerged at. To her surprise, the old ruins are crawling with thick roots of some kind of plant that has also spawned a few large leaves here and there. "I don't know what this place is, looks like an old temple or mausoleum, or something. And it also has some flora, making it by far the most appealing place I've seen on Tuchanka."

"Except for the Reapers over there on the other side," Garrus spoils everything again, pointing ahead and then rolling into cover, Liara and Shepard following his example.

"Me and my big mouth strike again," Shepard complains, staring out of the cover to observe the enemy force. "I see eight cannibals and two of those rachni things. No idea about them, but they seem dangerous."

"If their cannons took out the krogan trucks, they should be our top priority," Garrus nods. "I suggest you and Liara take care of them, I'll thin out the cannibals."

The mutated batarians fall fairly quickly, especially after Liara has trapped four of them with her singularity, but leaving Shepard alone to deal with the rachni almost proves a mistake. At some point, Morgan is forced to change her position, and while crouching low and running for cover, one of the rachni manages to score a few hits, almost instantly tearing through her kinetic barriers and she literally leaps to safety in the last moment before the heavy cannon salvo has blown off a limb or two.

Once Liara switches back to aid against the rachni with her warp fields, they quickly manage to destroy one of them. They are about to start working on the last of the mutated monstrosities, when suddenly there is a particularly heavy tremor almost below them, and turning her head to the right, Morgan sees that the chasm that runs alongside the complex of ruins is filled with rising sand and dust, something massive having just torn through it. When she peers out of the cover to look for the last rachni, she no longer sees it there.

"It fell into one of those cracks," Garrus laughs. "Hah, thank you Kalros, I suppose!"

"Maybe it's on our side," Liara says hopefully, then blushing slightly at her naivety, hearing the cynical chuckles from Morgan and Garrus.

"I really doubt that, babe," Shepard says, quickly pulling Liara into a hug. "I don't think we are going to be that lucky..."


	71. Last Salarian Action Hero

_A/N: May there always be enough seashells in heaven for you to run tests on, my friend. You will be missed. _

**Chapter 70 - Last Salarian Action Hero**

Shepard quickly leads her friends towards an old bridge stretching across the chasm below, hoping to cross it before Kalros decides to return. More Reapers await them on the other side, this time thankfully no rachni, but more cannibals led by the mutated turian-krogan fusion, which they fortunately bring down quickly before it can charge them. After a few more tough battles with the Reaper forces, requiring some light applications of medi-gel afterwards, they finally reach the end of the ruins to come onto a long stone bridge leading to the next large complex. "We've reached an open area and some kind of a bridge, Wrex!" Morgan shouts on the comms. "Sending you the coordinates!"

"Alright, got it," comes the reply. "Seems we're close. I have visual on the bridge. We'll be coming under it, so get down there and we can pick you up!"

Morgan can already see the trucks coming up in the distance, frantically starting to look for some kind of stairway that leads down from the bridge, but nothing comes to view immediately. "No! Wait! Abort, Shepard!" Wrex suddenly yells, and Morgan immediately realizes the reason for it. There is something massive rising just behind the desperately speeding trucks, a dark brown and spiky tidal wave that tries to swallow the vehicles, cutting through the middle of the bridge and showering Shepard and her friends with dust and large debris.

"Shiiiiit!" Shepard exclaims, rising from the ground, pulling Liara up with her, Garrus angrily tossing a stone plate aside after it had painfully crushed his leg. "Wrex? Wrex, you still there?" she shouts on the comms desperately.

"Yeah, but Kalros is closing fast! Go on ahead, Shepard, we'll try to shake her off and catch up with you again!"

"Right," Shepard closes the comms, coming up to the edge of the now ruined bridge, looking at the several yard wide gap, uncomfortable looking landing looms below her. "I've heard that the turians don't know how to duck, but can you at least jump, Garrus?"

"You bet, Shepard," Garrus grins in reply.

"Wait, I'm first," Liara interrupts. "I am the lightest and have best chance of making the jump. And if you happen to fail, I can always catch you with a singularity."

"Which also gives us a wonderful incentive **not** to fail," Shepard snickers, watching in adoration as Liara gracefully leaps across the chasm, easily making the jump. Garrus follows it up, also successful despite his heavy armor, and Shepard just about makes it too, throwing herself into a somersault as she lands.

They waste no time in crossing the ruins ahead of them, time and time again checking in with Wrex, the last two krogan trucks being chased around the complex by the persistent Kalros. "Thresher maw getting closer!" she hears Mordin reporting urgently.

"Tell me something I don't know!" Wrex growls back, sounding irritated.

"Metal in truck an excellent supplement for maw's diet!" Mordin squeaks rapidly.

"There's probably a lot of tasty metal in that destroyer at the Shroud, maybe we should suggest Kalros to eat it?" Morgan asks, not entirely seriously.

"...about that, Shepard," comes the reply from Wrex. "Did we mention that we have a new plan? We'll discuss it once we catch up again. You're going to **love** it!"

"I'm afraid to even ask..." Morgan sighs, as they move through an ancient memorial of sorts, impressively large krogan statues placed along the walls and standing in a circle at the middle of the complex, forming either a place of worship or quiet reflection and remembrance, neither really fitting the current generation of the krogan.

More Reaper ground forces await them, but they fail to slow down Shepard and her friends, as they reach the other side of the complex, starting to climb down the stairs leading to the plains of sand and rubble. The trucks appear in their view again, speeding towards them and fortunately, this time they do not see Kalros hot in pursuit. "We're coming, Shepard!" Wrex shouts on the comms, pulling his tomkah along the stairs. "Get in, quickly! Wreav, keep an eye out on Kalros, I don't want it sneaking up on us!"

"Go, go, go!" Shepard yells to the others, running full speed towards Wrex, but they have not yet reached the tomkah when the heavy tremors caused by the thresher maw knock them off their feet again. As they struggle to reach the truck, Kalros reappears right in front of Wrex's vehicle, then taking a dive downwards, just narrowly missing the tomkah, but crashing right into Wreav, his screaming on the comms quickly dies down as the mother of all thresher maws pulls his vehicle with her underground.

Shepard and the others use this moment of respite to quickly climb into the tomkah and Wrex swiftly resumes driving, while Kalros is busy feasting on Wreav and his truck. "I take it we're the only ones left now?" Morgan asks, after they have put some distance between themselves and the ancient memorial.

"No way Wreav survived that," Wrex shakes his head. "Good riddance, he was a pain in the ass anyway."

"Seemed like a potential troublemaker, yeah," Shepard agrees. "Though of course, now it's just... us against the Reaper."

"Suits me just fine," Wrex chuckles grimly. "All the more glory for us!"

After dodging some scattered Reaper ground forces, some twenty minutes later the tomkah finally pulls up near the Shroud facility. The look outside is not promising. There is a large partly collapsed stairway leading up to the needle of the Shroud, but between them and their target, stands the interposing figure of the Reaper destroyer, facing towards them, even if it does not appear to yet be aware of their arrival.

As they get out of the track and observe the situation up close, their faces grow grim and hope seems to wane fast. "We don't have any heavy weapons or anything..." Garrus mutters, sounding a little dejected. "Wrex's plan better be a good one."

"It was hers, actually," Wrex says, pointing at Eve, making Shepard immediately feel more optimistic.

"What you said, Commander," Eve says gravely. "Kalros. We summon her to the Reaper."

"Plan sound. Already discussed and approved," Mordin nods energetically. "Just need to distract Reaper, draw it from tower. Meanwhile synthesize cure, then release."

"Alright... suppose we agree to this crazy plan, how do we actually summon Kalros to the Reaper?" Shepard wonders. "I don't imagine just asking nicely will work..."

"The Shroud tower was built in an arena devoted to Kalros' glory," Eve explains. "The salarians thought she would scare away intruders."

"Appears to have worked," Mordin says, looking approving. "Current mission specific circumstances, driven by desperation, possibly lack of all sense."

"There are two maw hammers inside the arena, the largest in existence," Eve continues. "If you can activate them, Kalros will come. That will distract the Reaper."

"Meanwhile, Eve and I head for the nearby laboratory, finish synthesizing cure," Mordin adds. "Reaper ground forces distracted by your attack. Should make reaching the laboratory... relatively safe."

"So... we'll have to cross those stairs, climb into the arena, with the destroyer likely shooting at us, Reaper ground forces trying to kill us, and during all that we have to activate those maw hammers," Shepard quickly summarizes their task. "They called storming the Collector base a suicide mission... how would they call this?"

"Nobody said curing the genophage would be easy," Wrex roars, before turning to Morgan. "Shepard. I want you to know that no matter what happens... you've been a champion to the krogan people, a friend of Clan Urdnot... and a sister to me. To every krogan born after this day, the name 'Shepard' will mean 'hero'!" With that he smothers Morgan into a crushing bear hug, while she struggles to swallow the heavy lump in her throat.

_After a speech like that, we just have to pull this off, we simply must_, Shepard thinks desperately, looking at Liara, the expression on her lover's face grim yet full of hope, and she finds herself drawing strength and reassurance from it.

"Here they come!" Wrex shouts, drawing his shotgun and turning to his right, shapes of four of those mutated rachni appearing and getting ready to aim their cannons at them. "Get to your tasks! I'll hold them off!" he growls as Mordin and Eve quickly disappear in the cover, stealthily heading for the longer, safer way around to the labs, Shepard, Liara and Garrus running towards the stairway that leads up to the arena.

Behind them, they can hear the sounds of raging Wrex tearing through some very surprised rachni, his mad charge making them forget to fire their cannons. "I AM URDNOT WREX!" he yells, tearing one of the rachni in half with his bare hands, then grabbing it by the cannons as if wielding a giant club and using it to smash another mutated monstrosity to gruesome and ignoble death. "AND THIS. IS. MY. PLANET!" he roars, charging the last of the rachni attackers, knocking it over an edge of a concrete block, the momentum carrying him over as well and the old krogan battlemaster falls into some kind of deep crevice, making Morgan worry whether he is alright, even as she leads her own team forward.

The stairway leading up to the arena is swarming with the mutated batarians. While on their own they prove little threat, eliminating them is also attracting the attention of the massive destroyer and it takes a few steps forward to the edge of the arena, clearly interested in who is causing the commotion and clearing out all of its dispensable minions.

"Shepard! I took care of those rachni!" Morgan is relieved to hear Wrex's voice back on the comms. "Busy climbing out of some pit, how's it looking?"

"On a scale from one to ten?" she replies. "I think it's pretty much 'spare underpants time', Wrex."

"That good, eh?" he chuckles back, undeterred. "Listen, someone's got to release those maw hammers before you can activate them. Lucky for you, I can do it without attracting the Reaper's attention!"

"Then get to it already!" Morgan shouts back. "I don't want to reach those hammers and then encounter the amazing surprise of not being able to use them!"

"Don't get your knickers in a twist, sister, I'm on it," Wrex laughs, ultimately succeeding to make Morgan smile as well, as she leads Garrus and Liara up a little stairway to the side of the arena, hoping to sneak by the Reaper, but unfortunately the path doesn't go on any further but rather leads towards a bridge spanning across the arena.

"Shepard, some luck!" Mordin calls in as they debate whether to dare cross the bridge or not. "Original strain in storage. Preparing the cure now."

"That's great, but we're kind of busy here," she replies, looking at Liara and Garrus for suggestions.

"We should be able to jump down there safely," Liara points at a spot further up on the bridge and a large collection of rocks directly under it, ensuring a convenient way of climbing down.

"I think that thing firing at us is the greatest concern," Garrus sighs. "But this plan is insane anyway, so... what are you waiting for, Shepard? Let's go!"

Carefully they move across the bridge, hoping that the destroyer won't notice them, but their hopes are crushed fast. The Reaper's firing chamber glows bright red and the deadly beam cuts right through the bridge before anyone of them can even react. Morgan feels an uncomfortable wave of heat licking her right side, the beam missing her by a couple of yards at best. The bridge quickly collapses underneath them and they jump, all as one, trying to escape the falling rubble.

Shepard is relieved to see Liara and Garrus both getting up alive and well, but she becomes far less relieved at seeing the Reaper straightening up to start slowly moving towards them, it's firing chamber still glowing angry red. "Shit, shit, shit!" she yells, pulling Liara with her as they run for cover, Garrus right behind.

"This is insane, do you know that?" Garrus yells at her. "We are **so** dead!"

"We're not dead yet," Morgan shakes her head defiantly. _Though only a complete idiot would choose to bet on us now,_ she thinks grimly, finding comfort in briefly squeezing Liara's hand.

"Shepard! We just got **shot** **at** by a Reaper!" Garrus exclaims, shaking his head. "It doesn't come any crazier than this!"

"I know! But we need to cross that arena and use those maw hammers! Even if it means getting shot at by a Reaper... repeatedly," Shepard says with stubborn determination.

"I've released the hammers!" Wrex roars on the comms. "You can proceed, Shepard! I'll be coming back in to cover you!"

"Alright... get ready guys... this is it," Shepard says, breathing deeply, getting ready to dash across the arena.

"Should we stick to cover, Morgan?" Liara asks, looking a little paler than usual.

"I don't think that will work, Liara," Garrus shakes his head. "That beam just melts or cuts through any rock, cover simply won't work. Also, running in a straight line is likely to get you killed."

"Agreed, let's try to zigzag across, you both stay on me as close as you can," Shepard orders.

"Are you sure that is wise, Shepard?" Garrus asks. "If we spread out, there's at least the chance of some of us making to those hammers, but if we stick together and get hit by that beam..."

"No! No, if we spread out, it's also almost a certainty that the beam will hit someone," Shepard objects, horrified by the very thought. "I'm not... I'm not losing anyone here, not today! I refuse to!"

Garrus sighs in defeat. "Understood. Shall we?"

"Alright. Three... two... one... go, go, go!" she yells, leaving the cover and sprinting across the arena floor, watching the firing chamber glow, the red beam coming straight for them, just narrowly missing Garrus, running at the back of the group.

Shepard cuts to the side and changes direction sharply, heading to the left, and the Reaper narrowly misses them again, the beam cutting through the scattered blocks of stone, large sized rocks flying over their heads but miraculously failing to hit them. They continue this tactic for a while, successfully avoiding five or six of the beams, but then Shepard realizes a flaw in their plan. The entrance to the next part of the arena is a narrow bottleneck, and the Reaper has suddenly stopped firing, waiting for them to appear and get instantly incinerated.

"Fuck, what now?" Shepard wonders, sitting in cover, much in need of the brief respite.

"I think it's rather obvious, isn't it, Commander?" Garrus asks, grim expression on his face. "Let me do it. After it has fired, you two can cross and continue without me..."

"No, Garrus!" Liara looks distraught at the suggestion. "There has got to be another way."

"Don't worry, Liara, I'm not letting him do anything like that," Shepard shakes her head resolutely. "Wrex is on his way, maybe he'll have an idea-"

"Commander, this is the Artimec Wing," she suddenly hears on the comms, seeing the remaining fighters appearing in the distance, there are four of them left not two as she had initially believed. "We'll try to give the Reaper something else to shoot at," the turian pilot says, as they start their attack on the destroyer, the Reaper momentarily facing away from Shepard to deal with this new nuisance.

"Spirits be praised... I knew they would not give up," Garrus exclaims, relieved.

"Now's our time to go!" Shepard yells, jumping out of the cover and resuming sprinting, now daring to dash in a straight line, knowing that the Reaper is properly distracted. They have reached the middle of the arena when Shepard can finally spot the two distinct elevated platforms on either side, holding some kind of contraption that could only be these so called maw hammers.

Finding themselves almost under the Reaper, the destroyer busy shooting at the persistent turian fighters, it still manages to catch Shepard and her friends with a nasty surprise. A massive claw of the Reaper suddenly comes down, taking a huge swipe at them, and they dodge in the very last moment, avoiding certain death. "Shit, that's not fair!" Shepard shouts. "That fucker can multitask!"

"More bad news, Shepard," Liara exclaims, running back up to her side, pointing ahead. "Brutes incoming! ...four of them!"

Shepard drops on her knee to take aim with her sniper rifle, hoping to catch one of the brutes unaware, but suddenly another of the Reaper's claws comes down on their position and she is forced to jump to safety again. "This is impossible, we can't keep dodging the Reaper and fight those bastards at the same time!" she shouts in irritation.

"Agreed, Shepard!" Garrus yells back at her, splitting away from the group and starting to move towards the rightmost hammer. "Let's split up and each tag a hammer. I take right. If Kalros takes out the Reaper, we can deal with the brutes!"

"Good thinking!" Shepard agrees. "Liara, let's take the left one, keep the pressure on those brutes!"

"Almost there, Shepard!" Wrex roars somewhere close behind. "Leave something for me!"

"Take those brutes off us when you get here, Wrex!" Shepard yells back. "And watch out for the Reaper!"

They have already reached the elevated wing on the left, the hammer in their sights, but the three brutes are close behind, one having settled to chase after Garrus. During all that, the Reaper takes another swipe at them, this time managing a glancing blow that shatters Morgan's kinetic barriers and knocks her painfully against a wall, leaving her breathless and struggling to get up. Liara is upon her immediately, helping Shepard back to her feet, but the brutes have sensed their opportunity, and are about to charge, when suddenly... the brute at the head of the group himself becomes a victim of a biotic charge, Wrex arriving with thunderous roar and throwing the foe against the wall, before raising his shotgun and emptying it in the ugly mug of another brute.

"Take care of that hammer, I'll help Wrex!" Liara shouts and Morgan quickly obeys, closing the last few steps and pulling down on a rickety iron lever, but nothing happens.

"Garrus, what's taking you so long!" Shepard shouts on the comms. "Talk to me!"

"...almost there... Commander," the turian replies, wheezing, sounding in a lot of pain. "I got that last... brute, but... bastard of a Reaper... swatted me bad... don't feel so good..."

"C'mon, Garrus, hold on... you can do this!" Shepard speaks, bringing up her rifle and joining Liara in trying to free Wrex from the amorous embrace of the last brute on their flank, it seems to be pummeling the krogan somewhat fiercely. When they finally bring it down, Wrex collapses with it, grunting in pain.

"...done," Garrus croaks on the comms, before falling silent. The maw hammers finally come down and strike the base of the pedestal, emitting a deep, booming noise. Immediately, the familiar, heavy tremors start shaking the ground, signaling Kalros' impending arrival at the scene.

"Guys, you don't want to be here when Kalros arrives!" she shouts out on the comms, watching Wrex slowly get up from the ground, his secondary systems kicking in to compensate. "Wrex, I need you to grab Garrus and get back to the truck!"

"Understood, Shepard," Wrex says, starting to slowly move towards Garrus' position.

"Liara, go with them! Garrus might need medical assistance!" she tells the asari.

"And what about you?" Liara stares at her defiantly. "I'm sure Wrex knows how to administer medi-gel just as well as I do!"

"I need to get to the lab and meet up with Mordin," Shepard shouts, getting a little bit annoyed. "Don't question-"

"I'm not questioning anything. But I'm staying with you," Liara retorts resolutely, refusing to move from her side, and Shepard is forced to sigh in acceptance.

The Reaper above them seems to be sensing that something enormous is approaching. It takes several steps to move itself out of the arena and towards the rapidly closing trail of dust in the distance. Shepard grabs Liara's hand and together they run as fast as they can to put some distance between them and the Reaper. Suddenly, Kalros is upon the Reaper, tackling it just above the firing chamber, as the Reaper opens fire, missing the maw completely. The mother of all thresher maws brings the Reaper down, it's red particle beam spraying all over the arena chaotically, cutting through blocks of stone and creating a cloud of dust and mayhem, Shepard and Liara hardly able to see where they are running to, desperate to avoid falling chunks of stone.

"There!" Shepard points to a narrow stone bridge leading upwards and out of the arena, towards the Shroud and its laboratories. A massive chasm spreads between them and the base of the bridge, however, result of the Reaper's destructive beam etching it several yards wide. "This time I'm going first!" she exclaims, making a mad dash and leaping, arms and legs flailing in the air as she lands heavily on the bridge. Shepard is back on her feet quickly, turning around to look at Liara, her heart in her mouth as she sees Liara taking the jump a mere second before the rocky elevation from which she had jumped becomes swallowed by the red particle beam of the destroyer.

Liara lands safely on the platform, crashing right into Shepard's waiting arms and toppling her over, both ending on the ground in a rather romantic looking position, if not for the very disturbing image of a thresher maw suddenly being flung over their heads as the destroyer is desperately trying to shake the deadly foe off. Much to Shepard's dismay, Kalros ends up hitting the Shroud, the tall spire barely managing to withstand the impact, rocking to its very foundations.

Kalros pulls itself back below the ground, and the Reaper appears to believe that it has driven the maw off, now turning back towards them, as Shepard and Liara stand on the bridge utterly exposed, without anywhere to run, clinging to each other as the Reaper's firing chamber ignites... only to miss them completely as Kalros now appears from behind the destroyer, sending it crashing with its firing chamber pressed into the ground and starting to crackle dangerously, not being able to discharge the stored energy. Kalros wraps itself around the helpless Reaper and then begins to submerge, one monstrosity dragging the other under the sands of Tuchanka.

"Goddess, that was... I don't think I would believe if anyone were to tell me this story," Liara shakes her head, wide-eyed from the incredible near-death experience, then the expression in her eyes is quickly replaced with fear and worry as she turns towards the Shroud, together with Shepard realizing that it is in a woeful state, the entire tall spire wracked in explosions, several sections of it on fire. "...this can't be happening! We cannot be denied in the last moment!" she exclaims desperately.

"Come on, let's catch up with Mordin," Shepard reminds her, and together they run towards the base of the Shroud, dodging bits of rubble starting to fall from the slowly collapsing structure. They reach the salarian busy working on a console at the very base of the Shroud, he is alone and there is no sight of Eve nearby. "What's going on, Mordin?" she asks quickly. "Where's Eve?"

"Procedure traumatic for Eve, but not lethal. Maelon's research proving invaluable. Sent her back to the truck," Mordin replies, looking satisfied with his work. "Cure ready and loaded for dispersal in two minutes."

"Finally some good news," Liara says, sounding relieved.

"Agreed," Mordin nods. "Her survival fortunate. Will stabilize new government should Wrex get any ideas. Good match, promising future for the krogan."

"Yeah, she'll keep him in line," Morgan agrees. _If only Wrex doesn't decide to frolic around with Liara's dad again. Or that Aleena chick of his, that krogan sure likes his asari tough. But then again, Aethyta isn't exactly bad influence, despite being a... little crass. _

At that moment, a larger piece of debris falls right on the console next to Mordin, smashing it to bits and pieces, sharp piece of metal splintering off and impaling itself in the salarian's shoulder, but he doesn't show any reaction at all, continuing to hammer away at the computer terminal.

"If the cure is already loaded for dispersal, why are we standing around here?" Liara asks, looking at the burning Shroud with growing concern. "We need to get out of here!"

"Control room at the top of the Shroud tower," Mordin explains, pointing at the nearby entrance. "Must take elevator up!"

"Are you insane?" Morgan shouts. "You can't go up there, the whole building is about to come down on us!"

"Have to. Manual access required," Mordin says determinedly. "Must counter the STG sabotage. Ensure cure dispersed properly."

"I... I can't let you do this!" Morgan's voice become pleading. "Please, Mordin, there has to be another way! You have always managed to find another way!"

"Not this time, Shepard," Mordin shakes his head, a little sadly. "Remote bypass impossible. STG countermeasures in place. No time to adjust cure for temperature variance." He stands still, silent for a while, nobody saying a word. "No. No other option, Shepard. Not coming back. Suggest you... get clear. Explosions likely to be... problematic."

Morgan is shaking with emotion, tears starting to flow down her cheeks as she realizes the meaning of Mordin's words. "Mordin, no... I can't let you... we... I need you!" she starts to walk towards him, reaching out with her hand, trying to stop him, unable to watch her friend sacrifice himself.

Mordin swirls around quickly. There is a brief flash of silver in his hand and a spike of pain explodes in Shepard's knee. She stumbles and falls, crying out in pain, looking up only to stare into the barrel of Mordin's Carnifex pistol. "Please, Shepard," his voice is as kind and tender as she has ever heard from a salarian. "Do not make this harder. Do not try to stop me. Need to do this."

"Can't... lose... another friend..." she grinds out, hobbling towards the salarian who simply takes a few steps back to avoid her. "Liara... stop him, please, I beg you..."

Mordin raises his pistol at Liara, who freezes instantly. "Please, Dr. T'Soni. Do not wish to shoot you, but will do so," he says softly, but they all know that he is not bluffing. "Shepard, this is my work. My project. My cure, my responsibility." He takes a deep breath. "Would have liked to run those tests on the seashells..."

"Not fair," Shepard mutters angrily, trying to rise, but the ruined knee is making it very difficult. "It's NOT FUCKING FAIR!" she yells in rage, collapsing back on the ground as the knee gives out, sobbing inconsolably as Liara is at her side immediately, together watching Mordin step into the elevator, looking on at them with a kind smile, as if to give them one last image to remember him by.

"No regrets, Shepard," he says, nodding at her. "Had to be me."

"Someone else might have gotten it wrong..." Shepard and Liara reply as one, embracing tightly as Mordin presses the buttons on the elevator and disappears from their view, leaving his friends behind, crying their hearts out for his noble sacrifice.

Liara and Shepard are still holding each other tightly, when there is a massive explosion at the top of the Shroud, and with it, they see a burst of white mist suddenly expunged into the atmosphere, the particle cloud growing, spreading and slowly starting to blanket the entire planet.

The first particles finally reach the ground where they both lay, Morgan reaching out with her hand and catching a few, watching them dissolve against her armored glove. "It's like snow... it has been so long since I've last seen snow..." she whispers, as Liara frantically tries to pull her to safety, fearing the building is about to explode any moment now. "Snow... so pure... so beautiful..."


	72. Dreams and Premonitions

_A/N: Angsty and stuff. Y'know. I really struggled with the dream section, and eventually went back to my first draft of having it in first person pov. Which doesn't really fit with the rest of the story, but it felt by far more effective. Bugger. Was tempted to just cut that section out for good, so I hope it works. _

**Chapter 71 - Dreams and Premonitions**

The lone tomkah hobbles back to the Hollows, the atmosphere inside the truck a somber one. Garrus is lying stretched out on the seats, looking rather mangled by the brute's claws, but groaning and insisting he is fine, begging not to be placed in the care of Dr. Chakwas. Shepard's knee is hurting like hell despite several applications of medi-gel, but that pain is nothing compared to the pain eating at her heart, making her wish there had been something she could have done differently, some way to stop Mordin from making this sacrifice.

Sometime during the journey they can hear a massive detonation in the distance, and the Shroud collapses entirely, but it has served its purpose. The krogan are cured from their terrible curse, free to restore the legacy of their ancestors. All thanks to the sacrifice of one salarian.

They leave the tomkah as they arrive at the Hollows, Cortez waiting for them already, the shuttle hovering in the air above the sacred gathering place. Shepard and Liara help Garrus climb out of the tomkah, and together they stand in the middle of the Hollows, a strange feeling as if sensing the very history in making spreading all around them, turning them quiet and pensive, acutely understanding the importance of their actions here on this day... and also knowing that this is the time to say farewells.

Wrex stands next to an old and stained block of stone, looking down at it thoughtfully. "A long time ago..." he starts to speak. "My father betrayed me in this place. His own son. He tried to kill me. So I had to kill him... right over here," Wrex nods at the spot on the ground. "That's what the genophage reduced us to. Animals! But you..." he turns towards Morgan. "You changed that today, Shepard."

Eve steps up to stand next to Wrex, nodding. "Now we'll fight for our children, not against them. It is just a pity that Mordin had to die," she adds, deep regret in her voice.

"Yeah..." Shepard sighs. "He's the true hero of this day, not me. Well... I guess we all did our parts, and we are all heroes for what we achieved here today... but this one... this will become his monument. His legacy."

"We'll name one of the kids after him," Wrex grins, his usual sense of humor returning with aplomb. "Maybe a girl." He then grows more serious. "Tell the Primarch that I'll be deploying troops to Palaven immediately. That ought to make you happy, eh, Garrus?"

"Hopefully it won't be too late for my people, and my family," the turian replies, wincing in pain as he speaks.

"And Liara, if things get too hot on your homeworld... just tell your father to send me a message and krogan boots will be on Thessia, helping you kick some Reaper ass," Wrex gives Liara a sly wink as he speaks.

"That's... very kind of you, Wrex," Liara does look grateful, now understanding the massive importance behind Aethyta's actions. "I am sure she will be relieved to hear it. I have heard that the Reapers are beginning a serious push towards Thessia."

"And Shepard, when you are ready to take back Earth, you let me know," Wrex finally turns back to Morgan. "The krogan are back in business!"

"There is much work to be done on Tuchanka as well," Eve says. "Even now, there are clans gathering in the Kelphic Valley. We must spread the hope that you and Mordin have given to us. I will go speak to them and make sure that this gift is not squandered." She steps closer and takes Shepard's hands in hers, taking a bow. "Goodbye, Commander, and thank you for all that you have done. Know that Urdnot Bakara calls you a friend."

"Farewell, Shepard," Wrex adds. "Expect a message from me in a few days, there is another matter that you will agree demands looking into. But I won't trouble you now," he looks them over with rare sympathy, everyone amongst her crew except Liara suffering more or less serious injuries. "Take some time to lick your wounds, Shepard. I'll see you again before this is all over."

"Undoubtedly, Wrex. Best of luck to you, and to Bakara," she manages a smile at the two krogan, standing side by side, as together with Liara and Garrus they turn around and slowly walk back to the Kodiak shuttle, Cortez landing it swiftly to pick them up and bring them back to the Normandy.

One of the greatest mistakes in galactic history has been corrected on this day. But the price paid for it, ensures that there will be no loud celebrations, merely pensive reflections, slowly coming to terms with the realization that there was nothing else to do, and that Mordin chose his fate willingly, leaving this life with pride, purpose and meaning, becoming a true hero and a legend at least in the eyes of Shepard and her friends.

* * *

_Now go back and get the lieutenant and get the hell out of here. You know it's the right choice LT. _

I look at my hands, they are covered with blood, sticky and red. I place them in a sink, and I scrub and I scrub, but it won't come off. Your death was my choice, time-proven mistake.

I ask myself, when will this end?

_By the code I will serve you Shepard. Your choices are my choices. Your morals are my morals. Your wishes are my code. _

I look at my hands, they are covered with blood, now purple of hue. I place them in a sink, and I scrub and I scrub, but it won't come off. Your death was my failure, borne of my weakness.

I shout to the heavens, when will this end?

_When I first saw you, you were nothing but meat and tubes. Anywhere else, they'd have put you in a coffin._

I look at my hands, they are covered with blood, turning red again. I place them in a sink, and I scrub and I scrub, but it won't come off. Your death was my responsibility, caused by my absence.

I pray to the gods, please, let this end!

_Never experiment on species with members capable of calculus; simple rule, never broke it. _

I look at my hands, they are covered with blood, thick and deep green. I place them in a sink, and I scrub and I scrub, but it won't come off. Your death was my despair, sacrifice I could not prevent.

I fall silent. Now I know, this will never end.

* * *

Shepard wakes from her nightmare with a scream so loud that it is still ringing in her ears long afterwards. Liara has almost toppled out of the bed from surprise, and Morgan herself is worried that everyone on the ship have heard her shouting. "Gods..." she moans, pulling herself up in the bed, feeling the cold and sweaty shirt clinging to her skin unpleasantly.

"Is everything alright?" Liara gives her a very worried stare. "You're having... what do humans call them, nightmares?"

"Yeah. A real vivid one," Shepard replies, rising and jumping out of the bed. "Any more nightmares like this and I'll be afraid to go to sleep at night."

"Careful with that knee of yours, don't put pressure on it," Liara warns her. With the nightmare and everything, Shepard has already forgotten about the injury and receiving treatment on her knee not too long ago. "I found it curious that Dr. Chakwas allowed you to leave the medbay so soon," Liara adds.

"Well, with Garrus, Javik and James it was getting really crowded," Morgan replies.

"I don't think that's it, she said something akin to 'if my guess is correct, your knee will be as good as new in the morning'," Liara says, trying to remember the conversation from the evening before. "I wonder if it is something to do with those Cerberus implants of yours. Dr. Chakwas mentioned looking into them."

"Well, if they get me back into fighting shape this quickly, I won't complain," Shepard chuckles, testing the knee a little, doing some stretching. "It's just a little sore, but otherwise completely fine," she says, turning around and heading towards the shower.

"Aren't you going to tell me about the nightmare?" Liara asks, stopping her.

"Oh... the usual one... subconscious trying to guilt trip me about all the friends we've lost... probably magnified by what happened to Mordin," she admits eventually.

"I felt something as well while I slept... I do not know if they are like your nightmares," Liara says quietly. "It is like a vision, a premonition."

"Don't tell me you asari can see the future," Shepard chuckles. "I'd just ask you to try and see how this all ends, maybe we should just give up right now and find some remote place where to drag out some hundred years in safety before they come for us..."

"It is nothing like that," Liara stares at her reproachfully. "But these visions tend to be very... real, very vivid. And... I suppose mine was also caused by what happened to Mordin." Shepard does not say anything, urging her to elaborate. "I saw you facing a similar situation as Mordin did, being able to decide the fate of the galaxy by sacrificing yourself. But unlike him, you... you hesitated."

"Of course I would," Shepard says, heavy feeling creeping into her heart. "To leave you behind, I... I'm not sure... it would be... difficult."

Liara almost leaps out of the bed and swiftly walks up to Morgan. Much to Shepard's dismay, she suddenly and unexpectedly finds herself slapped across the face, hard. "Do you think I would find this touching or... or romantic?" she sounds angry and upset. "You would really do this to me? If you truly care about me, Morgan... don't make me into the asari who made the great Commander Shepard flinch and doom the galaxy. I won't be made responsible for the destruction of everything we fought for, because your feelings for me got in the way! How could I live with that kind of guilt, tell me that!"

"I... I hadn't really... thought about that," Shepard confesses quietly, starting to see Liara's point. "I just never placed myself in that kind of situation in my thoughts. But I... I see what you mean."

"Good," Liara nods. "Then promise me that you will not hesitate. Promise that you will do the right thing."

"On one condition, Liara," Shepard replies, Liara facing her curiously, waiting for her to continue. "You will allow yourself to move on, unlike after the first time I died. Grieve, but do not drown in sorrow. Miss me, but don't harden your heart. Cherish our time together, but let yourself love again. Please... if I am to do something like that, I need to know I am not leaving you behind completely miserable."

Liara lowers her eyes, sigh escaping her lips. "I... I promise to try," she finally manages. "It won't be easy... but I will try. I know that the trap I fell into on Ilium was not healthy for me... I will not make the same mistake again, I promise."

"That's all settled then," Morgan manages a serene smile before kissing Liara on the brow, then turning around to head for the shower with a faked spring in her step.

* * *

"Hell of a thing you just pulled off, Commander," Hackett tells her on the QEC. Even after a refreshing shower, Shepard still finds herself exhausted and speaking about what they have gone through on Tuchanka feels incredibly draining. "Curing the genophage... I never thought I'd see the day."

Shepard nods tiredly. "The turians will get their krogan troops right away. That means turian fleets for us, and their support in building the Crucible."

"I imagine that leaves the salarians out of the equation," Hackett remarks. "I expected the official channels to explode after reports of the genophage being cured, but it has been... remarkably quiet so far. Do you know anything about that, Commander?"

"Maybe," Shepard shrugs. "I think I managed to shut Linron up the last time we talked. Or at least made her understand that it is in her own interests not to interfere." Hackett gives her a slightly worried look, but doesn't say anything.

"She did send me a very angry message mere moments ago, I read it just prior to coming here," Morgan continues a moment later. "But I think that will be the end of it." _'I am ashamed to also learn that our own scientist sacrificed his life carrying out your orders.' It was __**you**__ who killed him, you fucking lizard, you and your STG sabotage! Without it, Mordin would have never had to take that elevator up to sacrifice himself! One day... one day you will answer for this, I swear._

"Maybe they will reconsider when the Reapers put more pressure on them," Hackett says. "So far the action on Sur'Kesh has been light compared to what the other races have to contend with."

"Has Major Kirrahe delivered on his promise to get us some support?" Shepard asks.

"He has," Hackett nods. "We've been getting a lot of back-channel commitments from the strike teams within STG. They're going to support us. Our intel suggests there are cracks developing between the military and the politicians. These STG guys know the score. They're not going to jeopardize the entire Union just because Linron didn't get her way."

"Poor dalatrass, she must be really feeling the heat from all sides now," Morgan grins, then instantly becoming serious when she remembers what she was about to ask. "Liara mentioned that the asari are starting to come under some serious pressure. Do you have any more intel about that, sir?"

"Yes, we have been getting some very alarming reports from Thessia. The Reaper forces are gathering in strength, their numbers close to what they have deployed on Earth and Palaven," Hackett shakes his head, looking deeply worried. "Shepard, you know that the asari aren't exactly adept at fighting nasty ground wars. This could get ugly very quickly and very soon."

"Not what I wanted to hear..." Shepard mutters, starting to feel depressed. "We just can't catch a break in this war. I mean, we score one victory and immediately they hit back, making sure we can't even draw a single deep breath."

"The Reapers are everything we feared and more, Commander," Hackett agrees, for a moment looking a little shaken up himself. "Now... is there anything else, before I let you return to your duties, Shepard?"

"I... I don't suppose there are any news about my mother?" Morgan is almost afraid to ask, considering that most of the updates she receives are of the bad kind.

"I'm afraid there is still no sign of the SSV Orizaba," Hackett says, looking at her apologetically. "But I have found out something of importance. The Orizaba was sent on a classified mission near the Perseus Veil. It is quite possible they are still pursuing their mission goals out of the range of all communications."

"Oh, I see..." Shepard gives a relieved exhale. "Spying on the quarians and the geth, are they?" Hackett doesn't reply, giving her a brief smirk. "Thank you for that, sir. At least it's something to hold on to."

"Take care, Commander," Hackett says, his image fading on the holoscreen, as Shepard turns around to leave the comm room, on her way stepping by the CIC to exchange a few words with Specialist Traynor.

"Waiting for new orders, Commander," Samantha Traynor greets her with expectant smile.

"Well... first order of things will be to get to the turian space and drop off Primarch Victus," Shepard says, having thought for a moment. "He insists on being back with his people, fighting shoulder to shoulder on Menae."

"It is admirable and inspiring to have leaders who are willing to risk so much, themselves included," Traynor says, giving her a fond look. "And afterwards, any plans, ma'am?"

"We can't take on any missions like the one on Tuchanka before the crew has recovered," Shepard replies, staring at the galaxy map before her. "I'm just... tempted to pick some random location and... fly around aimlessly, if only for a little bit."

"I think you have earned a little respite, Commander," Samantha says softly. "And that galaxy map... always makes me tingly. Do you know how many strategy games have been built from that interface?"

"You a gamer chick, Traynor?" Shepard chuckles. "I should have known."

"I play a few games, yes," Samantha admits. "I prefer chess, though. I have this wonderful set made from rose quartz and hematite back home. I like the feel of something... solid in my hands."

"Hmm, maybe we can have a game at some point," Morgan grins. "During my house arrest... I didn't have much else to do than read books or play chess with myself. I think James just doesn't have the brain for it," she adds with a conspiring wink.

"It's a deal, Commander," Traynor beams. "It will certainly be more fun than playing EDI. She doesn't sweat."

"I can't remember sweating while playing chess, myself," Shepard remarks, a little confused.

"Well... maybe you just never had enough fun while playing... that could change," Traynor remarks with a meaningful wink.

_Uh-oh, red alert!_ Shepard quickly decides. _Time to change the topic of conversation!_ "We'll see about that, Samantha," she says. "Anyway, speaking about missions, we will have something in a few days from Wrex. He said he has a concern to investigate."

"There are also some Cerberus operations that Admiral Hackett asked us to investigate," Traynor says. "There are reports of Cerberus abducting civilian targets on Benning. Also, the Admiral wants us to take over a Cerberus fighter base located on Noveria."

"Noveria..." Shepard exclaims, shuddering. "There's one place I hoped never to go back to."

"What happened on Noveria?" Traynor asks, looking concerned. "Err, unless it's... something private."

"Difficult mission several years ago," Shepard explains. "We were forced to kill Matriarch Benezia T'Soni."

"T'Soni? As in..." Traynor hesitates.

"Yes. Liara's mother," Shepard says simply, turning around to leave. "She died in Liara's arms. If there is a single planet I loathe above everything else... it's Noveria."


	73. Aftereffects

**Chapter 72 - Aftereffects**

In the War Room, they shake hands with Primarch Adrien Victus, one last time. "Our transport ships have begun picking up the promised krogan troops from Tuchanka," he says, looking grateful and relieved. "Urdnot Wrex has kept his end of the bargain, and so I will keep mine. The turian hierarchy will stand with humanity against the Reapers."

"You have seen for yourself that our only chance is to stand together," Shepard replies, feeling a tiny bit of encouragement from this formal offer of support.

"Agreed, Commander. To that end, several dry-dock ships stand ready to help build the Crucible," the Primarch continues. "I have already discussed it with Vakarian. He will be responsible for coordinating these resources."

"Having him here will make logistics easier, that is an excellent idea," Morgan nods.

"And when the time comes to deploy the Prothean weapon, the full measure of our fleet will be there for Earth," the Primarch says.

_Or what's left of our homeworld,_ Shepard realizes, seeing the same thought in Primarch's eyes. "The Systems Alliance is grateful for your support, Primarch Victus," she speaks, nodding as the turian turns around and leaves, heading for the shuttle to take him back down to the surface of Menae, where the battle is still going on as fierce as on Shepard's previous visit to turian space.

As Shepard watches the Primarch leave, wondering if she will ever see the turian again, Matriarch Aethyta saunters up to her noiselessly, the usually enigmatic expression on her face. "The summit appears to have concluded," she says. "The pretext for my presence on the Normandy is no longer valid, and the matriarchs expect me to report back to them. An asari transport will be picking me up at the first opportunity, I have passed the coordinates for rendezvous spot to your pilot."

"You must be pleased with what you achieved here," Morgan remarks. "Did Liara tell you what Wrex said?"

"She did. Wrex is such a softie for a krogan. Not a grumpy old bastard like my dad was," Aethyta chuckles, but then her smile fades. "What I'm hearing from Thessia... we might need his aid sooner than I anticipated. The reports paint a brutal picture."

"And you're going back to Thessia?" Morgan asks.

"I must," Aethyta replies. "At this rate the matriarchs will give in to panic soon, unless someone like me is there to sort things out and keep everything orderly."

"I trust you will be careful," Morgan says, feeling deeply worried. "I want the three of us to sit down after this war is over and have a few drinks, mixed by my favorite matriarch."

"That's sweet, babe. I'll hold you to that," the asari smiles. "And I'll be fine, worry not for me. And promise to keep my kid safe, alright?"

"Yes, ma'am!" Shepard snaps off a salute.

"Now I need to find her and tell her that I'm leaving... screw this, I hate these kind of talks," the matriarch curses, before turning to depart. "Take care of yourself too, babe, and don't get stepped on by a Reaper, alright? Liara would be upset, and I won't have that, is that clear?"

"Aye, aye, ma'am!" Shepard salutes again, smiling, as Aethyta leaves her alone in the War Room.

* * *

"I understand you are leaving," Liara's voice is barely a whisper as she slides into the Normandy's lounge, looking at Aethyta's packed belongings.

"And I am sure you understand my reasons for it," Aethyta replies, standing at the bar and mixing herself one last drink on the Normandy. "Heh, I thought you would be relieved, with me always poking my nose into your affairs!"

"I don't want you to go, dad," Liara sighs. "But I've learned that what I want is not always what I can get."

"They need me back on the homeworld, kid," Aethyta smiles serenely. "Things are a bit rough right now..."

"I've heard..." Liara swiftly moves up to her father, embracing her. "Please, dad... be careful. I can't lose you now, after I've just found you..."

"You're making a suicide run at a Reaper, and you're telling **me** to be careful?" Aethyta shakes her head, incredulous. "Seriously, you kids these days have a lot of nerve..."

Liara chuckles weakly in her father's shoulder. "Okay, I will promise to be careful, if you will," she says, pulling back.

"Fine, fine," Aethyta manages, awkwardly patting her on the back. "By the way, kid... I, uh... called a few friends. Commandos. Eclipse girls who owe me some favors. They're all yours. Just... tell them where to go."

"You... you're giving me... asari commandos?" Liara blinks, looking at Aethyta in disbelief.

"Well, I figured you're too old for me to buy you a damned pony," Aethyta manages a grin, suddenly finding herself squeezed tight in a ferocious embrace.

"Oh dad..." Liara says, overwhelmed to the brink of tears. "You're the best father a girl could wish for..."

* * *

"All right, my turn," Garrus says, standing next to Joker's seat on the bridge. "What's the first order an Alliance commander gives at the start of the combat?"

"Uh..." Joker pauses for a moment, thinking. "I give up."

"Correct!" the turian exclaims.

"Right... my turn," Joker says, chuckling. "What's the hardest part about treating a turian who took a rocket to one side of his face?"

"Figuring out which side took the rocket," Garrus sighs in reply.

"Yeah, I could never tell with Garrus, not to this very day," Shepard chooses to reveal herself then, stepping up to the others, laughing. "Shouldn't you be in the medbay, anyway?" she gives the turian a long stare.

"Probably," Garrus shrugs. "But you know how Dr. Chakwas can get. Besides, what she doesn't know, won't hurt me..."

Shepard chuckles, dropping her stare. "Well, go on with your jokes then, don't let me ruin your fun!"

"As you wish," Garrus mock-bows to her, before continuing. "Let's see... how many humans does it take to activate a dormant mass relay?"

"602. 600 to vote on it, one to ask asari for technical help, and one to request a seat on the Council afterwards..." Joker replies with a deep sigh.

"That last guy sounds like Udina to me," Shepard adds once she has finished laughing. She turns to the uncharacteristically silent EDI, sitting in the co-pilot's seat. "You usually enjoy good jokes, EDI, is something the matter?"

"I am analyzing recent reports from Admiral Anderson," EDI replies after a small delay. "It appears that the Reapers on Earth are broadcasting orders. They are demanding human leaders enter their superstructures to 'negotiate peace'."

The cheerful and humorous atmosphere on the bridge evaporates instantly. "Negotiate peaceful indoctrination, more like," Shepard growls angrily.

"This is a ruse to pacify the population during the indoctrination and harvesting process," EDI elaborates. "Citizens who are busy waiting, are not busy fighting. It is likely that the governments of Earth will soon enact laws punishing those who attack the Reaper occupiers. All done in the name of peace."

"I don't think even the most moronic leaders would be so trusting, so they're either completely stupid or utterly desperate to go along with this... probably the latter," Shepard sighs, looking at Garrus. "Wonder if they are using this tactic on Palaven as well?"

"They might try, but it will never work, not with turians," Garrus shakes his head. "Our leaders would never consider 'negotiating' with the Reapers, as long as there is at least a single turian left standing. See, Shepard, that's the difference between our people. You humans are always trying to save as many as you can. We are willing to accept the losses of the others, and we don't think that there can ever be too high cost for victory."

"Can't believe I'm saying this, but the turians have the right of it this time," Joker says, sounding angry and upset. "Fighting to the last sure beats indoctrination and harvesting."

"Yeah... we really need to finish building that Crucible and get this over with," Shepard grumbles unhappily. "Unfortunately, we still have no clue what that Catalyst is. We don't even know where to find out more about it. Liara says that the Crucible plans themselves offer little hint."

"I will send a reply to Admiral Anderson, stating that we are doing all we can to help Earth. They will rejoice in hearing about the krogan-turian alliance that we have secured," EDI says, Shepard nodding to her in approval.

"Yeah," Joker says, lowering his head. "Shame about Mordin, though. Got so used to him always being in the lab, running his strange tests, wanting to stick his probes into everyone and everything... offering to cure my Vrolik's Syndrome and nearly killing me... good times!"

"Always thought he was a bit crazy," Garrus nods. "Useful, but crazy. Then he goes and gives up his life..."

"Speaking of that... I remember a certain offer made while staring down the Reaper in the Shroud arena," Shepard gives Garrus a hard stare, but her friend avoids her eyes and turns away to hobble off from the bridge. "Don't ever make suggestions like that, Garrus," she says, continuing after him. "We've lost too many friends already... I can't lose any more, at some point it just needs to stop, because I can feel it is getting..."

"Getting too much already, Shepard?" Garrus turns towards her sharply. "I doubt we're even halfway there with our preparations. Face it, there will be more losses, whether you want it or not."

"Exactly," Morgan nods. "That's why I don't need sacrifices where they are not absolutely required. We don't need more than what we will already be forced to give up. I... I promised myself that we won't lose any squadmates on Tuchanka... that's why Mordin's loss hurts so much."

"Even if he was the sacrifice that was required," Garrus remarks. "But at least the krogan will be singing songs about you until the end of time. That has to count for something."

"It does," she admits. "Not as much as Wrex crushing me into one of his krogan-hugs and calling me his sister." She feels her chest becoming painfully tight again, shaking her head as if to prevent tears from escaping her eyes, feeling embarrassed for displaying such vulnerability in front of Garrus. "I'm proud of what we did down there. So very proud. Sure, there was stopping Saren and Sovereign. Then the Collector base, too. But this was... I don't know, this was a... moral victory over a terrible injustice."

"Yeah. I know exactly what you mean," Garrus agrees. "This one felt so very right." He pauses for a moment before continuing. "Tell me, Shepard... how tempting was that salarian deal? I must say, if it wasn't my own world that needed the aid... I might have considered taking it."

"Seriously?" Shepard appears genuinely surprised. "After all that you have put them through, the genophage, the bomb strapped to their planet, you'd do it to them again? I... couldn't even consider it for a moment."

"Mhm, yes... I agree," Garrus admits eventually. "You're right. This feeling of having done the right thing... just beats everything."

"So let's just stick to doing the right thing, Garrus," Morgan manages a smile. "And let's see how much more history we can create along the way..."

* * *

"Prothy, did you see the specs of the Reaper that Shepard took down?" James Vega, his head still heavily bandaged, tells his fellow occupant of the medbay, an irritated looking Prothean. "They say it's one of the small ones! Damn... I don't see anything small about it!"

"A Reaper is dead, and I was not there to take part in it," Javik sounds displeased. "Unacceptable. All the fault of your reckless driving. If you hadn't pushed ahead to be at the front of the convoy, we would have been able to continue."

"Cheer up Prothy, there will be more Reapers, I'm sure," James chuckles. "Though I'm not sure the Commander is likely to include you, with your sunny disposition and everything."

"The only thing that should matter is my willingness and ability to kill the Reapers," Javik growls back. "The species of this cycle are foolish and irritating beyond all hope. How you have survived this far without eradicating each other I will never understand."

"Well, we must be doing something right. I understand that your cycle did pretty damn poorly against the Reapers compared to us," James smirks.

"Mere luck," Javik shakes his head dismissively.

"Whatever comforts you, Prothy," Vega laughs back.

"You will suffer. You will **all** suffer!" Javik snarls dangerously, apparently having had enough of Vega's taunting.

"Hey Doc?" James shouts as he hears the medbay doors open. "I think Prothy needs his sedatives!"

"Well, I can only switch to the stick up my ass and knock him out cold," it is Garrus, returning from his brief and illegal excursion outside the medbay. "Also, I would appreciate it if you didn't shout so loud to alert Chakwas."

"Did you meet the Commander?" James asks urgently. "Did she mention anything about what is planned next? Dying of boredom here!"

"Apparently we won't be taking any new missions until you two weaklings get better," Garrus chuckles, lying down on his bed, suddenly feeling very tired, but obviously not showing it to the others.

"I am perfectly fine to continue fighting!" Javik protests, despite the sharp pain coursing through his left arm, almost separated under the shoulder.

"Yeah, what Prothy said," James echoes, trying to ignore the ringing sensation in his heavily bandaged head.

"Sure, sure," Garrus grins knowingly. "Besides, Shepard is waiting for a message from Wrex, apparently he also has some errand for us to run. Beyond that, there are the usual 'kick Cerberus where it hurts' tasks from Hackett. But I understand Shepard was going to forward those to Aria."

"Really?" James asks, suddenly very curious. "Did she hear back from Aria already?"

"I don't think so," Garrus looks at Vega inquiringly. "What's got you so interested?"

"Oh, nothing... nothing at all," James replies, appearing incredibly smug, but not saying anything more. After a while of waiting for Vega to elaborate, Garrus gives up, and rare silence takes over the crowded medbay...

* * *

"Hey," Shepard says, coming up to Liara and placing her hands on the backrest of the asari's chair, watching her lover stare intently at complicated equations beyond Morgan's comprehension. "What are you up to?"

"Working on decoding some of the Crucible's designs... or at least trying to," Liara replies without looking up. "Theoretical particle physics based on specialized base-twelve mathematics aren't exactly my specialty."

"I have no idea what you just said," Morgan admits. "But whatever it is, I want to shoot it in the face."

Liara laughs, saving her decoded data and switching the terminal off. "I am glad you stopped by, I have been staring at those equations for forty-five minutes without getting anywhere," she admits, then facing Shepard with a guilty look. "I also wanted to apologize for this morning, I was... harsh beyond what was required."

"It's okay, Liara. We were all under stress because of what happened with Mordin," Shepard manages a smile.

"Yes, but I should take your turmoil away instead of keep adding to it," Liara says. "I should have handled that situation differently."

"Don't worry about it so much. You said what I needed to hear, it was required," Shepard shrugs. "But I don't really want to talk about it anymore, okay? Case closed, no hard feelings, let's move onwards."

"If you're sure..." Liara looks skeptical, but Morgan's smile is infectious, finally convincing the asari that the matter is settled.

"Anything interesting on the Broker network?" Morgan asks then.

"Same old, only worse with every day that we allow this war to continue," Liara remarks bitterly. "And... first casualty reports coming in from Thessia. I can't bear to watch the vids, but I can just about manage to read the messages. At least my people are not throwing themselves at the Reapers in a frontline war, so the numbers aren't as bad as for Earth, but... we are losing territory a lot faster."

"I'm... sorry," Morgan says, putting her hands on Liara's shoulders, gently rubbing them. "With Aethyta going back there, this must feel like hell..."

"At least I know where my dad is... my agents can't find a trace of the SSV Orizaba either," Liara replies quietly.

"Annoying how all conversations these days converge to something depressing," Morgan says, giving her lover a sad smile. "There must be something else on the Broker network, something uplifting and positive."

"Well..." Liara starts, looking thoughtful. "I'm not sure if these are good news, but... apparently Wrex has already petitioned the Council about opening a krogan embassy and giving them a new colony planet. The Citadel seems to be in utter turmoil over these news."

Morgan can't stop herself from laughing. "Good old Wrex... well, I think he's doing the right thing in not losing any time," she says. "And I don't think it is so unreasonable, really. Poor councilors, they are probably panicking over all this. I don't see how Sparatus can accept the krogan aid on Palaven and deny them this."

"Same will go for Tevos, if we end up requesting krogan aid on Thessia..." Liara remarks, but then she is interrupted by the new message announcement on Shepard's private terminal.

"Well, well..." Shepard speaks, walking up to the terminal to check the message. "Speak of the devil..."


	74. Dealing With 'Extinct' Races

_A/N: A slightly more upbeat chapter this time. Let's get some comedy and jokes going while we still can. :) _

**Chapter 73 - Dealing With 'Extinct' Races**

_hi shepard, _

_we took care of things on tuchanka, but im sure youll realize that we left loose end. the rachni. _

_even before coming to tuchanka, i heard of some trouble around the rachni relay and sent a squad there to investigate. never heard from them again. now we know why. now im sending my best forces there, the aralakh company. id appreciate if you would link up with them as soon as possible. coordinates attached. _

_im sure you will want to help with this problem. we wouldnt want anyone to start suggesting you screwed up on noveria, right, haha? _

_in other news... making babies again will be fun. i intend to do my part to build our numbers back up. anyway, were off to save the turians now, since they apparently forgot how to hold a gun, heh. _

_take care shepard, my sister in arms _

_urdnot wrex _

"I can't believe he actually put 'Making babies' as a message title," Liara blinks, having read the message too.

"Well, it's nice to know where his priorities lay..." Morgan chuckles, as the terminal beeps again to indicate a new message. "Wait, there's more... oh, it's from Bakara this time... let's see."

_Commander, I'm writing this to you from the Kelphic Valley on Tuchanka. I wish you were here to see this. I'm watching krogan pour in from across our entire planet, so many of them that I've lost count. They've all heard the news. We are finally free. The age of suffering is over. Never again will krogan be afraid to give birth. Never again will they fear the pain and heartache it might bring. _

_With respect and admiration, your friend,_

_Urdnot Bakara _

_P.s. Please ignore Wrex if he mentions anything about 'making babies'. _

Shepard breaks out in laughter. "Poor old Wrex, he's not going to have an easy time with Bakara!"

"She is certainly a very eloquent and charismatic speaker," Liara admits with a smile. "And her spelling is so much better too."

"Wrex is right, though, much as I loathe the idea of dealing with the rachni," Shepard sighs. "The boys are still recovering in the medbay, so looks like it'll be just us, the Girl-Squad against huge, angry bugs."

"I feel like I'm suddenly coming down with some sort of mystery illness..." Liara jokingly suggests.

"Allergy to rachni? Yeah, I know that one, it's more common than you would think!" Morgan chuckles back at her lover. "All kidding aside though, I'd better give Joker those coordinates. Let's see... the scouts went missing on planet Utukku, Ninmah Cluster... I guess that's our next stop."

* * *

Liara approaches the doors of the cargo hold with quiet worry and trepidation, unsure what to expect. Dr. Chakwas has told her that she has thrown Javik out of the medbay as soon as she could because his attitude was bad for morale. The Prothean has still not been cleared for active duty, so Liara imagines that he might be grouchier than usual, but still, she is determined to try and chip away at that armor of his, feeling desperate to get to some of those big historical revelations that he surely must be hiding.

Javik is standing at one of the water tanks placed in his 'quarters', washing his hands over and over. "You again," he remarks, seeing Liara enter, the asari flinching a little from the reception she gets.

"I am glad to see you are doing better, Javik," she tries politeness first, not expecting much. "I was worried, I did not know if Dr. Chakwas would be able to help without knowing a great deal about Prothean physiology."

"She displayed some rudimentary competence. The assistance she provided was adequate," Javik replies emotionlessly. "I understand she used the salarian's data from studying the dead Collector bodies."

"Ah yes, of course, how clever of her," Liara smiles.

"Your efforts of trying to make friends are pointless, asari," Javik gives her a hard stare. "That is not my purpose here."

"Perhaps, but would it truly hurt you to display a little bit of common decency to the others?" Liara asks. "If you even know what that is."

"I do not care," Javik shrugs, returning to the water tank. "I find this need to wash my hands disturbing. But the residue of this ship is so very strong."

"This ship has been home to many colorful individuals," Liara smiles in remembrance of some of their old friends. "I am not surprised that they have left deep traces."

"I detected a human female. Her genetic structure was unnatural, as if artificially created. And a drell... there was illness in him."

"Operative Miranda Lawson and the famous assassin Thane Krios," Liara explains.

"And a krogan who lived in these quarters. He was undergoing a... metamorphosis. He was strong but his memories were confused, spirit in turmoil. The traces he left... they are intoxicating, full with so much power, rage and hatred..."

"I... I will demand that Shepard moves your quarters elsewhere," Liara quickly offers. _Goddess, maybe that's why he is acting in such a hostile manner? I have to talk Morgan into moving him elsewhere, I must!_

"You will do no such thing, asari," Javik gives her an angry glare. "I revel in his strength and passion, they fuel me. This is what I need to serve my role as an exemplar of vengeance for my people!"

_Okay, I give up,_ Liara sighs inwardly. _Well... one more try being nice, after that no more demeaning myself._ "I still find myself fascinated by that talent of yours. It is regrettable that evolution took the species of this cycle down a different path."

"Yes, and you also have far too few eyes to be effective," Javik agrees. "But at least you seem to understand why I consider you and the rest of the species of your cycle to be primitive. Evolution, the greatest power of them all, has decreed so itself. Our scientists believed it was the only force in the galaxy that mattered. They called it the 'cosmic imperative'. The strong flourished. The weak perished. I don't understand why the governments of your time seem so concerned with ensuring the survival of all."

"So was this imperative just your scientists' opinion, or did they prove something we don't know?" Liara asks, hoping to keep the conversation going.

"The universe had already proven it. They only had to look around," Javik shrugs his shoulders. "Extinction is the rule of law in the cosmos, the natural order of things. The weakest species are doomed."

"That was... the proof your scientists based their conclusions on?" Liara asks, feeling herself starting to shake in anger, her scientist nature feeling affronted at this pathetic explanation. "Well, let me tell you something. You see what you wish, because you are bullies, looking for justification to exterminate the weaker races as you please! Anyone else but you will look at the order of the universe and see something completely different!"

"Their opinion does not matter, because they are weak and unimportant. Just like you, asari," Javik replies coolly, managing to incense Liara further. "The strong grow stronger by dominating the weak. It is for the greater good of all."

"Greater good? That is... the most disgusting and pathetic reasoning I have ever heard!" Liara fumes. "Even the species of this cycle who thrive on conflict do not pride themselves in dominating the weak, they seek to test themselves against more powerful opposition, believing to thus becoming stronger! To prey on the weak is simple cowardice, and... and of all the species of this cycle, you... you remind me of batarians!"

"Ah... finally you show some fire, some promise, asari!" Javik exclaims, looking pleased, much to Liara's dismay. "I was wondering how long you would just stand there and allow me to mock your obviously different beliefs. I see now that there might be some hope for you. Perhaps this war will eventually shape your people into something not completely useless."

_I... I don't think I can go through something like this just to earn a sliver of respect from him_, Liara groans inwardly, feeling exhausted. "Speaking of this war..." she decides to change the topic of conversation. "I hope you are pleased with our progress."

Javik looks ponderous before replying. "I have heard about the offer the salarians made," he says eventually. "I would have accepted it and not told the krogan. Morality and friendship do not matter now. Your allies are simply resources to use against the Reapers."

"And after the Reapers are defeated?" Liara asks, feeling the anger begging to bubble within her again. "When all your former allies suddenly remember the way you treated them during the war with the Reapers and decide to take revenge on you? Maybe it is better to treat your allies well?"

"Typical reasoning of those who are weak," Javik shakes his head. "If the krogan seek retribution for the past, do not waste time on sterility plagues. Destroy them where they stand! In the meantime... they are useful cannon fodder against the Reapers."

_I... I think I'm starting to... hate him,_ Liara realizes, at the same time feeling a little blasphemous for daring to think that way of a member of an ancient and supposedly noble race. "I have only one more question, Javik, before I leave you alone," she says sweetly, walking up a little closer to the Prothean. "I have always wondered... are your reproductive organs external or internal?"

"External, why-... ungh!" Javik grunts in pain, holding his crotch in his hands as Liara proudly marches out of the cargo hold, then quickly hobbling towards the elevator once she is out of the Prothean's view.

Once inside the elevator, she collapses, starting to gently massage her aching foot. "Oh, goddess, it hurts so much... f-f-ffffun fact of the day, Liara... feels like Prothean testicles are made from solid metal," she breathes out, selecting the crew deck as her destination, with the intent of getting to the medbay as soon as possible.

* * *

"So... let me get this straight, just on the off-chance that I'm missing something here," Shepard gives Liara an incredulous stare, as together with EDI they sit in the Kodiak piloted by Steve Cortez, heading straight for their drop point on the surface of Utukku. "I already have three of my squadmates declared unfit for action. And then you go and kick one of them, albeit the really annoying one, in the nuts and crack a bone in your foot..."

"It is just heavily bruised," Liara replies defensively. "You are overreacting, Shepard."

"Mind you, I understand the temptation," Shepard nods. "What tipped the scales today?"

"Oh... a combination of things," Liara shrugs. "I think I just decided I don't like him very much."

"So you kicked him in the groin, alright, that's a reasonable reaction," Shepard grins. "Seems to me someone's getting in touch with their inner krogan." Liara's wilting stare just makes her chuckle all the more harder, when Morgan turns towards EDI. "I must say, Adams really did a nice number on your body, EDI. Can't see any scratches or anything."

"Chief Engineer Adams is a competent and valued member of the crew, and his work in restoring this platform to its previous state is highly appreciated," EDI replies. "However, Jeff's hysterical reaction to my possible non-functionality is less welcomed. I am at a loss of what to answer to his tiresome tirades."

"Never give him the actual probability values of our safe return from any given mission, I'm sure they are very depressing to look at," Liara suggests. "Always raise them to at least 70%, that should make him feel more reassured."

"Good idea, Liara," Morgan grins. "Though maybe he was so frustrated this time because he desperately wanted to be in Adams' place, with his hands glued to your posterior."

"Commander, have you ever considered a career at stand-up comedy?" EDI asks, sounding completely serious. "You seem to possess a natural talent for it."

"I have been thinking about launching a career once I retire from active military duty," Morgan replies, trying to keep a straight face. "Liara and I will become legends in Thessia's clubs and bars, if only I can convince her to play the role of the straight woman... asari in my act."

"Shouldn't we be discussing our mission goals instead?" Liara appears to have finally had enough.

"Well, if you must be boring..." Morgan sighs, dropping all the nonsense and resuming to talk all business-like. "Our backup will be the Aralakh Company. The best way to describe them would be... krogan commandos."

"I have an impressive amount of data on them, Aralakh Company is an accomplished unit," EDI remarks. "Their latest operation of notoriety was liberating a colony from batarian pirates."

"There still has been no contact with the scouts coming here to investigate the rachni presence in the first place. Since we actually discovered the rachni on Tuchanka... we can guess what happened to these scouts," Morgan says.

"I just can't believe the queen would willingly agree to something like this," Liara speaks, looking upset and worried. "She promised she would disappear, and perhaps I am naive, but I believed her."

"I still believe her," Shepard shrugs. "I met an asari contact of her on Ilium during one of my visits, and she assured me that the queen and her children were doing well, keeping to themselves and staying clear from the rest of the galaxy. They seemed content with their existence."

"Heavy mutations and modifications suggest forced Reaper interference," EDI speaks up. "It is likely that the queen and her subjects are being actively controlled by the Reapers."

"Yeah, that's what I'm thinking too," Shepard nodded. "I'm afraid that the rachni have become unwilling tools of the Reapers through no fault of their own. When I spoke with that asari on Ilium, she made it clear that the rachni considered Reapers their enemies, and would never willingly work for them."

"Approaching the rendezvous point," Cortez informs them from the pilot's seat. "Got the visual on the krogan camp, and I can see our backup down there."

"Alright, settle us down," Shepard says as Cortez lands the shuttle on the small pad, and the three of them jump out, only to be faced with a strange and unexpected ceremony. Roughly twenty large krogan are standing in an orderly row, like frozen statues, while the leader of their unit approaches them... and he certainly seems familiar.

Before Shepard can say anything, however, her old friend Urdnot Grunt stops and raises his hand. "Aralakh Company!" he roars. "Salute Shepard, the savior of our people!"

The collective roar of twenty krogan momentarily deafens Morgan and almost knocks her to the ground. "FOR SHEPARD!" they shout, all as one. "HERO OF THE KROGAN!"

"Aww, you shouldn't have," Shepard can't stop herself from grinning like a fool, stepping forward to shake hands with Grunt, or rather get her hands mangled by the krogan's fierce handshake.

"Hahah! Shepard!" Grunt bellows happily in her face. "The Aralakh Company has been waiting on your arrival! We heard what you did on Tuchanka. There can be no greater honor bestowed on a krogan than the opportunity to fight alongside you, hero of our people!"

"Thank you, Grunt, I don't think I've ever got a reception like this before," Shepard smiles, looking at the gathered krogan. "So, you're in charge of the Company, I take it?"

"Yeah. They're tough and think they're invincible," Grunt replies, looking at his troops proudly. "Reckless, but effective. Had to bust more than a few heads to prove that I am the strongest and the most worthy to lead this bunch, but now they follow and respect me!"

"So, have you seen any of the rachni yourselves already?" Shepard asks.

"No, we only just landed ourselves," Grunt shakes his head. "But we had time to do some scans of the area. There are tunnels under us and they all lead to a large central point. If we're lucky it's a nest!"

"A nest would be... fortunate," Liara agrees. "We could end this decisively here."

Shepard sighs, taking in the news. "You people have the strangest definitions of what is considered lucky or fortunate," she chuckles.

"The ruined scout camp is a little ways ahead. We should start our search from there," Grunt tells her before turning to his krogan troops. "Aralakh Company! MOVE OUT!"


	75. Krogan vs Rachni, Round Two

_A/N: Time for a facepalm moment of epic proportions. If you laugh about what happens in this chapter... you're a bad, bad person. ;) _

**Chapter 74 - Krogan vs. Rachni, Round Two**

Several miles of dark tunnels and more than a few hundred disgusting dead bugs later, Shepard lets out a deep sigh. "So... we wouldn't have to deal with any of this if I had just killed the queen on Noveria?" she asks, addressing mostly herself. "Glad to see that the universe values mercy. Or not."

"Pointless to speculate about that, Morgan," Liara tells her, the asari's white combat suit looking stained beyond recognition with mud, clay and bits of squished bugs. "Perhaps the Reapers would have found some way to bring them back from the dead, even then. They certainly have the cloning capabilities to do so."

"Maybe you're right," Shepard nods. "Just gets me thinking even more about the choices I have to make."

"The central chamber is directly ahead of us, Shepard," EDI informs them. "In the event that it proves to be a nest as we have speculated, the queen should be within this large cavern we are about to enter."

"Wonder where's our backup..." Shepard says, trying to poke Grunt on the comms. "Where are you, guys? We're coming up to the nest, are you far behind?"

"Encountering heavy resistance," comes a swift reply. "We got ambushed from behind and they took out several of my krogan before we could react! Shepard, I have no idea what you're doing, but it seems as if all their forces are falling back towards the nest! Watch your back!"

"Great," Shepard mutters. "Double time towards the nest, people! We need to get there before all the rachni can retreat!" They break into a run through the dark tunnels, but shortly after encounter what at first looks like a dead end. Pointing their flashlight beams a little lower, they can see an uncomfortably narrow passage leading under the stone wall.

"Scans indicate that the central chamber is behind this wall, Shepard," EDI reaffirms Morgan's fears. "And this appears to be the way to get there."

"Grunt, we've found a way into the nest," she speaks on the comms quickly. "Not sure we'll be able to get out the same away again, it's an awfully tight squeeze. We might need to look for another way out."

"We'll dig in here, Shepard, try to prevent them from returning to the nest," Grunt reports back.

"Alright, thanks Grunt. And good luck."

"Luck? I don't need luck," Grunt laughs back at her, amidst sounds of fierce gunfire. "I have ammo. And... I... am... KROGAN!" with that he charges back into the fight, as Shepard's group continue on their path, EDI squeezing through the narrow passage first, reporting that the path is safe and pulling first Morgan, then Liara through the tight gap.

The view before them is strange, alien and disturbing. In the middle of the central chamber, there stands a creature, very similar to what she remembers freeing on Noveria, a dreadful spider-like monstrosity from the most frightening horror tales imaginable. The rachni queen is being kept in place by massive restraints, the locks in place clearly of Reaper origin.

Bodies of several krogan scouts are wrapped in the webbing and Reaper wires and tubes surrounding the queen, and as Shepard and her friends approach the rachni matriarch, the dead krogan all as one open their mouths to speak in unison, spooking Shepard and Liara, EDI merely observing them with interest.

"Please... give us... silence..." the queen speaks through the dead krogan, like she had done those few years ago through the dead asari commando on Noveria. "End the... maddening sour note..."

Shepard exchanges glances with Liara. "Is she asking to free her or... uh, end her?" Morgan asks, Liara shrugging in reply.

"We... remember you..." the krogan speak again. "You helped us once. Will you... aid us again? The machines come... and take my children... they die alone, silent... far away."

"I thought our agreement was that the rest of the galaxy would never have to worry about the rachni again," Shepard remarks, still undecided.

"We... honor our promise. Retreated back through the relay..." the queen explains. "We started a new home... beautiful children... harmony. But... the machines came. They heard our song. Their shriek of sour notes drowned us out..."

"If I let you go, wouldn't the Reapers be able to simply gain control of you and your children again?" Morgan asks the question that has been plaguing her for a while.

"Machines took us by surprise... if freed, we will hide better, silence our songs until the machines retreat," the queen replies.

"Do the machines still control you?" Morgan asks. _Bit of a stupid question, though I have to pose it. Can't imagine anyone replying 'yes' to me asking if they're indoctrinated, though._

"The machines never controlled us. We hear their voice, but if you free us from these shackles... the voices will be gone..." the dead krogan all as one stutter out the reply. The queen suddenly shakes violently in her restraints. "Wait! The children return!" she exclaims. "They will destroy us all! Release us!"

"Shepard! Are you done with that nest?" Grunt yells on the comms, it sounds like the krogan are hard pressed to hold their position. "We're getting a lot of movement here!"

"Do you have a way to retreat?" Shepard shouts back. "Grab your team and get out of there while you can, do you hear me? We're almost done here, no need to sacrifice any more of your krogan!"

"Understood, Shepard," Grunt replies. "See you on the other side!"

"Morgan, what are you planning?" Liara asks her, looking deeply worried. "Without the Aralakh Company to provide cover for us..."

"Free her from those shackles, now!" Shepard commands, opening fire on one of the Reaper restraints, breaking it. "She wants to get out of here and be free? I'm giving her that chance, and hopefully we can follow the queen outside."

"Thank you. We hate the machines," the krogan speak for one last time. "We will help in your fight against them. We will fight for our unborn children." The final restraint comes loose after EDI has burned the wires with a plasma blast, and the queen bounds forth ungracefully, heading for one of the wider openings leading out of the central chamber.

Shepard and the others waste no time in following the rachni queen. The released queen glides through the passages with incredible speed, considering her size, and Shepard finds it difficult to keep up with her. It is almost fortunate that they encounter some resistance that slows the queen down, or else they might have very easily become lost in these dark passages.

The body of the rachni queen takes up almost the entire tunnel and as such it is difficult to help her out with suppressive fire when they encounter opposition. The only way that Morgan finds herself able to shoot something is by dropping herself flat on the ground and aim through the queen's legs, looking to cripple or destroy some of her unruly children, committed to stop their mother from escaping her nest.

The queen is slowing down considerably, disgusting green fluid dripping down from her belly and staining the ground of the passages, making it slippery and time and time again Liara and Shepard find themselves slipping and sliding, falling even further behind the injured and bleeding queen. Fortunately, the exit is near and they feel relieved to finally see the daylight, emerging outside next to the injured rachni matriarch, staring at them gratefully.

"Will you be alright?" Liara asks, looking worriedly at the wounds on the rachni's chest and belly. "Can you get to the safety on your own?" The queen appears to be nodding in reply.

"In that case, best of luck to you, and try not to fall under the Reaper influence again," Shepard tells the queen, feeling rather pleased about how the mission has turned out. _Hey, if she actually ends up helping us against the Reapers, then my decision on Noveria will be vindicated. Nobody's going to point fingers and laugh at me for that anymore!_

"Perhaps in time she can send her children to help us with the Crucible," Liara says thoughtfully, the queen leaning a little lower towards them as if to listen more carefully. "The rachni are capable of wondrous technological achiev-"

But then Liara's words are disrupted by a sudden sound of gunfire very close by. Much to their shock and dismay, the queen's head shatters like a watermelon and the dead carcass drops down and almost crushes them, Shepard and her friends narrowly managing to roll away.

"Haha! Got her just in time!" Grunt roars cheerfully, arriving at the scene and proudly brandishing his shotgun. "Close call, eh, Shepard? Moments later and the Hero of Krogan would have been a goner!"

Still blinking from surprise, covered from head to toes with green and sticky rachni blood, Shepard brings a warning finger to her lips as she turns to both EDI and Liara. "...uh, yeah Grunt... she nearly got us..." she manages an awkward chuckle. "I'll be sure to tell everyone how you saved the hero of your people... from the evil rachni queen that was... totally about to kill us, yes."

"Come on, Shepard," Grunt jovially slaps her on the shoulder. "The Aralakh Company might be down to half strength, but our ancient enemy is dead! Come with us to the scout's camp, and we'll crack open a barrel of ryncol to celebrate!"

"...that actually sounds like an excellent idea right about now..." Shepard says, rubbing her temples, still a little dazed from what had just happened.

"I completely agree..." Liara nods, also looking deeply disturbed and very much in need of a stiff drink...

* * *

"So, Commander... I have been wondering," EDI says during the shuttle flight back to the Normandy, Liara and Shepard sprawled out on the floor of the shuttle, slightly green in their faces and not just from the rachni blood. "Does this qualify as a successful mission?"

"Oh... I don't know EDI..." Shepard manages a reply, struggling not to vomit. "Going through so much trouble to save the rachni from extinction... and then in the end, when everything has been taken care of... only to see them getting... uh, extincted... by an overexcited krogan with a shotgun? That's... fairly typical and predictable, really, considering my luck..."

"At least the rachni will no longer present any problems," EDI suggests helpfully. "The annals of history will not remember the pathetic picture before us right now, they will only speak of the famous Commander Shepard and her success at forever eliminating the ancient evil of the rachni from the galaxy."

"...despite her intentions to the contrary," Liara groans, looking to be in pain as she gently rubs her belly.

"And the reward for her heroic efforts was getting smashed on ryncol," Shepard nods weakly. "I don't know what that stuff is, but it's burning a hole in my stomach, it has to be something poisonous..."

"I feel the same..." Liara manages. "And Shepard... you smell terrible, like thousand dead bugs..."

"I'm pretty sure it's you, Stinky..." Shepard snaps back without any edge whatsoever.

"Uh, with all due respect, Commander, you both smell awful," Cortez butts in from the pilot's seat. "I'm not looking forward to cleaning the shuttle."

"Thank you, Lieutenant Cortez," EDI speaks up, looking smug.

"We'll need a shower after we return to the Normandy," Shepard suggests, looking at Liara's stained face, still finding it incredibly attractive under all the mud, blood and grime.

"A very, very long shower..." Liara replies, mustering a weak smile.

"Please, Commander, spare a thought for my poor circuits, they are not designed to process such disturbing images," EDI says in an overly serious voice, making them chuckle and wheeze all the way back to the Normandy.

* * *

The following morning, Shepard's first task is a visit to the medbay, where she is pleased to see Dr. Chakwas unceremoniously sending the relieved James and Garrus packing, declaring them finally fit for action. "Ah, Shepard," Chakwas greets her. "How are you feeling this morning?"

"Much better, thanks Karin," she replies.

"Now, what on earth possessed you to drink ryncol, Commander?" Dr. Chakwas immediately begins to scold her. "There is a reason they warn any non-krogan off that stuff, you know?"

"I just found that out for myself... boy, they weren't kidding when they described it as 'ground glass'," Shepard groans from the memory of the previous day. "And let's just say that the occasion demanded us to engage in this... questionable activity."

"We hear you celebrated your victory over the rachni together with the krogan commandos," James remarks, looking impressed. "No wonder there was ryncol involved. Me, I'll stick to _cerveja_, thanks. Not everyone's as crazy as you are, Lola."

"At least the giant spiders are gone for good, Shepard," Garrus tells her. "Glad you realized your decision on Noveria was a mistake. I always thought they were too dangerous to be left alive, and the Reapers proved just that."

"Uh... yeah," Shepard nods awkwardly. "Yeah, we realized our mistake and corrected it, that's exactly what we did down there."

"I'm telling you, Commander, if I never see another spider in my life, I'll die a contented turian. Unless..." Garrus winces as if in pain. "Unless they have spiders in the afterlife. Damn!"

"Only the good spiders, Garrus," Shepard grins, patting him on the shoulder. "Only the good ones."

"All spiders are evil," Garrus shakes his head as Shepard turns towards James.

"Lieutenant Vega," she says. "I have some news that concern you. A few days ago, I forwarded intel about Cerberus operations on Benning to Aria T'Loak, along with an invitation to take care of things there. She has agreed to strike against Cerberus, but as always I wish to send someone from the Normandy with her forces. Since I did not hear any complaints from Aria regarding your performance last time... uh, did I say something funny?" she wonders briefly, watching Vega chuckle, looking smug for some reason. "Anyway, as long as you agree, I've decided to send you with Aria's mercenaries. See if you can learn anything new about the intentions on Cerberus."

"Uh... sure, I can do that, Commander!" James struggles not to look overexcited. "Wouldn't want to disappoint an important ally like Aria, right?"

"Exactly so, James. I trust you will handle this assignment with your usual professionalism," Morgan adds, grinning slightly and watching James blush.

"That was a completely unnecessary comment, Lola," Vega shakes his head, pretending to be affronted.

"Just making sure everything goes right, James," Shepard smiles. "A Blue Suns transport will pick you up in a couple of hours, and after that Normandy will continue to Noveria."

"Noveria? Not that gloomy pit of despair again?" Garrus mutters. "What have we lost there? Don't tell me you're now wrecked with guilt and looking for another rachni queen's egg to hatch?"

"Uh... not quite, Garrus. I am promoting you to lead a squad consisting of yourself, EDI and Prothy against a Cerberus base on Noveria," Shepard explains. "Hackett wants to secure it for the Alliance, along with their advanced fighter squadron."

"I hate Noveria," Garrus mutters, looking unhappy.

"Hey, stop whining," Shepard admonishes him. "I'm giving you a highly important task!"

"Really? Why aren't you or Liara joining us then?" Garrus glares at her.

"Because we'll be sitting in the comfy chairs of the Port Hanshan restaurant, sipping drinks and observing the snowstorms outside," Shepard explains with a broad smile. "I hate Noveria! It's **cold** out there!"

Garrus groans and hobbles out of the medbay, shoulders slumped, followed by a much happier looking James. Shepard is about to leave as well, when Chakwas interrupts her. "Commander, a minute of your time, if you please," she says, urging Shepard to remain behind.

"What's the matter, Karin?" Morgan asks. "You want to poke around my much suffering body with some scans again or something?"

"No, not this time, Commander," Chakwas smiles. "I merely wanted to relay to you some things that the labs in the Shalta Wards have discovered about your implants. You might have already noticed yourself that your recovery time from injury is greatly reduced. Let's take your latest injury from Tuchanka. Anyone else would have had to spend several days in the medbay, followed by a week of rehab and strengthening the knee."

"Yeah, I understood that much, it seems extremely useful," Morgan replies, nodding.

"As long as you can avoid injuries that would kill you instantly, the implants should be able to compensate for most critical damage," Chakwas goes on to explain. "There is a limit to what these implants can do, but theoretically... they would also prevent things such as... aging."

"Say... what?" Morgan blinks in surprise. "As long as a Reaper doesn't incinerate me, I could live... what, forever? That's crazy, Doc."

"Yes, and it's not the case, I'm afraid," Chakwas explains. "While the implants rebuild you very effectively... they do not rebuild themselves. At some point they will fail, and you will begin to age normally, perhaps even at accelerated rate."

"How long, Karin."

"We're not sure yet, child. First estimates are... not more than two hundred years."

"Two hundred? That's... that's still shockingly good!" Morgan exclaims. "Wait till Liara hears about this..."

"Shepard, I would advise against telling her before we have the complete picture," Chakwas says gently. "The techs and doctors at the Shalta Wards lab are still running simulations."

"If there's anything I can do to speed this up, if you need any readings, do any tests..."

"I will ask if there is need, but for now they have everything they require," Chakwas smiles. "I hope that the news have not upset you, Commander."

"Upset me? No way, this is... excellent news, Karin!" Shepard exclaims. "Excellent news indeed, now I just need to remember one small thing..."

"What's that?"

"Not to get blasted by a Reaper..."


	76. Noveria, Revisited

**Chapter 75 - Noveria, Revisited**

"Status report," Aria T'Loak demands urgently, addressing a stuttering salarian, one of the Eclipse engineers.

"All Cerberus squads in the area have been routed," the salarian quickly explains. "Save for those that chose to flee. We even liberated scores of captured civilians from the Cerberus shuttles."

"Whatever. I suppose it'll make Shepard happy," Aria shrugs, looking disinterested. "Our casualties?"

"High. Close to 60%," the salarian shakes his head. "Cerberus withdrawal fortunate."

Aria's nod of the head is almost imperceptible. "Alright, back to the shuttles and get off this planet," she says, her eyes falling on Lieutenant James Vega, standing a little to the side, unusually silent. "Leave the last one for the Lieutenant and myself. We will be along shortly."

As the salarian scurries away, James raises a curious eyebrow at the Queen of Omega. The magnificent and intimidating asari simply raises a shining metallic object consisting of rings and chains. "I assume you're familiar with this?" she asks Vega.

"Yeah, had the pleasure to wear those a few times back on Earth, after some dustups with the cops," James replies. "These look like C-Sec standard issue."

"Correct. Picked them off some wiseass turian who had the bright idea of bringing me to the station for questioning," Aria's eyes glisten dangerously. "Ended up keeping the handcuffs myself," she says, giving James a meaningful glance. "...one can never know when they could become useful..."

* * *

Garrus reaches down and picks up a handful of snow, running it through his fingers with a pained expression on his face. "I hate snow," he mutters. "Hate this whole place..."

"Allow me to theorize that you will not stop hating Noveria after repeating that statement for the ninth time, Garrus," EDI says, looking as exasperated as possible for a synthetic.

"I just imagine Shepard and T'Soni getting cozy in that restaurant in Port Hanshan... damn, this isn't fair," Garrus complains, eyes carefully scanning the skies for more incoming Cerberus reinforcements. "I should be there with them, reminiscing in the memories of our first adventures here, while you rookies mop up these Cerberus goons!"

"Shall I inform the Commander of your desire to also join her and Dr. T'Soni in what with high statistical probability will follow their date in the restaurant?" EDI asks, sounding completely serious.

"What?! Spirits, NO!" Garrus exclaims, giving EDI a highly disturbed look. "Damn you, EDI, you are getting too good at this."

"We had our own ways of dealing with officers who neglected their duty," Javik speaks up. "Among the soldiers under my command, the favorite method was to tie an enraged _da'z'hun_ to the offender's stomach and set the set the culprit free once _da'z'hun_ had buried itself."

"What the hell is a _da'z'hun_?" Garrus asks, even knowing that he probably will not like the answer.

"A highly aggressive flesh-eating worm, about this large," Javik indicates the size of around half-a-yard. "They tore through their victim's skin and proceeded to devour their internal organs from the inside. Most of the victims ended up carving themselves up and digging through their insides, trying to pull the worm out, dying as their organs and blood spilled out on the ground in a tangled mess."

"You're just a barrel of laughs, Prothy," Garrus rolls his eyes. "So, just because Shepard and Liara decide to take a little time off for themselves, you're suggesting to put them through that sort of enjoyable experience? I wonder what the Commander would think about this idea."

"I am highly curious myself," EDI agrees. "This is why I recorded Javik's suggestion for later inclusion in the mission debrief."

Javik seems a little hesitant when he speaks up again. "I only said that she would have faced such punishment back in my cycle," he offers conciliatory.

"Yes, and we had already established that your cycle considered possessing sense of humor to be a punishable offense," Garrus sighs. "Spirits, I hope you guys at least had alcohol."

"We did," Javik replies. Garrus perks up, looking more hopeful. "Indulging in this vice was punishable by a choice of either impaling, vivisection or slow dismemberment," Javik adds as Garrus' shoulders immediately slump in dejection.

"I'm starting to see why your cycle lost the war," the turian remarks. "No downtime, executions for the slightest infraction, the morale must have been completely eroded."

"I would agree with this, using as proof the metabolic scans from the crew's armor after a period of shore leave," EDI says, then thinking of something. "With James being the notable exception, too high alcohol level in blood."

"Sorry, Prothy, but looks like your people weren't quite as smart as Liara wanted us all to believe," Garrus adds with a laugh, looking at the seething Javik.

"For someone claiming to be an expert on Protheans, your 'Liara' asari knows next to nothing!" he exclaims angrily.

"I think I will put that on the mission debrief, too," EDI remarks innocently. "Commander Shepard encourages less formal reports, preferring a more personal touch to them," she explains to the very sour looking Javik.

"Where the hell is our Alliance backup, I thought they wanted to seize this fighter squadron," Garrus says, starting to get impatient. "Messing with Prothy can only sustain you for so long..."

"I have a visual," EDI says suddenly. "But it is not the Alliance. More Cerberus reinforcements!"

"Finally, something to kill," Javik grabs his rifle. "I was running out of ideas for new and creative methods of executing disrespectful fellow soldiers."

"And look, how wonderful! They have brought an Atlas with them!" Garrus says, pointing at the landing pad where the heavy mech has just been delivered by Cerberus reinforcements, the turian's face assuming its customary pained expression. "And here I was wondering whether my day could possibly get any worse..."

* * *

Aria T'Loak slowly finishes dressing herself, checking her appearance in a large shard of a smashed mirror, her usual controlled and emotionless expression on her face.

"So... about these handcuffs..." Lieutenant James Vega speaks up hesitantly, still finding himself chained to the bed and lacking most of his clothing.

Aria doesn't even spare a glance in his direction, though. "I'll be in the shuttle, but don't make me wait," she says, about to exit the vandalized apartment. "If you're not there in five minutes, you'll have to find your own way off Benning. Actually, make it three minutes... I bore easily."

"So... could I have the key, please? Aria?" James sounds a little pleading.

"What key?" Aria stops briefly, before leaving. "I never mentioned actually taking the key from the turian... did I?"

* * *

"I can't decide which is more impressive, the fact that you managed to procure a dress for me on such short notice, or that you actually talked me into wearing it," Shepard tells Liara as the two of them are sitting in a quiet and private corner of the Port Hanshan restaurant, watching the snowstorm roaring outside. Inside, they are feeling warm and comfortable, the dimmed lights and quiet, discreet music creating a relaxing atmosphere in the otherwise sterile looking hall.

"The ways of the Shadow Broker are strange and mysterious," Liara grins at her. "Besides, you look very lovely, Morgan."

"I think I look like a glorified tramp," Morgan mutters, nervously tugging on the hem of the black dress.

"Maybe so, but you're **my** glorified tramp," Liara winks at her, as together they wait for their orders to be delivered, the subtle aromas drifting towards them from the kitchen making Shepard salivating.

"When we're done with this silly war, you're going to teach me how to wear a dress with dignity, like you... and any asari I've seen manage to do," Shepard says, a little enviously.

"I will be glad to," Liara nods, smiling. She pauses for a little bit before speaking up again. "I wonder how the others are faring..."

"You're not feeling guilty about sitting this one out, are you?" Shepard asks, slightly incredulous.

"Umm, maybe a little bit," Liara shyly confesses.

"Ah, don't be silly," Shepard gently admonishes her. "Garrus can easily handle everything that Cerberus throws at them, you know that. Let's just enjoy this one rare free evening, shall we?"

"Of course, that was the idea," Liara nods, as their orders are delivered that very moment, massive steak with fried vegetables for Morgan, and something that vaguely looks like spring rolls, only purple and slightly glowing, for her asari lover. "Oh, this is actually very good!" she says, having taken a bite, scoffing a little at Morgan's doubtful expression.

"I'm not sure about how good that is, but this steak is heavenly," Morgan says, having taken the first bite. "Mmm, delicious. You know, I'm certainly enjoying Noveria far more the second time around."

Liara's hand, carrying the fork of food towards her mouth suddenly stops for a moment, as she glances quickly at Morgan, then resuming the motion. "Yes, I... quite agree," she nods, busy chewing. "It was inevitable that the memories would resurface during our visit here. Just as inevitable as you working your way around to asking me about it."

Morgan finds herself blushing a little bit. "I'm terribly predictable, aren't I?"

"Yes, but it is... sweet," Liara concedes with a smile. "It is true, I have been thinking much about Benezia, lately, especially after talking with dad. It has... helped me to do what you told me I should focus on, right after her death. To try and remember the best in her."

"I'm glad to hear that," Morgan says quietly.

"Ever since her death, I have been... avoiding thinking about her, and when I have allowed a thought here or there, I found myself feeling... indifferent," Liara confesses, looking saddened. "Talking with dad, realizing how much she and mother loved each other for a very long time... it somehow helped me to see the best in my mother once again."

"Tell me about her," Shepard urges the asari.

"She was... always so very confident. Kind... and compassionate. And she loved to wear yellow," Liara manages a smile. "I always thought she was the most beautiful woman in the galaxy."

"I wish there had been a way for me to meet her before... well, everything went to hell," Shepard says, Liara's pensive expression catching on to her. "Though, I doubt she would consider me an appropriate match for a daughter of a prominent matriarch."

"You would be surprised, Morgan," now Liara smiles in earnest, before resuming eating. "She always embarrassed me by trying to encourage me towards... sexual experimentation, claiming that it was an important phase before choosing a... permanent bondmate."

"So... you could be making a terrible mistake by sticking with me?" Shepard winks at her, but Liara does not appear amused.

"You just keep talking like that, Shepard..." she adds warningly.

"I wasn't being entirely serious," Morgan smiles, cutting off another piece of the delicious steak and starting to chew on it. "But if I were to be more serious..." she resumes talking a moment later, giving Liara an earnest look. "Thank you for... just being here with me, Liara. I can't imagine my life without you in it, really. Don't want to."

"I had to, for those damned two years," Liara replies, equally serious. "I don't want to go back to it, I don't ever want to remember how it made me feel. So, I thank you for the same, Morgan."

"Damn, this would be the perfect opportunity to pull out an engagement ring, drop on my knees and ask you to marry me," Shepard chuckles. "Unfortunately, I am hopelessly unprepared."

"I'm sure there will be... other opportunities," Liara winks, then quickly finishing up the last bits of her meal, looking rather content. "Speaking of... formalizing certain relationships..." she looks a little hesitant as she speaks. "Morgan, I have never told you, there really weren't many opportunities for it, but... it is roughly two years and eight months since I put you as my officially registered bondmate in the asari embassy records on the Citadel. It was immediately after we returned from our trip to Earth, and I just knew I... had to do it."

"So... it's kind of like... being married for asari, isn't it?" Shepard asks, Liara nodding slowly. "Why didn't you tell me?"

"Because... our relationship was still very new at that point," Liara explains. "Under normal circumstances, I would have never done something like that, but after Saren and Sovereign... after the death of my mother, I didn't have anyone but you, Morgan, I didn't know about my dad, I just wanted to make sure you would be entitled to some benefits in the case of my... well... you know what I mean."

"It's you that I want, Liara, not your possessions or whatever wealth the T'Soni empire has accrued over the centuries," Morgan smiles at her lover.

"Yes, yes, but there was also the matter of my research..." Liara says. "I did not want it to fall into anyone else's hands but yours. But then... the Normandy was destroyed by the Collectors. I kept hacking into the embassy's systems to keep your name on record, it was... one of my ways to keep believing that you will come back to me."

"Oh, Liara..." Shepard sighs, reaching out and taking her lover's hands in hers.

"And after you did come back, it must have slipped my mind amidst all this turmoil around us," Liara smiles. "So... before you chastise yourself for missing the opportunity, I think you deserved to know that I have made an even greater mess of a potentially romantic occasion."

Shepard just chuckles in reply. "You do have your romantic moments, T'Soni," she says, grinning broadly. "Though this war isn't exactly helping matters, is it? Maybe after we've cleared up the Reapers from the galaxy, we could do the whole... what's it called, bonding ceremony, all proper like."

"If you truly wish to do it properly, we will have to wait considerable time until I reach the socially acceptable age of entering a permanent bond with someone," Liara winks at her. "It would be legal, but still very frowned upon. Which also was a reason why I had to hack the Citadel embassy records to register our relationship."

"There's still so much I don't know about your people and your culture, love," Morgan says thoughtfully. "I really regret that we didn't take more time off after Saren and went to visit Thessia... now with the Reapers closing in... things might never be the same again."

"No... no, they will not be the same," Liara shakes her head. "Even here, everything appears quiet and peaceful, but I look at all these salarians in the hall and I can't help thinking that they're here because there's a war out there, and they're keeping an eye on Noveria's mass relay."

"I was wondering about that, I certainly don't remember so many salarians here during our last visit. Gods, after dealing with Anoleis, for a while I felt like punching every salarian I saw," Shepard recalls. "But we're on the border of the salarian space here, aren't we?" Liara nods at that. "Ah yes, makes sense then."

"See, we got dragged back into discussing the war again, whether we want it or not," Liara remarks with a bitter smile, before her eyes light up again. "Let's try to focus on something... more enjoyable. Like that new dress of yours," the asari runs her eyes over her, making Shepard blush slightly at the frank appraisal.

"T'Soni, you are quite irrepressible," she chides, loving every moment of the attention that she is receiving. "But if you want to tell me how good I look in it, I suppose I won't try to stop you."

"You wearing a dress also lets me do this..." Liara says teasingly, and with disbelief, Morgan feels the cooler, slightly rougher skin of the asari's foot pressed against her shin, sliding up and down, making Shepard narrow her eyes in delight, drawing a sharp hiss of breath.

"At this rate, Liara, we're not going to make it back to the ship," she adds warningly. "I'll just have to drag you into some kind of a dark corner, or perhaps the female restrooms..."

"Well, luckily for you, I expected this kind of reaction," Liara grins at her. "There is a hotel right above this restaurant. I made sure to reserve a suite for us, thinking it might be... a welcome change of scenery from the Normandy."

Shepard rises so quickly from the table, that she manages to bowl over a couple of glasses. Everyone in the hall is now staring at her, and she manages a nervous laughter, blushing furiously. Liara gets up from her seat and takes Morgan's hand, smiling. "That is the kind of enthusiasm that I love to see, Commander..." she adds, chuckling, leading Morgan towards the elevator.

* * *

"Uh, Commander..." Samantha Traynor stops Morgan and Liara as they pass the CIC on their way towards the elevator. "There's a mission report from James waiting for you."

"Just fill me in, Samantha, I trust the mission was a success?" Shepard asks, not terribly interested in details.

"Yes, the Cerberus forces have been routed, and most of the captured civilians freed," Traynor explains. "They did not manage to learn why they would be abducting civilians."

"Oh, I think we can guess," Liara speaks up. "With all the beating Cerberus is taking, they are bound to need more and more shock troops. Fit them out with implants, and..."

Traynor pales as soon as she realizes the meaning of Liara's words. "That's monstrous," she whispers.

"That's Cerberus," Shepard smiles thinly. "So, we can expect James to be back with us shortly, I take it?"

"Well... uh, not exactly," Traynor says a little hesitantly. "He is requesting extraction from Benning. He also appeared to be... naked while making the vid call..."

"What happened?" Liara asks, both her and Morgan deeply puzzled.

"He refused to elaborate," Traynor shrugs. "He only said that some scavengers stole his armor while he was... indisposed?"

Shepard groans, pressing a palm against her face. "What the... how the... James! I don't even..."


	77. Hades' Dogs Unleashed

_A/N: Time for Kai Leng to make his first appearance. I really struggled with decision on which way to go with his character. I mean, he's a wannabe ninja running around with a big sword, how do I make 'that' appear serious and threatening? Then again, I didn't want to make him into an over the top parody. Or cut him from the story altogether, that seemed a bit lame, since he's an important antagonist. _

_During this predicament, I happened to read some of the official novels... and it made me realize one thing. Whatever plans I had about making him into a parody, were already outdone by the official novels. I can scarcely make Kai Leng more hilarious than Mr. Dietz managed. :) _

**Chapter 76 - Hades' Dogs Unleashed**

On the route to pick up the hapless Lieutenant James Vega from Benning, the Normandy receives another urgent comm call, this time much to Shepard's surprise, it is the salarian councilor, Valern. Expecting to hear a great deal of admonishment for her handling of the krogan issue, Shepard still wastes no time in getting to the comm room, knowing that they currently have no leads to pursue and hoping that the salarian will provide something, even if it means subjecting herself to some aggressive chewing out.

"Commander... there is something we should discuss," she is quite correct, Valern sounds rather upset and strained. "If you are quite finished rewriting history."

"I'm done for now, thank you, Councilor," she nods politely. "I've saved your life once already, maybe you should start giving me a bit more credit."

"That is the only reason why we are even having this conversation, Shepard," the expression on the salarian's face is one of disapproval. "You'll forgive me for not seeing many positives in the prospect of billions more krogan running around the galaxy."

"And shooting the Reapers," Shepard adds.

"Yes... for now," Valern shakes his head. "But that was not my reason for contacting you. I have some concerns about the humanity's representative, Councilor Udina."

"I had my concerns about him since the very first time I met that blowhard," Morgan shrugs. "Or do you mean something specific?"

"My agents have discovered that he is using his authority to move vast sums of money," Valern says. "For what purpose, we're not sure."

"Hmm, never doubt a salarian's intel, one of the first rules of the galaxy," Shepard agrees. "Are you invoking my Spectre status to ask that I investigate Udina's activities?"

"First, I simply wish to review this evidence together with you privately, on the Citadel," the salarian councilor says. "Then we can decide how to proceed. Do not delay, Shepard."

"We will be at the Citadel very soon, Councilor," she speaks, watching Valern terminate the connection, before she activates her comms. "Hurry it up, Joker," she tells her pilot. "We need to pick up James quick and then hurry back to the Citadel. There... might be an emergency..."

* * *

Six hours later, during their approach to the Citadel, Joker calls for Shepard's presence on the bridge, his voice on the comms sounding odd and making Morgan worry. "Commander," her pilot speaks as she arrives to take in the always impressive and inspiring view of the heart of the entire civilized galaxy. "Take a look at this and tell me what's wrong with this picture."

Morgan stares for a while, the Citadel at first appears to be perfectly normal and ordinary, but then she realizes what exactly is off about the whole view, and that realization sends a small shiver through her frame. "The ships. Where the hell are all the refugee ships?" she blinks, surprised. "There should have been hundreds of them!"

"It's not just them who're missing," Joker adds. "I see no sign of the Citadel defense fleet."

"Well, the Council withdrew most of the ships for the defense of their homeworlds, but you're right, there should have been at least some ships patrolling," Shepard agrees.

"Even worse, the control towers are all dead," Joker tries the comms again, throwing his hands up in frustration. "Nothing! It's like the whole place is... wait, the emergency channels, perhaps someone's broadcasting there..."

"Do it," Shepard nods, starting to grow heavily concerned. This couldn't be a Reaper attack, the Citadel looks pristine and undamaged, and most importantly, there are no Reaper capitol ships or destroyers floating around and throwing shiny red rays of doom and destruction. _But if not the Reapers... what else could be going on here?_

"Hey! Yeah... yeah, this is Joker!" their pilot speaks excitedly, apparently having reached someone on the emergency channels. "Uh-huh. Yeah, no kidding!"

Shepard lightly punches Joker on the shoulder, giving him an admonishing glare. "Whoever it is, just put them through!" she urges.

"It's Thane," Joker says, acquiescing and shortly enough Morgan hears the voice of her old friend on the comms.

"Shepard, the Citadel is under attack," she can scarcely believe the words that Thane speaks. "Cerberus troops are everywhere, and they're in control of the docks."

"What the fuck, how could this be even happening?" Morgan asks desperately, wanting to scream in frustration. "What is going on down there, are you safe?"

"Nobody on the Citadel is safe, Commander," Thane replies. "I had to evade their commandos at the hospital, and now I'm hiding at a Presidium storefront."

"What are the Cerberus up to, Thane?" Shepard presses for more information. "Did you see if Kaidan got out safe?"

"I am unaware of their plans, Shepard, but there are scores of the dead everywhere," Thane explains, Shepard starting to feel dull throbbing in her temples as anger and rage start their gradual buildup. "I believe your friend Kaidan went to protect the Council. I was considering going to the C-Sec headquarters, myself."

"They would have hit that place hard, Thane," Shepard shakes her head. "Be careful."

"I'm aware, Commander," Thane replies. "But we must retake the headquarters. C-Sec response depends on restoring the communications and being able to coordinate their forces. If Cerberus control the HQ, they control the station."

"Okay, I got you Thane, that makes sense," Shepard acknowledges. "I'll put together my team and we'll come in with a shuttle in ten minutes. We'll hit those fucks so hard that the keepers won't be able to scrape their guts from the pavement." She closes the comms and then gives a sharp bark to Joker. "I want everyone in the docking bay, prepped and good to go in five minutes, round them up fast!"

With EDI following her straight off the bridge, the two of them arrive in the docking bay to see Lieutenant James Vega struggling to get into his replacement armor, the others rushing in shortly afterwards, Garrus, Javik and finally Liara. "What's the rush, Commander?" James asks, finally managing to close the straps of the armor. "I thought we were going back to the Citadel?"

"We have arrived at the Citadel," Shepard smiles thinly. "Except that apparently it's now swarming with Cerberus, trying to stage some kind of crazy coup!"

"What? That is insane!" Vega's eyes go wide as saucers.

"Finally, an opportunity to deal with these traitors once and for all," Javik speaks grimly.

"These massive plans must be why they were so desperate to turn to abducting civilians on Benning, just to have enough shock troops!" Liara realizes.

"I wonder if this has anything to do with Councilor Valern's suspicions of humanity's councilor that you mentioned," Garrus muses, looking at Morgan. "What do you think, Shepard?"

Shepard shrugs her shoulders before getting into the shuttle. "I don't know yet, Garrus. But if Udina is somehow involved, then let me make one thing clear - he's a dead man walking."

Cortez swiftly brings the shuttle through the open Presidium areas, smoke and fire rising from this once peaceful corner of the Citadel, then turning into the access passages to the Wards. The fighting is fierce across all of the Citadel without exception, and the C-Sec resistance looks to be disorganized and outmatched, Cerberus attack taking everyone by surprise. Morgan remembers well the last time she saw Citadel in such a shape, during Sovereign's attack, but this is something different, something almost incomprehensible that this fortress housing millions could fall to a stealth attack by a terrorist organization.

"This is... fucking unbelievable," Shepard mutters to herself as the shuttle quickly takes them past disturbing scenes of Cerberus troopers executing C-Sec officers raising their hands in surrender, mowing down helpless, fleeing civilians, tossing grenades at the escaping skycars, watching them plunge to fiery and explosive end. "What the hell is wrong with these people? What is the point of such slaughter... just so freaking surreal to see this..."

"They're no longer people. Not truly, not after what the Illusive Man has done to them," Liara speaks, giving her a sorrowful stare.

"Yeah, I guess," Shepard nods. "Still, many yet join willingly, we must not forget that, no matter how much we would like to dehumanize the enemy. Humanity unleashed this blight upon the galaxy, and we should not make excuses for it."

"I don't really see this as something that humanity should apologize for," Garrus shrugs his shoulders. "Just because Saren was a turian, nobody really pointed fingers at all turians after that."

"Yeah, but imagine if he hadn't used an army of geth, but instead had thousands of indoctrinated turians at his disposal," Shepard replies, watching Garrus flinch as he understands the implication.

Any further banter is cut off, however, as Cortez speaks up from the pilot's seat. "Bringing you in, Commander, but the landing pad is really hot," he shouts. "It's a warzone out there!"

Liara's biotics flare up the same moment as the shuttle doors open, the barriers allowing them to safely emerge and drop into cover, amidst heavy weapons fire. Cortez immediately makes a break for it, the Kodiak already punctured by bullet holes and starting to catch fire. In the wide docking bay in front of the C-Sec headquarters, the Cerberus forces have cornered a small group of remaining C-Sec officers, and Shepard's arrival is extremely timely, as it distracts the enemy forces enough to allow the besieged security personnel to recover their breaths.

There are roughly two dozen of the Cerberus goons in the docking bay, including the extremely irritating engineers, their deployed turrets preventing Shepard's team from doing much more than simply holding position. Realizing how badly Shepard and her group are boxed in, the C-Sec forces launch a desperate counterattack that leaves several of them cut to ribbons by the turret fire, but at least their sacrifice buys time for Shepard's team to leave the narrow strip of the landing pad and scatter their forces throughout the docking bay, making it impossible for the turrets to keep them all pinned down at once.

After a long and hectic battle, the Cerberus forces finally are defeated, but it is too late for most of the remaining C-Sec officers, only a few are still able to walk and Shepard is relieved to see Bailey amongst them. Not that there is anything much to be relieved about, the docking bay is drowning in blood after this insane massacre, the C-Sec and Cerberus casualties both numbering close to three dozen.

"Good timing, Shepard," Bailey greets her, breathing heavily as he wipes flecks of blood away from his face. "Bloody hell, this is a real mess! Cerberus attacking the Citadel? Insane... but at least with you here, our efforts to retake the headquarters won't be doomed to failure."

"So, you had the same idea as Thane, eh?" Morgan remarks, still feeling as if she is trapped in some kind of weird, surreal nightmare that will surely end when she finally manages to wake up and open her eyes. "He said that the C-Sec forces won't be able to coordinate their actions without their network access restored."

"In that case, let's get in and kick those assholes out," James grinds out angrily, pointing at the entrance to the headquarters. "They've probably fortified the place heavily."

"They stormed out to greet us, when we launched our counterattack," Bailey shrugs, he and his remaining three officers using the pause to catch their breaths and tend to their injuries. "Might mean that they left their positions in weakened state, we have no option but to try anyway."

With everyone covering him from potential Cerberus weapons fire, Commander Bailey opens the doors leading inside the C-Sex headquarters. The large foyer inside is empty, save for several dead law enforcement officers, the walls riddled with bullet marks and sprayed with dark, congealed blood. Seeing that there are no Cerberus forces present, Bailey quickly takes a seat behind the desk with a computer console and works swiftly to regain access to the C-Sec network.

"There we go. Our eyesight has been restored," he says, wiping his brow and looking relieved, before looking at one of his men. "Herk, you better seal those doors behind us, just in case. We'll dig in here, so I'd prefer not to worry about more Cerberus reinforcements pouring in."

The officer is already heading towards the doors, when Shepard steps into his path, stopping him. "Wait a moment," she raises her hand. "Bailey, can you get the location of the Council?"

"Working on it already," Bailey nods, then pausing. "Hello... look at that. A warning from Councilor Valern? He's supposed to be here in the headquarters, meeting with the executor. 'Be on guard - the likelihood of betrayal from within is high...' There's not a lot beyond that. But if he's inside..."

"Bailey, Valern contacted me about twelve hours earlier," Shepard says grimly. "That's the only reason I'm actually here, I came to speak with him. He... mentioned something about Udina possibly being dirty..."

"That's... crazy!" Bailey's first reaction is disbelief. "Although... hmm." He thinks for a while. "That would mean Udina has Cerberus friends. Damn. I can... actually see that. Damn it."

"We've got to get to Valern," Shepard says determinedly. "But we can't forget about the other councilors either. Can you get a fix on Tevos or Asparagus?" She hears Garrus chuckling at her nickname for the turian councilor.

"They should still be on the Presidium, somewhere," Bailey says, having poked around the network. "...together with Udina. Damnation, this is... not good."

"Yeah, that's why I asked you to stop before sealing the doors," Shepard explains, before turning to Lt. James Vega. "James, take one of the C-Sec skycars outside. I want you to get to the Presidium ASAP and do what you can to protect the councilors. Take EDI and Prothy with you."

"Understood, Commander," James salutes, looking eager to make amends for his Benning disaster. "What about Udina?"

"Watch him, but don't reveal that we know about his involvement," Shepard instructs him. "Claim that you are there to protect all three of them from Cerberus. It's probably best if you do not strike up any conversation with Udina in particular." James just nods and together with EDI and Javik they swiftly leave, Shepard relieved to see that the docking bay is still free of any Cerberus reinforcements and her friends can safely grab a skycar and be on their way.

As Officer Herk works on sealing the doors behind them, Shepard turns towards Bailey again. "So, any clues where I should go to find Valern?"

Garrus speaks up instead. "The executor's office is in a fairly defensible position, and would be the logical choice from where to start our search. I can take us there, Shepard," he says.

"We'll stay here, and coordinate what is left of our forces," Bailey adds, then switching on his omni-tool for a quick data input. "There, Shepard, I've given you access to the C-Sec network. We can keep up on the omni-tools."

"Excellent," Shepard nods, together with Liara following Garrus' lead. "Keep us in the loop of what's going on, Bailey. We'll clear out the offices ahead, make sure nobody gets a drop on you."

"Much appreciated, Shepard," the grizzled C-Sec Commander says, looking very thankful for their aid, and for saving his life and those of his officers.

The opposition in the offices beyond the foyer is very light at first, it would appear that most of the Cerberus forces had swarmed outside to the docking bay as soon as they heard of the C-Sec counterattack. The smaller groups of several troopers provide little difficulties for Shepard, Liara and Garrus, and they advance quickly. Thane contacts her on a private channel during their passage through the offices, informing Morgan that he has nearly reached the headquarters, sounding amused at Shepard's implication that he would be unable to enter now that the doors have been sealed.

Garrus in particular looks distraught at the state of his former, albeit despised, workplace. Some of his fellow officers he has actually respected, and now he sees them lying crumpled on the floor, dead. To make things even worse, closer examination of the corpses paints a particularly grim picture. Bullet entry wounds at the back of the head in some of the cases suggest a surprise attack launched by traitors within, realization that makes Garrus' eyes harden and become cold as ice, his mandibles slightly twitching from rage barely kept in check.

And Cerberus have been extremely thorough, Shepard's team have gone through the entire first floor without finding a single survivor, only close to twenty dead C-Sec officers. The attackers have executed even those stuck in the bathroom at the time of the assault, two of the hapless men lying prone on the floor with their pants down, Shepard and Liara looking away while Garrus bends down to make their appearance a little more dignified in death, swearing angrily under his breath as he works. "Lamont," he says, looking at one of the surprised officers, shot while relieving himself. "One of the decent guys around here. Didn't deserve this kind of death. None of them did."

"Every death will be repaid tenfold, Garrus," Shepard says, cold steely edge to her voice. "An eye for an eye no longer suffices. I want to make them suffer."

"Agreed," Garrus nods. "There's a long queue lining up after the Illusive Man's head, and I'm claiming a spot in it. I want to see that bastard die horribly, Shepard."

"Please... let's just focus on finding the councilor," Liara interrupts them. It looks as if she wants to tell them not to give in to these visions of revenge, but finds herself unable to, almost disgusted with herself for agreeing with the sentiment in the face of the atrocities performed here.

They take an elevator to reach the upper floors, coming closer to the executor's office, but the picture around them remains the same, small groups of Cerberus patrolling through halls littered with the dead. As they walk by, Liara suddenly gasps and bumps into Shepard when a large pile of corpses suddenly and unexplainably makes a tiny movement. They quickly run towards it, trying to see if it is a sign of a survivor, the shocking image reminding Morgan of her own experiences on Elysium, and the way she had been able to hide herself from the swarming batarians.

There is a single survivor, a thin and wiry human female, her blonde hair matted with blood and she is unable to speak coherently, her only responses coming in ragged coughs and moans. "Ridgefield?" Garrus blinks, before quickly administering medi-gel to stabilize the critically injured officer. "I remember her. Tiny ball of hatred, we called her. Tough as nails, this one, if anyone would survive this... figures it'd be her."

"Commander Bailey?" Liara is on the comms immediately. "We have a survivor, Officer Ridgefield, but she is badly wounded and in need of assistance. Can you send someone up? The way is clear."

"Just her? Damn!" Bailey sounds distraught, clearly having expected more survivors, but the indoctrinated Cerberus troops possess no concept of mercy. "Well, it's better than none, thank the gods. Shaw will be with her in a moment."

"She'll be alright, Garrus," Shepard says kindly, tugging her friend on the shoulder, making him straighten up and rise. "We need to continue and find Valern." Garrus simply nods and falls in step behind her, following onwards, into a larger hall that houses a cafeteria.

"Almost there, Shepard," Garrus says. "Next stairway leads right to the executor's office."

Six Cerberus troopers immediately pour out of the stairway to confront them, running straight into the line of fire of two sniper rifles and the destructive biotics of one extremely pissed off asari. Scant moments later, Shepard and her friends step over horribly disfigured Cerberus corpses and run up the last few steps to the executor's office, Morgan swapping her sniper rifle for the Carnifex and readying it as Garrus punches in the door code, stepping aside as the entrance slowly parts.

Inside, there are only corpses, one of them is a human slumped across the desk, the new replacement to Executor Pallin not lasting very long in his post. Then there are two salarians, lying silent and prone on the floor, but Valern is not amongst them. "Where the hell could he be, we've searched through the entire headquarters, haven't we?" Shepard asks Garrus, feeling puzzled.

Garrus is standing at the window of the executor's office, looking down at the cafeteria below them. He seems to be staring at something in particular, one of the tables at the edge of the hall. Shepard is about to ask Garrus what is it that he finds so interesting about this particular object of observation, when a faint movement of one of the chairs at the table sparks a flash of understanding.

"And there's our salarian..." Shepard smiles, about to turn around, when suddenly, someone else makes their presence known in the hall below. A tall, agile black shape leaps from somewhere high above and lands next to the table that Valern is hiding under, kicking it aside with their foot to reveal the frightened councilor. "Who the fuck is that?" Shepard snarls, pointing her Carnifex at the window and shooting to shatter the glass, then jumping through the hole to come to Valern's aid, Liara and Garrus following her example.

The black-clad assassin leaps over the salarian councilor, keeping Valern trapped in the middle between the Cerberus agent and Shepard's team. The assassin raises his arm and Shepard sees a surge of energy gathering in some kind of a weapon in his palm. Even if the stranger is wearing a hideous headgear that looks more suited for a masquerade, his Asian features are still apparent, making Shepard very puzzled about his purpose. _Is he sending some futuristic Japanese ninjas after us now? Methinks Tim has watched far too many crappy B-vids,_ she decides.

"Don't even think about it, ninja-boy," Shepard says warningly, watching Liara and Garrus slowly circle around Valern, their weapons ready to take a shot at the assassin. "Three against one, pal. It's over."

"No. Now it's fun," the assassin replies smugly, the ball of energy in his palm about to burst in deadly discharge, when suddenly there is a heavy pistol pressed against his temple, Thane appearing seemingly out of nowhere to stop the attack. The assassin is very fast, though, and manages to swiftly knock the pistol aside, and he and the drell begin trading heavy blows, the movements of the two assassins so fast that they almost become a blur, making it difficult for Shepard and her friends to take aim without risk of shooting Thane.

The Cerberus assassin finally throws Thane to the floor, exposing himself to their weapons fire, but as they are about to shoot, he suddenly disappears from view, activating his cloaking. Thane also rises quickly, pulling out his pistol as they surround Valern, determined to protect the surly salarian councilor at all costs.

The assassin finally reappears very close to Thane, drawing a sword and rushing Thane, who unloads several shots but they are all absorbed by the assassin's powerful barriers and the drell is forced to duck swiftly to avoid being skewered in half. As the assassin charges by him, Thane quickly throws several punches to the attacker's midsection, followed by a biotic-charged punch that sends the assassin flying through the air and collapsing on the floor.

"What the fuck was that?" Shepard blinks, shaking her head as they all cautiously advance on the fallen assassin. "Did you see that? A sword? A fucking **sword**? We're in the 22nd century, you stupid asshole!"

Shepard's mocking appears to have hit a sensitive spot, for the assassin is quickly back up on his feet, grabbing his fallen sword and charging at them again, despite Morgan and Thane shooting at him, Garrus trying to overload his shields and Liara attempting to trap him in a biotic stasis. His barriers appear being able to take a lot of punishment, and he manages to reach them, forcing Thane and Morgan to stop shooting and get out of the way of their opponent's wicked looking sword. His swing just about misses Morgan, but Thane, too bold in his attempt to put down the persistent assassin, does not manage to dodge in time. There is a spray of red blood that hits Morgan in the chest and her face, as the sword passes through Thane's stomach.

The assassin's barriers finally break following his successful attack, and sensing his own vulnerability, the Cerberus bastard activates his cloaking and disappears from their view again. As Shepard drops on her knees next to Thane, Garrus and Liara continue to look around, trying to listen and watch for the slightest of noises or movements, the turian suddenly starting to shoot in the direction towards the exit from the cafeteria, one of the bullets striking true as a pained groan reveals their quarry. With great speed, the wounded assassin flees the scene, and they choose not to immediately pursue him, too worried about Thane's health and Valern's safety.

"Thane! Thane, how bad is it?" Morgan asks, taking the drell's hand, already knowing the answer. _With his illness, now this loss of blood... damn, this is it, isn't it_? She realizes with numbing sadness, quickly administering medi-gel to slow the bleeding. _Another friend lost, and so soon after Mordin, this is not fair, it's just not fair!_

"I have time, Shepard," Thane replies weakly, slowly pulling himself up against the wall in a sitting position, despite Shepard's attempts to keep him lying on the ground. "Just catch that bastard."

"Shepard, I know you want to take care of your friend, but you need to follow that assassin," Valern says, looking very worried. "Udina is with Tevos and Sparatus. He plans to hand them over to Cerberus who would then execute my colleagues! You must not allow that to happen!" Shepard hesitates momentarily. "I will remain here and watch over your friend, until the C-Sec arrives," Valern tells her. "Just... go! Save the others!"

"What would you do without me to save your skins, councilors?" Shepard allows herself a thin smile as she rises, giving one last sad stare at Thane, the brave drell looking calm and reassuring, despite knowing that his injuries coupled with his illness are surely fatal. "Just promise me to hold on, Thane. I want us to have a good, long chat, after I'm done saving Tevos and Asparagus."

Thane gives her one of those soft expressions that apparently pass for a drell smile. "Very well, Commander. I promise to wait for your safe return..."


	78. Friendly Fire

**Chapter 77 - Friendly Fire**

"I've got a fix on the Council's position, sending it to your car," Bailey's voice on the comms reaches Shepard as she is busy steering the appropriated C-Sec skycar towards the Presidium. "They are being taken to a shuttle pad on the Presidium. Udina is with them."

"Yeah, we're on our way," Shepard replies, watching several other skycars emerging from the access tunnels to the wards and quickly surrounding them on all sides.

"We have company, Shepard," Garrus warns, and immediately as he has finished speaking, something heavy lands on the front cover of their skycar. It is the easily recognizable black-clad shape of their new assassin friend. "Spirits, not him again!" the turian sighs, reaching for his heavy pistol, Liara doing the same. The assassin pulls out his sword and jumps up on the roof of the skycar, out of their immediate view, and Liara and Garrus immediately start shooting through the metal cover, but the assassin's kinetic barriers keep him safe as he works to sabotage their skycar.

"Say... why don't I just flip this skycar over and shake him off?" Shepard asks.

"You can't just flip over a skycar! Believe me, I've tried!" Garrus protests.

"Oh? Well, let me just show you, nonbeliever," a wicked grin spreads on Shepard's lips. "I hope you have fastened your seatbelts," she adds, sending the skycar into a sharp turn to the left.

"I don't even have a seatb-... argh!" Garrus groans as Shepard banks their car against a pursuing Cerberus vehicle at a precise angle, the impact sending them spinning into a perfect 360 degree roll before straightening out again.

Listening to her turian friend grunting in the back of the car, Shepard watches the black-clad shape falling off their vehicle, unable to hold on, the sword remaining stuck in the roof, the tip less than an inch from Liara's head. "Idiot," Morgan sighs, watching the assassin flail in the air as he falls... only to land heavily on top of a Cerberus skycar, flying below them. "Goddamn fucking lucky idiot, though."

"Where did you learn this move, Shepard?" Liara asks, carefully poking the tip of the assassin's sword further away from her head. "I know for a fact that you did not learn it on Ilium."

"Yes, I haven't seen you actually practicing flying skycars," Garrus adds, crawling back into his seat, rubbing his sore forehead.

"Are you crazy? I wouldn't have practiced a move like this in real conditions, it's bloody dangerous," Shepard chuckles in response. "But I used to play a lot of extranet games as a kid, you see. Who'd have thought those skills would come in handy, eh?"

Garrus and Liara both give exasperated sighs in reply, as the Cerberus troopers from the other skycars try to open fire at them, but after her driving lessons on Nos Astra, Shepard is fairly good at evasion maneuvers. However, as they finally enter the Presidium grounds, she completely misses being fired upon from the ground, spotting the heavy missile released by an Atlas when it is already too late to dodge it, and all she can do is to swivel the skycar so that the missile merely glances them, still ripping off chunks of the frame and setting their vehicle on fire.

The Cerberus skycars assume them to be done for and depart the scene, as Shepard struggles to keep her burning vehicle under control and settle it down somewhere in relative safety. At this very inopportune moment, she is suddenly contacted on the comms by James Vega. "Commander, do you read me?" he shouts, judging by surrounding sounds currently in the middle of heavy gunfire.

"Yeah, James..." she manages through gritted teeth, brow quickly becoming drenched in perspiration from the effort of keeping the skycar from crashing to their fiery deaths below. "Not the best time for chat. Where are you?"

"That's what I wanted to warn you about, Commander," James replies. "Watch out when you get to the Presidium. There's a couple of Atlas mechs hanging around, shooting everything that flies by out of the air."

"No, really?" Morgan rolls her eyes, starting to look for an appropriate place for crash landing, searching for something soft.

"Yeah, shot us out of the sky as we left the Tayseri Ward," James explains helpfully. "I put the shuttle down in one of those pools below, and we're now trying to get to the Council chambers, but it's slow going. Everyone's fine, but EDI got her hair wet so she's now sulking." Morgan doesn't reply, too busy trying to save herself and her friends from horrible death in a skycar accident. "Say... there's another one of those skycar's getting shot by Atlas, right above us. Hope that wasn't you, Commander!" James adds a little later, chuckling, but then growing serious when Shepard doesn't reply. "Uh... Lola, that was you?"

"Err... maybe?" Shepard manages a reply, finally spotting a small grassy patch with soft looking bushes, mentally thanking the human ambassador for his thoughtful designing of the landscape. "Talk to you later, James!" she shouts, quickly terminating the connection as the vehicle crashes into the bushes, shaking them around violently, and clutching their bruised ribs, all three of them quickly depart the burning skycar, despite being in pain readying themselves for an imminent Cerberus attack.

They crawl out from the bushes to find themselves in a Presidium marketplace, one demolished shop next to another, screaming and sobbing civilians hiding inside, corpses of innocents covering the walkways, asari, salarian, human, all possible species, this time Cerberus have not been discriminating. "Let's see if we can get any updates from Bailey," Shepard mutters, tapping into the C-Sec network again. "Bailey, any news on the Council?"

"They are now without their guards, Shepard, but still with Udina," the C-Sec commander replies. "Their responders still broadcast vital signs, I am tracking them on their way to a shuttle pad above Shalmar Plaza."

"Shalmar Plaza? We are quite close, Shepard," Liara says, pointing ahead towards the ruined promenade of shops. "There should be elevators leading up to the shuttle pad at the other side of the marketplace."

"Right, let's move-" but then Shepard's words are interrupted by the arrival of a Cerberus shuttle, dropping reinforcements directly in their path, several troopers, two of the nemesis snipers, and two other lightly armored shapes who immediately cloak and disappear from their view, a tactic not usually associated with Cerberus forces... until today, it seems.

"More of those assassins?" Garrus grumbles, sounding annoyed as he leans out of cover to overload the shields of one of the snipers. "I'm really starting to hate those guys."

"I have a feeling that we have finally discovered what that message on Grissom Academy meant," Liara says, sounding rather worried. "Phantom initiative."

"Figures..." Shepard mutters, managing to take advantage of Garrus softening up one of the nemesis, catching the indoctrinated sniper with a bullet to the head. As Morgan fires the shot, however, one of the phantoms suddenly appear less than ten yards away, releasing some kind of projectile attack from her palm blaster, immediately dropping Shepard's shields and stunning her, stopping Morgan from getting back in cover. Fortunately, Liara and Garrus are quick to cover, the asari's biotics quickly stripping the phantom of its barriers, and Garrus knocking the annoying pest back with concussive rounds from his rifle.

Having finished off one of the phantoms, they quickly start looking around for the second of their stealthy and incredibly dangerous foes, only to see the slender shape of the phantom flying through the air, bouncing against the railing and almost bending in half before falling over and toppling to gruesome death below, falling prey to what can only be a surprise biotic throw attack.

The remaining nemesis turns towards the arriving ambusher, exposing themselves to Garrus' overload, and Shepard again takes advantage, sniping the sniper. Their mysterious benefactor suddenly reveals herself, jumping from the second floor of one of the shops to gracefully land in the middle of the remaining Cerberus troopers, sending them flying with a biotic explosion, then pulling out a wicked looking heavy pistol and finishing the job with several control shots to the head.

"Well, isn't that our old friend?" Shepard cannot conceal a smile as she leads her group out of the cover and towards their newly arrived ally, familiar predatory shape of a graceful asari, standing in front of them and facing them down with a cool, confident smile. "Aria, my dear, this must feel like heaven to you. Cerberus, throwing themselves to die at your feet!"

Aria's grin broadens, showing more teeth and making her look even more dangerous. "I've been killing them for hours, Shepard!" she looks positively delighted. "Slaughtering them has been like a never-ending orgasm. I just wish the Illusive Man himself would have shown his face here!"

"Now there's one disturbing mental image that won't leave in a hurry," Garrus mutters darkly.

"We're heading for the Council, Aria," Shepard says quickly, not wishing to waste time despite being happy to meet Aria. "Would you like to accompany us?"

"I was heading that way myself," Aria agrees with a swift nod.

"I did not expect you to care about the councilors," Liara remarks with some curiosity.

"What? I don't..." The Queen of Omega looks like she is about to snap back in denial, but then she pauses, hesitating. "I simply reasoned that the Cerberus attack was first and foremost to eliminate the Council. Whoever is in charge of this operation would likely be there too, and killing one of the Illusive Man's top lieutenants is an invitation I can't refuse."

"I guess that makes sense," Shepard nods. "We've got a fix on the Council's location, and we're on our way there. Shuttle pad atop the Shalmar Plaza, Liara says we're nearby."

"Lead the way, Shepard," Aria allows magnanimously. "This isn't Omega, I don't know my way around this pisshole."

"I'm just following Liara and Garrus, really," Shepard concedes guiltily, motioning for Garrus to lead on and the turian gladly takes his place at the front of the group.

A screaming civilian runs out of a storefront as they walk past, a pretty young human girl in a beige dress, assault rifle cuts her down mercilessly as she tries to escape, the supposed advocates for the greater good of humanity forgetting to make a distinction between their targets. With Aria T'Loak now on their side, her biotics easily as powerful as Liara's, their opposition suddenly finds themselves at a gross disadvantage, falling swiftly before the vengeful asari, supported by Shepard and her team.

The elevators to the shuttle pad have been sealed, but while Shepard stands around cursing, Garrus is already on the move, urging them to follow through narrow walkways and shafts, circling around the plaza with the others in tow. According to their turian guide, there is another set of elevators, leading up to the shuttle pad on the other side of the plaza and Shepard has no other alternatives than simply trusting Garrus.

"Shepard, I can detect that the councilors have taken an elevator," Bailey tells her through the open channel on her omni-tool. "But they are being pursued by... someone with a... sword?"

"Oh god, not that dweeb again?" Shepard mutters angrily as she rushes after Garrus, almost running into an Atlas mech as they emerge from the passageways onto the other side of the plaza. Luckily, the trooper operating the mech seems more preoccupied with watching for any approaching skycars, not expecting to be ambushed from behind, and for once they manage to destroy an Atlas mech without someone having to face a shot from the missile launcher.

The score of troopers present on the plaza can't provide any meaningful opposition and fall quickly under their combined attacks, the last of the centurions being picked up by Liara's singularity and then shattered into small chunks of meat as Aria's biotic throw rips their flesh apart with heavy detonation. "This is so much fun!" she laughs like a giddy maiden. "I could do this the whole day, Shepard!"

"I'm glad you're having your fun, Aria, but we really need to catch an elevator ride!" Shepard shouts back as the group of four quickly runs to the last operating elevator, Bailey using remote access to open the doors for them. They quickly pile in, Shepard punching the button to take them up to the shuttle pad, finding that the elevator does not respond to her commands, Bailey having taken all access, likely in fear of Cerberus sabotage.

"Hold on tight, Shepard, this will be a fast ride," Bailey speaks on the comms. "The Council have nearly reached the pad, and I don't want to risk Cerberus catching up with them first."

"We don't care about some silly safety concerns, just take us to the top ASAP!" Shepard says hurriedly, trying to ignore Liara's pained wincing, directed at her. "Where's our favorite samurai gone, then?" she asks of Bailey.

"I managed to slow him down by making sure his elevator stops at every floor," Bailey replies with pride in his voice. "I'm going to get you to the Council before him, unless... uh-oh..."

"Goddamnit, Bailey, enough with the dramatic pauses!" Shepard shouts in the comms, frustrated and feeling blind in the tight elevator.

"He's trying to switch elevators, careful now," Bailey warns her, and suddenly they all hear a loud clonking noise as something lands on top of their elevator cabin. Immediately, the sword cuts through the roof and the tip of the blade would have cut deep into Liara's crest, if the asari hadn't quickly dropped into a crouch in anticipation of the attack. As the sword continues to tear open the top of the elevator, they all switch to their pistols, starting to pepper the unwelcome assailant with bullets.

The black-clad assassin appears to be an expert at dodging shots at near point-blank range and what he does not avoid becomes absorbed by his powerful kinetic barriers that seem by far stronger than those of the other phantom agents they have fought previously. However, after he has managed to cut a sizable hole in the roof, enough to see them huddled inside, his eyes fall on the snarling Aria and suddenly the assassin pauses, stopping his attacks. The next moment, he is gone from their sight, jumping off from the elevator and retreating.

"I wish I would have that kind of effect on our enemies!" Shepard gives Aria an envious stare. "Damn it, that was something. I'm starting to think I could really use you on the Normandy, Aria."

Aria turns to Morgan, feral grin on her lips. "Sorry, Shepard, but the whole 'saving the galaxy' thing just isn't my style. Being rich, powerful and staying alive is enough for me." She then pauses as the elevator swiftly reaches the top without any further interruptions. "But I do know that assassin, I have met him before, he is one of the Illusive Man's top lieutenants. We have an old score to settle, and I don't think even he fancied his chances taking on us both at once."

"I am happy to see him gone, but I won't rest until I know that the councilors are safe and sound," Morgan says, as they all emerge from the elevator, starting to charge down the corridor towards the doors leading out to the shuttle pad. "Udina is still there with them, and it only takes one Cerberus assassin and they're done for..."

They step out on the shuttle pad, weapons raised, Garrus sealing the door behind them to make sure no Cerberus troops ambush them from behind. On the pad itself, Shepard sees a burning shuttle that apparently the councilors had counted on as their means of escape. Tevos and Sparatus look confused at seeing their approach, but Udina quickly throws his hands in the air as a sign of surrender, starting to loudly pray for mercy. But more importantly, Shepard finds herself staring down the barrel of a gun, held defiantly by her old friend and Udina's new bodyguard, Spectre Kaidan Alenko.

"Shepard, what the hell is going on?" he asks, giving her a suspicious, almost hostile stare.

"We were chased here by Cerberus, and now she shows up?" Udina pipes up, hiding behind Alenko's broad back, making sure they have difficulties targeting him. "It is as we feared, Kaidan, she is still being controlled by Cerberus!"

"He's been feeding you that all those past weeks, hasn't he, Kaidan?" Shepard stares her old squadmate down. "I can imagine his planted seeds of doubt found a lot of fertile ground."

"You barge in here with guns raised at the councilors... Shepard, is that supposed to reassure me?" Kaidan barks back. "This looks bad, very bad."

"Do not let yourself be swayed by her words, Kaidan," Udina urges him. "I have heard that Cerberus can control people without them even being aware of it! She might not even realize that she is working for Cerberus!"

"This is nonsense, Udina!" Tevos protests. "Spectre Shepard has Aria T'Loak with her. And Aria would never work with Cerberus!"

"Councilor Tevos," Aria turns towards her fellow asari, her nod barely perceptible, before she faces Shepard again. "What are we waiting for? Just kill this idiot so we can all go home!"

"No, I won't let you harm Kaidan!" Shepard replies harshly. "I forbid you to open fire! We can solve this peacefully."

"I agree. We have mistrusted Shepard before in the past and it has not helped us," Sparatus says, surprisingly reasonable. "Spectre Alenko, I order you to stand down."

"We don't have time to debate this," Udina is starting to look exasperated, leaving the cover behind Kaidan's back and approaching the nearby computer terminal. "We can't stay out here in plain sight, and the shuttle is useless, we need to go back. I'm overriding the door lock."

"He wants to let the Cerberus troops in here, Kaidan," Shepard says, keeping her voice low, desperately hoping that Kaidan would believe her. She disables her shield generator, the kinetic barriers surrounding her winking out and leaving her unprotected. "My shields are down, what else can I do to prove that I am not here to harm you or the councilors?"

"If you don't believe Shepard, you can trust me and Garrus, can't you?" Liara pleads, and her earnest stare makes Kaidan pause. "We're not indoctrinated by Cerberus!"

"I know you two," Kaidan shakes his head resolutely. "You would follow her through heaven or hell, no questions asked. She could be leading you astray and you would not realize it!"

"That's bullshit, Alenko, and you know it!" Garrus exclaims angrily.

Udina is about to reach the console and override the security, ignoring repeated warnings to step away from the console. A determined Councilor Tevos bravely steps in his way, clearly mistrusting the intentions of her human colleague, and this interference finally tips Udina's frustrations over the edge. "To hell with this!" he exclaims, drawing a pistol and aiming at Tevos' chest.

Shepard has had enough as well. "Shoot me if you want then, you fool!" she snarls at Kaidan, who is blissfully unaware of what is going on behind his back, Udina brandishing his weapon at Tevos. Morgan's hand moves slightly, and the shot is fired, the blast striking Udina in his unprotected neck, dropping him instantly at Tevos' feet, the asari councilor clasping her palms over the mouth to muffle her scream.

Another shot is fired not more than a second later, and Shepard feels something heavy hitting her chest and she falls, landing with her back on the ground. _He shot me. I can't believe he shot me!_ She thinks frantically, then realizing something important. _Wait... it's not actually hurting... what's going on here... _Morgan then opens her eyes to witness something that makes her heart stop for a few moments. The weight that has hit her in the chest is Liara's body, slowly growing limp in her arms, indigo blood soaking from a large, ugly wound on her left side, just below the breast.

She gently lowers Liara on the ground, her bondmate's breathing is shallow as she struggles to retain consciousness. Dimly, Morgan hears Garrus swearing in anger and rage, taking a shot and Kaidan slumps on his knees, clutching his perforated shoulder, before being picked off his feet by Aria's biotics and thrown violently against the wall, where he collapses, unmoving.

Morgan frantically applies medi-gel to Liara's wounds, watching color slowly draining from the face of her lover. As if through heavy veil she hears Garrus frantically shouting on the comms, telling Bailey to send a medical team immediately. With a corner of her eye she sees Sparatus bending down to check on Udina before shaking his head, confirming the death of the first ever councilor to represent humanity. Behind him, she sees Tevos quietly sobbing in Aria's shoulder, but she has no time to wonder about Aria's strange behavior, tolerating such displays from the shaken councilor. Morgan does not have time for anyone but Liara, her bondmate in danger of slowly expiring in her arms...


	79. Beset by Wickedness and Contention

**Chapter 78 - Beset by Wickedness and Contention**

_How did it come to this? _That is the one single thought on Commander Morgan Shepard's mind, as she sits by the hospital bed where her bondmate is resting, sleeping peacefully after almost two hours in surgery, two hours that to Morgan felt like an eternity. The anesthetics will keep Liara asleep for at least six more hours, and the doctors tell her that the asari's condition is no longer critical and life threatening, but Shepard finds it impossible to leave her. _There's no place else I would rather be than by her side, anyway._

After Mordin's death, her fears of losing another squadmate, another friend, have become difficult to control, to the point where she often catches herself almost making strategically unsound decisions, with the single intent to limit the danger that her squad is exposed to. And despite her best efforts, she has come close to lose three of them on a single day, including the light of her life, the single bright star amongst her darkening sky.

Liara's sacrifice had been a calculated risk, knowing that without her shields up, Kaidan's shot would have likely been fatal to Morgan. The asari had been counting on her biotic barriers to absorb the worst of the attack, but she could have never predicted Kaidan's pistol being heavily modded to make it particularly effective against this type of shielding. This was the first time that Liara has come so close to dying on her watch. _If I hadn't so stupidly exposed myself, hoping Kaidan would see reason, she wouldn't have felt the necessity to do this,_ Morgan realizes.

But at least Liara is now out of danger and will make swift and full recovery, according to the doctors. _It's actually rather remarkable that it happens only now, with the amount of danger I constantly expose her to,_ Morgan thinks to herself. _Maybe I'm not so horrible at protecting her as waiting all those hours while she was in surgery made me feel..._

And Thane is still undergoing his surgery as well, the doctors struggling to repair the lung ruined by the black-clad assassin's sword. They have managed to track down his son, Kolyat, the young drell looking shaken both from seeing his father balancing on the edge of death, and from donating a generous amount of blood for transfusion. Even if Thane would survive his surgery, Morgan is well aware that the loss of blood would likely advance his Kepral Syndrome to fatal stage. Whether she wants it or not, she will lose another friend in the few coming days, there are no ways to avoid it and this time she is helpless and unable to change the inevitable.

Kaidan has been taken out of his surgery fifteen minutes ago. He was fully conscious as the nurses pushed him by towards another infirmary ward, Major Alenko raising his head despite the doctor's protests not to overextend himself, and for a moment their eyes had met. Shepard had never seen a look so pained and haunted in her life. His eyes had screamed 'Good lord, what have I done?', making Shepard nearly forget that her old friend had shot Liara just scant hours before.

_What should I consider you now, Kaidan, a friend or an enemy? You did not want this to happen, I know you did not, you could not have seen what was going behind your back, you just saw me taking a shot at one of the councilors and you reacted. Liara will live and will forgive you, because she is a kinder soul than I am, and in time I will be able to forgive as well. But will I be ever able to trust you again? You injured my bondmate. You took a shot at me with intent to kill. How do we move past that? _

She remembers the look in Kaidan's eyes. Someone must have told him the truth about Udina, the fact that he had been played for a fool. _I saw a man who knew he would never be able to forgive himself for what he has done. I cannot truly wish him ill, considering the burden that he will bear now. With time, we must find it in our hearts to forgive and hope that it will help him find peace with himself, _Morgan realizes, knowing with certainty that she would never be as forgiving if Liara had succumbed to her injuries.

The councilors had also visited and left about half an hour ago, for once the three of them appearing quiet and grateful, having lost their unapproachable air of superiority. Valern had expressed great sadness when learning of Thane's condition, promising that the drell would be honored for his sacrifice in saving the councilor of the Salarian Union, posthumously, if he would not survive his surgery.

Sparatus had been apologetic and upset, intent on stripping Kaidan of his Spectre status, claiming that ignoring a direct order to stand down given by a councilor, and then attempting to kill a fellow Spectre, showed unacceptable error of judgment. Shepard had thought about protesting, fearing that the action would push Kaidan further off the edge, but in the end, she knew that Sparatus was right. Udina had never invited Alenko to join Spectres because he believed that Kaidan was worthy of the honor. After Shepard had reignited her fiery feud with Udina a few weeks ago, the councilor had been looking for ways to pay back for the suffered humiliation, finding the means in Kaidan.

That was another reason why Morgan found that she could not hate Kaidan. He was an instrument of revenge, merely a tool. He was almost as much a victim as she or Liara were.

Tevos had been present as well, spending most of her time standing next to Liara's bed. "Benezia's death left a great void amongst our people. She was kind, wise, beautiful and she was well respected," she speaks, looking at Shepard, her eyes full with rarely observed emotion. "But Liara..." Tevos' palm briefly rests on the sleeping asari's brow. "She will grow to fill that void. She already has done so."

Councilor Tevos looks at Shepard again. "That was why I disliked you so intensely at the beginning, Shepard. I thought that you were stealing away that which belonged to us, that you would take her away from her people, risk her life in one of your crusades. I could not stand the thought of Benezia's daughter constantly exposed to mortal danger." She takes Liara's hand again, smiling softly. "She is destined for greatness, Shepard. Liara T'Soni will be amongst the most famous asari that the galaxy has known, perhaps the greatest of them all. And I thought that you did not deserve her. But I was wrong. You are worthy of each other."

Shepard had simply tried to swallow the heavy lump in her throat, only managing a small smile in reply to the councilor, too stunned by the unexpected but appreciated kindness Tevos had bestowed on her and Liara. The councilors had left soon afterwards, escorted by a small army of C-Sec officers, leaving Shepard alone with her thoughts and waiting for Liara to finally open her eyes and bless her with one of those tender, enigmatic smiles on her indigo lips.

"How are you, Shepard?" Morgan doesn't even turn to look back at Garrus, the turian also finding himself unwilling to leave the hospital. Unlike Morgan, however, he is unable to simply sit by Liara, he is pacing around animatedly the whole time, earning angry glares from every nurse in the hospital, constantly demanding the status updates on the patients he is concerned about.

"Uncomfortably numb," Morgan confesses, after some consideration. "Frankly, I don't know what to think, Garrus. Part of me is relieved that Liara will make a swift recovery, but..."

"Thane is dying," Garrus says simply, not mincing any words. "As for Kaidan... I don't know Shepard, I just don't know anymore. How did we come to this?"

"Wish I had an answer to that, Garrus," Morgan shakes her head sadly. "While we were curing the genophage, Udina was free to sink his fangs into Kaidan, and there was nothing we could do about it. Perhaps if I had been more agreeable with him in the past, he would not have believed Udina as readily."

"I thought we were friends, Kaidan and I," Garrus finally grabs a chair and sits down heavily. "I'm not sure if that was still the case after Horizon, but... Shepard, I just shot a friend. The hostilities had ceased, Kaidan was no longer a threat when I fired at him. By the spirits, what possessed me to do that?"

"You clearly didn't shoot him with intent to kill, Garrus. If you had, he would be dead," Morgan tells him. "Instinctively, you must have still feared that he might be a threat and tried to protect us. Or... maybe you were so angry you just wanted to hurt him."

Garrus winces when he hears Shepard's words. "That last possibility is the one that disturbs me. It should have never happened."

"I think we all lost a little of ourselves today, Garrus," Shepard responds heavily. "I'm still searching for answers myself, and I don't actually expect to find them. So don't look at me for words of wisdom. You already witnessed my spectacular failure at diplomacy."

"It wasn't your fault, Shepard."

"Just... go back to the ship and rest, Garrus," she shrugs tiredly. "There's no use for you to be stuck here."

"I can't, I just feel there's something I should do..." the turian looks at her, appearing deeply unhappy.

"C'mon Garrus, don't make me pull rank on you," Shepard gives him a hard stare. "If you don't want to return to the Normandy, do something else, help Bailey with securing the station or... well, anything really!"

"Fine. Fine, Shepard, I'm going," Garrus mutters and withdraws, shoulders slightly slumped, as Morgan allows herself a small sigh as she watches her friend leaving.

Nothing changes for several hours as she simply sits there, running different scenarios in her head, thinking what she could have done differently to prevent this. _Maybe I should have just shot Kaidan first, without bothering with words. A quick, clinical shot to the right shoulder, just to disarm him, I could have pulled it off, easily. It would have been just between us, then, without involving the others into this mess. But I wanted to talk things through. I gave Udina the opportunity to tip my hand. The little hateful bastard succeeded in turning us against each other, but at least we did not give him the pleasure to see us kill one another. _

More time passes, and at some point she is pulled away from Liara's bed by a very tired looking Commander Bailey, the man looking as if has aged by at least a decade, several new creases in his brow and the hair at his temples having gone completely white. "I knew that sooner or later the war will find its way to the Citadel, but I never imagined it would be Cerberus attacking, not the Reapers," he says, as they hold a private conversation in one of the many storerooms of the hospital. "This is just insane. Udina in league with Cerberus? Trying to murder the Council? I can't wrap my head around it."

"I know what you mean," Morgan nods. "I can easily see Udina being rotten, but to go this far... it's crazy, even for him." She pauses, looking at Bailey. "How bad is it out there?"

"The losses have been staggering, amongst the civilians and especially for the C-Sec. We are heavily undermanned to defend the station from another attack, Shepard," Bailey admits.

"Crazy bastards," Morgan swears. "You could try recruiting from the refugees, Bailey. There are a whole lot of injured war vets itching to get back into action."

"That thought crossed my mind, and I will look into it, Shepard. But... Cerberus sent their squads to make sweeps through refugee camps as well," Bailey says, looking grim. "It is not a pretty sight, Shepard. There are a **lot** of dead people down there. I can't believe I'm saying this, but not only do we suddenly have a lot of room to accommodate the refugees, now we **need** more of them to pour in!"

"Which they will no longer do, now that they have heard that a small terrorist group like Cerberus almost succeeded in their coup to take over the Citadel. They will pour over to the Sanctuary instead. Hell, I don't even know why this place had such an air of invulnerability about it in the first place, Bailey," she looks at him, frustrated. "Are people so stupid to have forgotten Sovereign already? Citadel is **not** a safe haven!"

"I hear you, Shepard, but right now I could use some who are still thinking that," Bailey shakes his head. "At least the structural damage will be repaired in a few weeks, the keepers are already busy at work."

"Did Garrus tell you that some of the C-Sec officers were killed by Cerberus sleeper agents?" Morgan asks.

Bailey grunts in disgust. "Yeah, we're already looking into that. Hell of a task. Makes me really hate my job. I'd like to hope they all died in the fighting, but I'm not as naive to truly believe that."

"You can't afford to lose more people, but it needs to be done," Morgan says grimly.

"Yeah," Commander Armando Bailey agrees. "Well, anyway, I won't hold you up any more than necessary. I hope that your... uh... what do they call..."

Morgan manages a smile. "Bondmate, Bailey."

"Oh... yes, bondmate, I hope she makes a full recovery. I understand the doctors are optimistic," Bailey says. "As for your drell friend... just saw them finish up the surgery, but..."

"Yeah... I know..." Morgan sighs, as they step back outside in the busy hallways of the hospital, Bailey shaking her hand and returning back to his unenviable job to restore order to the Citadel. Upon return to Liara's ward, Shepard is delighted to see the asari awake and quietly conversing with Dr. Chloe Michel, busy taking scans to check Liara's condition.

"Hey there," Morgan greets her, watching smile blossom on Liara's lips.

"Hey, yourself," her lover replies softly. "I apologize for making you worry about me, Morgan. I'm not sorry for saving your life, though. Because that is what I did."

"I know. I wasn't going to berate you for what you did," Morgan nods, then turning towards Dr. Michel. "What's the plan here, Doctor? I imagine you'll want to keep her at the hospital overnight, even if Normandy's medical facilities are state-of-art?"

"That would be highly recommended, Commander. I would have said several days at the very least, but I expect to meet with stern resistance," Michel says, smiling thinly, then turning back towards Liara. "Also I believe congratulations are in order?"

"What?" Morgan asks.

"The good doctor means the successful surgery and my swift recovery," Liara says quickly.

Michel looks a little taken aback, but then nods and smiles. "Yes, yes, that is exactly what I meant."

"Err, alright?" Morgan shrugs, wondering a little about Michel's strange behavior, but then quickly forgetting all about it, too exhilarated about Liara finally being out of danger and returned to her. "What a messed up day, huh?" she turns to Liara, after Michel has left them alone.

"Is Kaidan..."

"He's alive. They placed him in another ward here," Morgan returns abruptly. "Garrus shot him and Aria whacked him into the wall with her biotics."

"I feel sorry for him," Liara shakes her head slowly. "I can only imagine how he feels, realizing that he has been fooled so badly to turn on his own friends, it must be horrible."

_Yup, just as I expected, she gets shot and she ends up feeling sorry for the one who shot her,_ Morgan thinks, unable to keep herself from smiling. "Just take care when you're speaking with him, Liara," she says.

"What makes you think I intended to speak with him?" Liara asks, curious.

"Because I know you, babe," Morgan grins at her, but before she can say anything else, Dr. Chloe Michel walks back into the ward and interrupts her, motioning for Shepard to approach her.

"It's about your friend... Tannor Nuara? Why do I have a feeling that it is not his real name," Michel shakes his head. "Not that it matters. We have repaired the damage to his lungs, but the surgery and the loss of blood has left him so weakened that his system simply is unable to recover from the shock. And he has refused life support."

"How long?" Morgan asks hoarsely.

"Any moment now, Commander," Michel shakes her head. "He and his son have expressed a wish for you to be there, if you would agree to honor them with your presence."

"Of course," Morgan nods, looking back at Liara. "I'm sorry, babe, I'm going to leave you for a bit. Checking on Thane briefly." Liara nods back at her and smiles, as Michel leads her away to the intensive care where Thane is resting, his son Kolyat standing at the foot of his bed, his hands clasped in a silent prayer.

As Shepard walks into the room and looks at Thane, her first instinct is to recoil from the horrible sight. The drell's skin looks parched and pale green, as if it has shrunken, making Thane look like a husk. As he knocks away the oxygen mask on his face and slowly rolls his head to look upon her, Shepard notices how unnaturally sharp his cheekbones look, as if they are about to cut through and protrude through his shrinking skin.

"Commander," Thane manages to speak, though it is clear that it is taking him his last reserves of strength. "I'm afraid I... won't be joining you, after all..."

"You've helped more than enough already, Thane," Shepard allows herself a sad smile. "The salarians call you a hero and plan on a statue or some kind of monument..."

"That assassin should be ashamed," Thane says quietly. "A terminally ill drell stopped him from reaching his target."

"He should be even more embarrassed for using a sodding sword," Morgan shakes her head. "But yes, everyone's talking about it. Wherever our black-clad friend is hiding right now, his cheeks are burning in shame."

"Shepard. There is a reason I called you. Something I must do before it gets worse, I must-..." Thane cannot finish, his body seized by coughing fit. Kolyat places a clean blanket against his father's lips, and when the coughing passes, he takes the cloth away, now covered with flecks of blood.

Thane waits for a while, gathering his remaining strength. When he resumes speaking, his voice is quiet in reverent prayer. "Kalahira, mistress of inscrutable depths, I ask for forgiveness. Kalahira, whose waves wear down stone and sand..." the coughing interrupts him again, and Kolyat takes over the prayer.

"Kalahira, wash the sins from this one, and set him on the distant shore of the infinite spirit," Thane's son speaks.

Thane looks at him approvingly. "Kolyat... you speak as the priests do. You have been spending time with them. It pleases me."

Kolyat nods and slowly approaches Shepard, reaching out and pressing something in her hand. She takes it, a small prayer book. "Commander, would you care to join us?" he asks. Shepard nods, and Kolyat helps her, flipping the pages until he finds the right passage.

"Kalahira, this one's heart is pure, but beset by wickedness and contention," Kolyat starts the new verse of the prayer, then urging her to read the next passage.

"Guide this one to where the traveler never tires, the lover never leaves, the hungry never starve," she reads aloud. "Guide this one, Kalahira, and she will be a companion to you, as she was to me." They stand silent for a while, until Morgan realizes. "That was... for me, wasn't it?"

But Thane does not reply. His unseeing eyes are turned towards the ceiling, as Kolyat approaches him with shaking steps, putting his hand on his father's brow and then gently closing his eyes forever. "That was his last wish," Kolyat says quietly. "To offer a prayer for your soul."

"Goodbye, Thane. And thank you," she says, moved by the prayer. _Beset by wickedness and contention. I guess you could say that. But perhaps I should have asked Kalahira to wash away my sins, too. If only it would be as easy as that... _

"I thank you for coming, Commander," Kolyat says, his tired demeanor suggesting that he wishes to remain alone with his father. "Having you here in his last moments, giving him the opportunity to pray for you... it meant so much to him."

"Will you be... taking him back to Kahje for funeral?" Shepard asks. Kolyat simply nods without answering. "Then I wish you the best in surviving this terrible war, Kolyat. May we meet in better times."

She steps out of the intensive care, remaining standing with her back against the wall, expecting herself to burst into tears from the crushing sadness, but finding herself unable to reach this release. She has gone through too much for one day, her emotions completely exhausted, and she feels like only an empty shell of herself has remained, one that cannot process emotional response, dull to sense of loss, pain, suffering.

Death has claimed another friend on this day, and deep inside she knows that it won't be the last. But right now this grim realization fails to invoke fear or any other emotion in her, there is simply resignation to this inevitability. And an overwhelming sense of emptiness.


	80. Clown Leng

_A/N: Well, I'm very happy to say that the preliminary writing of the novel has been completed. Right now, we're looking at a bit over 150 chapters, give or take, so roughly a bit over halfway there. Now I'm left with hell of a job editing, rewriting and posting. ;) _

_Not sure where Retaking Omega will slot in, though, if I even decide to include it. Fans of Aria need not worry, though, she'll have a very big part to play in this story either way. _

_And lastly, I hope you will enjoy this chapter, which comes with apology to William Dietz for his stellar job on ME: Deception novel. (Not really, though, it was a piece of crap and deserves to be mocked!)_

**Chapter 79 - Clown Leng**

"We have the first reports from Admiral Xen's scouting mission," Admiral Han'Gerrel addresses the rest of the Admiralty Board, save for Daro'Xen, gathered in one of the conference rooms aboard of the Rayya. "Unfortunately, they were unable to avoid being detected, and were forced to become involved in combat with geth defense forces. Once again, Xen's countermeasure proved highly effective. Of course, most of the credit should still go to Admiral Rael'Zorah," he adds, turning his head at Tali.

_Is he baiting me?_ The young quarian thinks. _Surely by now he must realize that I oppose this war! Why else would I object all the time, siding with Koris... who still thinks I hold the same views as my father. _

"I doubt she actually bothered with stealth," Koris shakes his head angrily. "I'm sure she was actively looking for the opportunities to test her new toys."

"It does need to be tested, Koris, if our dream for retaking the homeworld is to become a reality," Admiral Shala'Raan says.

"I would like you to draw your attention to the second part of the report, for it is of far greater importance," Gerrel reminds them, sounding a little frustrated.

"Yes, I agree with Gerrel, this is most disturbing," Raan nods. "And we have no idea on what this superstructure is that the geth are building?"

"Xen's team could not get close enough," Gerrel replies. "It was too heavily defended. But from all the evidence they have gathered, it appears to be an enormous space station. They are preparing for war, it is clear to me."

"And how did you arrive at that conclusion, Admiral Gerrel?" Tali dares to ask.

"Because they are geth, Tali. They have no other purpose than to wage war against organics, and us quarians in particular. Everyone knows that!" Gerrel replies impatiently.

"You have to admit that this is worrying, Tali," Raan turns towards her.

"There could be dozens of reasons why they would be building a space station, and it doesn't even necessary need to be for military purposes!" Tali protests.

"Have you ever witnessed a geth doing anything else than committing acts of violence towards organics?" Gerrel asks pointedly.

"Yes, but that was before we decided to kill them," Koris remarks bitterly.

"I have," Tali says quietly. "But I do not think you would believe me."

"It is clear to me that this superstructure poses a massive threat to the Migrant Fleet," Gerrel speaks imperiously. "We need to destroy it as quickly as possible, while Xen's countermeasure still gives us advantage against the geth. Admiral Daro'Xen will arrive in approximately eight hours. I will call for another meeting of the Admiralty Board when she gets here. This report demands urgent reaction, the time to strike is now! When Xen returns, we will put the decision of war to vote."

"You expect our support based on such incomplete intel?" Koris sounds outraged. "You are willing to risk the future of the quarian people on something like this? I demand that more information is gathered before we commit ourselves to war."

"I'm not surprised that this comes the next day after the last of our liveships has been outfitted with dreadnaught grade weapons systems," Tali remarks, looking at Gerrel, his posture suggesting outrage over the implication. "Admiral Gerrel has been planning this for quite some time, I suspect."

"Tali, please, throwing around baseless accusations will get us nowhere," Raan admonishes her. "For once, I believe that Gerrel's concerns are valid. It would be foolish and naive to assume that the geth will simply live in peace by themselves and won't interfere with us, organics. Last I checked, they were still swarming on our homeland, with no intention of giving it back."

"That's because we haven't asked!" Tali exclaims, but immediately realizes how foolish that sounded, even Koris' body language expressing minor disbelief.

"Raan, I am glad that you have seen reason," Gerrel says. "With your support, we can finally do the right thing and win back our homeworld. Can we count on your vote?"

"You may," Admiral Raan nods, as Tali sighs quietly, resigned to something she has seen developing for several weeks, finding herself with limited power and influence to stop it, always being treated like inferior and unimportant amongst the Admiralty Board.

_I don't care about the ban on communications, I have to get a message to Shepard, and I have to do it now. She needs to know of this madness, maybe she can do something to stop the admirals from destroying our people, _Tali thinks at herself._ She must be out there, somewhere, fighting the Reapers as she has always done... and hopefully, with Garrus still by her side. Damn it, I actually miss that silly turian... Keelah, I miss him so much... _

* * *

"Hello, Kaidan."

"Liara? I did not think you will ever wish to speak to me again..."

"And yet I do wish it, Kaidan."

"Should you even be up and walking around? I... I understand that the injury was... severe."

"I probably should not be walking around, no," Liara admits, slipping in an empty hospital bed next to Kaidan's, lying on her back and staring at the ceiling, ponderously. "But Shepard will be bringing me back to the Normandy later today, and I wanted to use this chance to talk."

"I'm not sure what needs to be said, Liara. I am aware of the extent of my terrible mistake, of my erroneous judgment. There's nothing I can say that would make this better, and there is nothing new you can accuse me of that I would not have already self-flagellated myself about."

"I did not come here to accuse you of anything, Kaidan. I came here to tell you how sorry I am."

Kaidan turns his head towards her, his eyes wide in surprise as he hears the genuine sorrow in her voice. "You... you are... sorry? I shot you... I could have easily killed Shepard and nearly killed you, and you're... sorry for me?"

"After Mars, there was nothing else I wanted more than to see you and Morgan reconcile," Liara explains quietly. "I tried to help and I thought I was being successful, but apparently, I failed."

"I don't know how it happened, Liara. I wanted to trust the Commander, I truly did, but Udina... he seemed to know how to play on my doubts. Now when I look back on what he told me... I should have realized that some of these things he could not have known, unless he was in the Illusive Man's pocket," Kaidan admits. "I was such a fool. I could not be more ashamed of my stupidity."

"If only things had panned out differently on Mars," Liara sighs. "If you hadn't saved me from the Cerberus synthetic, you would not have been stuck in the hospital here and Udina would have never had the chance to turn you against Shepard. You would have remained on the Normandy, Morgan would have taken you along on the ground missions and you would have learned for yourself that she is the same Shepard you once knew."

"But if I hadn't stopped that synthetic, you might be dead, Liara. I could not allow that to happen." Kaidan stops himself with a bitter chuckle. "Ironic how I would claim that after having shot you, isn't it? Gods, Shepard must be furious with me."

"Shepard feels the same way as I do, Kaidan," Liara tells him, much to the Major's shock and surprise. "She is upset and regrets all that has happened, but she does not hate you."

"She... doesn't? Liara... part of me hoped for her to just storm into the ward and shout accusations at me... or perhaps do more than just shout. I also imagined Garrus walking in to finish the job..."

"Kaidan, Garrus is shocked at having taken the shot at you. He regretted it as soon as he pulled the trigger, much as you did."

Kaidan sighs deeply. "I have been remembering the days we spent on the old Normandy. Not so much all the bloody fighting, chasing after Saren and getting stonewalled by the Council, but you know, the good times. The things we got up to during downtime... how close we grew... and it's just killing me when I realize that now there's no chance of ever going back to that, not after all this..."

"It would be difficult, Kaidan, but if you are willing to put in the effort, I would try my best for us to get back to what we once were," Liara says earnestly.

"I'd love to, but it's foolish to think about, the Commander would never allow me onboard of her ship again, and I don't blame her."

"But if she did, would you take that offer?" Liara asks.

Kaidan thinks for a while. "Yes. I would fight tooth and nail to regain her trust and yours."

"That's all I wanted to know, Kaidan," the asari smiles, slowly getting up with the intent of heading back to her own hospital bed.

"That smile... you're planning something, Liara..." Kaidan gives her a suspicious stare.

"Please, Kaidan... you wanted to regain my trust," Liara's smile only broadens as she walks away. "Start by having some trust in me..."

* * *

"Commander?" Joker's voice on the comms snaps Morgan out of her slumber. She has been running ragged around the Citadel, aiding Bailey with all sorts of errands to help restore order, taking on several tasks that required using her Spectre authority. Then, sometime in the late afternoon, they had moved Liara from Huerta back to the Normandy's medbay. Twenty minutes later after warning Liara not to leave the medbay, she had found the asari in the XO quarters, busily browsing through the Shadow Broker feeds and complaining loudly when Morgan had dragged her back to the medbay. _She has probably snuck out again by now... she can be so adorably irritating,_ Morgan thinks, sighing inwardly.

"Yeah, Joker?" she yawns back on the comms.

"The asari councilor wants to speak with you on the vid call."

"Oh, alright... tell Tevos I'll be with her in two minutes," Shepard replies, stepping into the bathroom to splash cold water on her face, refreshing herself and chasing away the annoying need for sleep.

Tevos greets her with a rare smile, when Shepard finally arrives at the comm room and greets the councilor. "Commander, allow me to once again extend my gratitude for resolving this crisis, and for working so hard to help us restore order. You have been an inspiration for many here on the Citadel, those who had lost their hopes and faith in our ability to protect them." Shepard merely nods and smiles at the councilor's kind words. "I also understand that you have moved Dr. T'Soni back to the Normandy? I assume that her condition has improved sufficiently."

"Yes, though she seems intent on ignoring every medical advice that could hasten her recovery," Shepard mutters under her breath.

"This must be a trying time for you, Commander, the war effort notwithstanding. Having to draw a gun on a friend, a fellow Spectre, it could not have been easy," Tevos says.

"...you've never shown such keen interest in my mental state, Councilor," Shepard remarks, suddenly suspicious. "Just what is it that you are getting at?"

"Very well, I will speak plainly," Tevos nods. "You used your Spectre authority to take into custody an important witness who was key at identifying conspirators and Cerberus sympathizers within C-Sec. The man was found dead in an alley ten minutes later. Would you like to explain your actions, Spectre Shepard?"

"He was one of those sleeper agents who shot their own colleagues in the back, when Cerberus started their attack. I saw those men, surprise and betrayal etched in their faces. To offer a deal to scum like this murderer is an insult to the memories of those dead officers. Not to mention that anyone who is capable of shooting their friends in the back is also capable of saying and claiming anything in order to save their skin. In short, that piece of filth was not a reliable witness."

Tevos doesn't look particularly pleased, but decides not to push it any further. "I suppose I can understand your reasoning... in the past you have shown yourself as someone who bases their decisions on more practical reasons, not emotional, but considering everything that has happened, perhaps you were right. It simply makes it harder for us to root out the traitors within C-Sec."

"Bailey will get it done," Shepard states confidently.

"Reports also claim that you were involved in a firefight with a known batarian terrorist," Tevos continues. "According to our intel, he was the currently highest ranking member of the Hegemony... or what was left of it."

"Surely you have no qualms about me shooting some batarian scum who had it long coming?" Shepard raises an eyebrow.

"The scattered remains of batarian fleets are scouring the Terminus Systems and Attican Traverse, engaging in piracy and doing what they can to survive," Tevos speaks. "The strength of these ships is still considerable, so if there was a way to bring them under our banner and direct them towards Reapers..."

"Maybe you can get some other Spectre to play diplomacy with the batarians, Councilor, but it won't be me," Shepard retorts, starting to feel very tired. "Balak was behind the attack on Terra Nova. I made a promise to his victims that one day I would find him and kill him. I do not break my promises." _Katie, I did as I promised. Your brother is avenged. May that knowledge grant you peace, gentle, brave soul._

"I see. Understand me, Commander. I am not intent on questioning your judgment or your decisions, I am merely seeking an explanation," Tevos says, a little apologetically. "My curiosity is satisfied, Shepard, save for one last question. Do you plan to stay on the Citadel for long?"

"What, am I becoming inconvenient again?" Shepard cannot disguise anger in her voice, even if it is not her intention to insult Tevos, she has grown slightly fonder of the asari councilor.

"Nothing of the sort, Shepard," Tevos shakes her head. "There might be a task that I hope you will take upon yourself to investigate."

"What is it?" Morgan asks.

"I am not at liberty to say," the councilor replies. "I only know that it comes from the asari High Command and that they planned to get in touch with Dr. T'Soni to discuss the details. I imagine you will know more soon."

"Right. Is that all, Councilor? I'm sorry, but it has been a long day and I am tired." _Asari High Command wants to... talk with Liara? Huh, maybe it's from her dad?_

"Of course, Shepard. My apologies for taking so much of your time. Good luck in your endeavors," Tevos hastily excuses herself and terminates the connection, leaving Shepard yawning in the comm room.

"Gods, that better be all for tonight, I'm falling asleep on my feet," she mutters on the comms to Joker, yawning again.

"Err... I've got Hackett and Anderson both on the QEC, itching to speak with you," Joker replies a little hesitantly. "Patching them through."

"Oh come on, give me a break," Morgan groans, rubbing her brow tiredly, fighting off another yawn. "I'm in no shape to handle a single Admiral, much less two! Can't you stall them or something?"

"Is that any way to speak to a superior officer?" Hackett's voice makes her jump, immediately making her forget all sleepiness.

"Uh, sorry sir, I thought Joker hadn't yet-"

"Yes, I'm aware of what you thought, Commander," Hackett says, sounding stern, but the expression in his eyes carries a trace of amusement. _Joker's still getting his ass kicked from here to the other end of the Citadel, _Morgan decides, blushing wildly under Hackett's stare. "Back to the task, I have already brought Anderson up to speed with the recent developments."

"Shepard," Anderson greets her. "Still can't believe it about Udina. That bastard was always power hungry, but to go this far... damn."

"And we still don't know exactly why Cerberus even targeted the Citadel," Hackett says, looking at Shepard again. "Unless your investigations have turned up something, Commander?"

"Nothing much, to be honest," Shepard shrugs in reply. "They did target the Council. I know, I know what you will say, the Council doesn't actually **do** anything useful so why the hell would do they care about them, but I think that if Cerberus had managed to assassinate the councilors, it would have been a crippling blow to the morale and might have thrown coordination of certain operations and projects in disarray."

"Shepard, I read some of the reports about the coup attempt, yours included," Anderson then says. "I believe I can shed light on the identity of the black-clad assassin that the reports mention. His name is Kai Leng. Hackett will forward you all relevant information I have on him."

"You know this Clown Leng?" Morgan asks.

"Yes, Kahlee Sanders and I have had our share of run-ins with him," Anderson explains. "I shot him in both legs once. Thought that might be the end of him, but he showed up again on Omega even stronger."

"Dammit, Anderson, with all due respect sir, but next time you have an insane Cerberus assassin at your mercy, could you maybe, I don't know, shoot him in the head and blow his brains out?" Shepard says, frustrated. "Now that maniac is running around swinging a huge sword and stabbing my friends! If you had put him down, we wouldn't have to deal with this shit now! What if he... I don't know, sneaks into your apartment, eats your cereal and then stabs you with a toothbrush?" she adds, conjuring the most demented images she can think of, something that could surely take root only in a particularly sick mind.

Anderson just blinks in response, before gathering his wits. "...are you drunk or on drugs, Shepard? Eating my cereal? Stabbing me with a toothbrush? How do you come up with these things? I don't even..."

"Again, Shepard, a little bit more respect towards your commanding officers would be appreciated," Hackett reminds her. "Also, what the hell are you talking about?"

"Err... it's kind of been a bad day, admirals," Shepard says guiltily. "Or bad couple of days, really. The reasons were in my report, which I'm sure you've read, otherwise I would be very, very peeved for spending an hour on that shitty piece of paperwork... sir."

"Admiral Hackett, I believe we should cut Shepard a little slack," Anderson finally suggests. "What happened between her and Major Alenko... I don't even want to think about it."

"It must have been difficult, yes. We are trying to build a complete picture of what actually happened, but Major Alenko's own report is the most damning," Hackett admits. "The other reports seek to find excuses for his actions."

"Don't be too hard on him, sir," Morgan says earnestly. "I... I'm even thinking about offering him a spot on the Normandy, after the worst of it has blown over. I can't have it end like this, I want to give him another chance to prove himself, to redeem himself."

"That is... very magnanimous of you, Shepard," Hackett sounds surprised. "Very well, I will leave this up to your discretion. If you do not believe that further disciplinary action is necessary, then I will sweep the whole incident under the rug."

"That's how I prefer it," Shepard nods. "Are there any other news you would like to share with me, Admiral?"

"This attack has increased the support for building the Crucible from the Council races. It appears that they recognize the urgency of finishing this super-weapon as quickly as possible," Hackett explains. "Our estimates suggest that we've completed nearly 50% of the known work."

"That's great!" Shepard exclaims, before cutting her euphoria short. "Except that we still don't know how it works, or where to get this Catalyst."

"Our scientists are starting to form solid theories on how to operate it, Shepard. We'll get it done, don't worry," Hackett reassures her. "It would appear there are different ways to configure the Crucible, but it is too early to tell exactly what each configuration is intended for."

"I guess you keep building and looking for answers, while I keep trying to track down this Catalyst," Shepard says. "And Anderson keeps fighting the desperate struggle so that there's still an Earth left to return to."

"We'll make sure of it, Shepard," Anderson nods, smiling. "The gods of war have not given up on us yet."

"And now, Commander, return to your bed immediately and get six hours on uninterrupted sleep," Hackett tells her firmly. "And that is an order, soldier!"


	81. New Leads, New Opportunities

_A/N: Oh dear, it's another transitional chapter. But it has some Liara fluff, so I think you'll forgive me for it. And in case you were wondering, yes, next chapter will have a certain game of chess. _

**Chapter 80 - New Leads, New Opportunities**

The next morning, Commander Morgan Shepard takes her crammed breakfast tray with her to the medbay, hoping to have a hearty meal together with her favorite asari, but upon entering, she finds Liara already chomping down some of that disgusting asari seafood that she loves so much. "I see Karin is spoiling you," she smiles, looking at Dr. Chakwas, who simply rolls her eyes in reply. "I thought I'd bring food for both of us, there's no way that I'll be able to finish all this by myself."

"Thank you, Commander, I have not managed to have my breakfast yet, so I believe I will make good on your offer," Chakwas smiles, coming to her aid.

"How is our adorable patient doing this morning?" Shepard asks of Chakwas, mentally chuckling at the affronted look on Liara's face for being ignored.

"Remarkably well," Chakwas admits, smearing some of the supposedly-cherry flavored near-jam on her hardly-a-toast. "There were no fractures sustained with the injury, the surgery repaired whatever damage was done to the internal organs, and soft tissue regeneration is trivial for modern medicine. I should be able to clear Dr. T'Soni for ground missions in... I would say three days."

"Let's make it two, Dr. Chakwas," Liara suggests, giving the good doctor a pleading stare.

"Fine, two days, but only because you would not have listened to me anyway," Chakwas grins, but then turns serious just as quickly. "I just can't believe that Kaidan would do something like this," she says, shaking her head.

"It was a... misunderstanding," Liara says softly. "I do not blame Kaidan for what he did. In fact, I hoped to suggest that we offer him place with us on the Normandy."

"I've been thinking about that, yes," Morgan nods. "And Liara is right, we should not be so hard on Kaidan. He didn't actually mean to shoot Liara, he was about to shoot me!"

"And that makes everything alright?" Chakwas wonders. "You are being far too forgiving. And in your case, Commander, far too flippant."

"Aww, but Karin, haven't you noticed that I piss people off all the time?" Shepard asks with that irrepressible grin of hers. "It's a completely understandable reaction towards me!"

"Uh-huh," Liara shakes her head.

"I thought you would agree," Shepard smiles. "Say, Liara, I ran into an old friend yesterday. Someone you might remember."

"Balak? Oh, I know all about that," Liara replies, then realizes what she has said and shuts up, but it is too late.

"So you did sneak away to your quarters after I dragged you back here once already?" Morgan glares at her, before turning to Chakwas. "Doctor, I think what we have here is an extremely disobedient patient."

"I see," Chakwas approaches Liara, looking stern and reprimanding, before reaching down and picking something up from the asari's breakfast tray, shrugging off Liara's protest. "That means no dessert for you, young lady," she says, carrying the plate away, ignoring the sulking asari.

"He told me some very interesting things before we staged our little shootout," Shepard says. "Remember you mentioned something called the Leviathan of Dis in your information broker files?"

"Some salarian fringe scientists speculated that it was a corpse of a massive Reaper capitol ship, but this theory has always been suppressed by official sources," Liara nods.

"Well, what do you know, it **was** a Reaper corpse, after all," Shepard states. "The batarians yoinked it from under everyone's noses from Hades Gamma and took it to... _study_."

"Goddess..." Liara pales with realization. "They would have become indoctrinated... all of them!"

"That's exactly what happened, and why the batarian worlds fell so quickly," Shepard nods. "Those poor bastards had no clue about indoctrination and its effects. In the end, it even makes me a little sorry for what happened to them. Their leaders dug graves for their entire race..."

"There might not be enough of them left to recover, even if we win this war, I agree," Liara says glumly. "But if we don't hurry up, the same might be true of our people, Morgan. We need to end this soon, my projections show Thessia falling in less than a month at the rate we are losing ground."

Morgan feels her heart sinking at Liara's words. "Yeah... unfortunately I have no clue where to look for this Catalyst."

"There is another thing that I have to speak to you about," Liara says. "Something came in from the asari High Command... however, it is rather confidential, so..." she gives a shy sidelong stare at Dr. Chakwas, looking guilty for trying to chase the doctor out of her own medbay.

"I'm going, I'm going," Karin chuckles, as she gets up to leave. "Wouldn't dream to keep you lovebirds from sharing your secrets!"

"Thanks, Karin," Shepard says gratefully as the doctor leaves, before turning back to Liara. "Yes, Tevos told me there might be something we should look into. I'm guessing it was Aethyta who thought of passing this to you?"

"That would be a safe assumption," Liara nods. "I do not think the others would be so keen to involve someone of as questionable repute as myself. The asari High Command have sent several commando teams to investigate a distress call from Mesana System in the Nimbus Cluster, but none have returned."

"I imagine Aethyta thinks that we could score some points with the asari leadership if we took up the initiative upon ourselves to investigate," Shepard muses. "And you know what... I think she might be right. We'll do it!"

"I'm pleased you agree. I would like to accompany you on the ground mission, but I would also not want you to delay because of me being stuck in the medbay," Liara says.

"It can wait a day or two, I'm sure," Shepard shrugs. "Have I ever told you how awesome your dad is? She'll make an amazing father-in-law, too."

Liara smiles softly. "Yes, she is... certainly special."

"So, considering you probably spent at least an hour reading the Shadow Broker feeds..."

"Uh... four hours..." Liara admits with her eyes downcast, as Shepard's mouth hangs wide open in dismay. "And... I probably shouldn't mention this... but after that I spent a few hours on the Crucible plans... but I did solve several important equations!"

"Liara!" Shepard raises her voice at her lover. "That is just... too irresponsible even for you! I'm going to have to tie you to the bed!"

"Hmm, that seems to hold a lot of potential, considering what I have read about preferences of some humans..." Liara replies, Shepard feeling her cheeks grow warm from the implication.

"Don't even try to distract me with temptation, young lady," she admonishes Liara. "Now, you're going to stay in bed for the rest of the day, and you are going to get a lot of rest! Seriously, Liara... I want you to get back to full health as quickly as possible. I need you by my side, you know that."

Liara actually looks guilty now. "I'm sorry, I... I just had fallen so far behind, I was simply unable to stay away from my other duties. Now that I have caught up with the Broker feeds... which, incidentally, contain the same depressing news as before, only becoming increasingly worse... I think I will be able to keep myself from sneaking out of the medbay."

"That is good. That's what I like to hear," Morgan stands next to the asari's bed, leaning down, gently cupping Liara's cheek with her hand before her lips descend to claim Liara's in a heated, needy kiss, her hand slowly moving to caress the asari's crest, hearing Liara softly moaning in her mouth, her arms reaching out to wrap around Morgan's waist, pulling her down on the bed, firmly pressed against Liara's body, shaking with need and desire. However, despite wishing nothing else but to continue, Morgan pulls away a while later.

"See, this is why you need to be a good girl and recover swiftly, my love," she says teasingly, watching Liara's slightly glazed eyes staring at her in disbelief, the asari's chest rising and falling powerfully with the increase of her breathing. With sheer force of will, Shepard pulls herself away from Liara and walks towards the medbay doors. "Perhaps we can continue from where we left off later tonight..."

* * *

Specialist Samantha Traynor tracks her down soon after Shepard has parted with Liara in the medbay, claiming she has important information to share with Morgan. "Commander, I realize there's a lot going on right now," Samantha starts, as soon as Shepard approaches her at the CIC. _Boy, you're not wrong there, Traynor._ "Still, I believe I have found something you should see."

"Alright, hit me," Shepard says.

"I have intel on a group of Cerberus scientists that have cut ties and fled," Traynor explains. "Perhaps they finally realized they were on the wrong side. We don't know what they were researching, but they were amongst the Illusive Man's top scientists. They could help us build the Crucible."

"Yeah, he's been into studying Reaper and Prothean tech, so I'm sure they'd be of huge help," Shepard nods. _Unless they're indoctrinated. It only takes one sleeper agent to betray the entire Crucible project and doom the galaxy. Hackett will need to be extremely cautious with these people._

"I hoped you would agree. That is why I have been monitoring Cerberus communications," Traynor says, looking a little pleased with herself. "I've charted signal frequency from various Cerberus cells by location and cross-referenced known ship movements..."

Shepard interrupts her patiently. "I'm sorry, Traynor, but do you have the location or not? The techno-babble is utterly and completely lost on me."

"I believe I have," Traynor nods, a little disappointed that Shepard does not appreciate the amazing intricacies of her work. "My research has led me to a nearly forgotten garden world of Gellix in the Arrae System, Minos Wasteland."

"Good job, Sam, we'll take care of it," Shepard smiles, Traynor looking exhilarated from the praise. _Perhaps it's time to split our forces again. I promised Liara to look into those asari concerns, and while we do that, the others could help out those Cerberus scientists... hopefully it's not all just a ruse to lead Cerberus to the Crucible... _

"Uh... Commander, umm, if I may speak..." Traynor quickly inserts, as Shepard is about to depart. "I... I just wanted to remind you that the offer for a game of chess still stands... after what happened on the Citadel, I'm sure that... we all could do with little something to take our minds off things."

Shepard thinks for a while, pondering whether it would be wise to accept the invitation, but then deciding that refusing outright would be undeservedly rude towards Samantha. "Sure, Traynor. We'll be departing the Citadel soon and we should have more time then. I'll give you a shout on the comms, alright?"

"That sounds perfect, Commander!" Samantha grins broadly.

* * *

Shepard runs into the group of Garrus, James and Javik in the mess hall, the three of them engaged in a boisterous banter, filled with plenty of bickering and tales blown out of proportion for the sole purpose to impress each other in a manly way. "Ah, wonderful. I was hoping to run into all of you," Morgan interrupts their heated debates. "I've got a job for you. While Liara, EDI and myself will look into some asari concerns, Normandy will take you to Minos Wasteland. I'll need you to extract some ex-Cerberus scientists from Gellix and send them to work on the Crucible. Garrus, you'll be in charge."

"Of course, Shepard," the turian nods. "I hope this is wise. I'm sure you realize that they could be indoctrinated."

"Hackett will keep them under tight watch, do not worry," Shepard nods.

"These traitors do not deserve a second chance," Javik adds, rather predictably. "They are the worst form of enemy. In our cycle, we would remove their limbs one by one and offer them a choice to eat their own flesh or starve."

"That's cute, but don't even think of applying this kind of treatment to those scientists," Shepard warns him in no uncertain terms. "We need the aid of everyone who have knowledge of Prothean or Reaper tech like these researchers."

"After what happened on the Citadel, I don't feel very merciful towards Cerberus, Lola," James says, not looking particularly pleased. "Just... seems to have taken these folk a bit too long to realize they're on the wrong side here..."

"I guess so, but it's better to develop conscience later than never," Shepard shrugs. "Though I do know what you mean, what happened on the Citadel... you'd hope that it would maybe make more people reconsider their allegiances, but then again, we also know that Cerberus aren't really bothering with recruiting. They just kidnap people and indoctrinate them. We're fighting fleshy robots, not fellow human beings."

"I wonder what was Udina thinking when he sided with them," Garrus ponders. "Even if by some twisted logic he figured out he was doing what's best for the humanity... even if he was in the dark about some of the recent practices of Cerberus, their reputation alone should have been a big warning sign. There's just... no excuse!"

"Yeah... always thought Udina was a dirty bastard," James agrees. "But never thought he could be this rotten... Lola, I just want you to know, I have a new 'shoot first, ask questions later' policy when it comes to politicians."

"Oh great, just when I have finally have got the Council on our side," Shepard sighs theatrically. "At least promise you won't shoot them!"

"Your politician deserved far worse than a bullet," Javik says angrily. "And so did the other human who stood in your way. Leaving him alive was a mistake. There is only one enemy in this war, the Reapers. No others will be tolerated."

_Heh, he'll be so pleased if Kaidan ends up joining us on the Normandy,_ Shepard thinks as Garrus speaks up, giving Javik a condescending glare. "I guess you have never been in a situation where you had a friend at your gunpoint. I wonder, could it have something to do with the fact that you have no friends?"

"And I told you that I am not here to make friends, turian," Javik retorts, then looking up at Shepard. "Commander, I would like to visit the Citadel again at some later point. When it is no longer infested with traitors."

"I'm sure we'll be coming back more than once, Prothy," Shepard replies, Garrus and James both smirking at the nickname and further fuelling Javik's incensed state. "Now if there's nothing else, Traynor will provide all the relevant mission data before you reach your destination," she says, looking at Garrus in particular, still a little worried about his state of mind after the encounter with Udina and Kaidan, but the turian appears to have recovered.

"Everything is fine, Shepard," Garrus replies, as if sensing the concern in her eyes. "It will be even better once we're back in action, with some legitimate targets to shoot at."

"Oh yeah, Lola, there is something, if you have a bit of time?" James pops a question, a little unexpectedly. Shepard nods. "It's a bit... private. Could we step aside?"

"Sure, James," she replies, allowing Vega to lead her down the empty hallway stretching towards the forward batteries, otherwise known as 'The Lair of the Garrus'. "What is it, James?"

James appears strangely nervous and indecisive. "Just wanted to get your honest opinion on something, Lola," he finally says. "What did you do after they asked you to join the N7 program? Was it a no-brainer for you, or did you think about it before accepting?"

Shepard ponders the answer for a while, trying to remember just what she had been thinking at that moment, it seems like several lifetimes ago. "It's a huge commitment, James," she finally replies. "But what sort of a soldier would I be to go through all that training and then chicken out at the last hurdle? I had been working towards that dream for many years. It was a no-brainer for me, yes. Why are you asking?"

"Well..." James starts pacing back and forth. "Even with all the shit that's going on, somebody, somewhere, managed to track me down and forward an N7 commendation. It's dated the same day the Reapers attacked Earth."

"Talk about a kick in the balls," Shepard shakes her head. "I thought that the Alliance had thrown you out to sleep in the doghouse. Maybe when the shit hit the fan, they realized that people like you will be needed to stop the Reapers, huh? Just like I went from being accused of genocide to the hero who everyone expects will save the galaxy."

"Yeah, don't know what to think about it all," James says. "Or does it even have a point, I mean, there won't be a N7 program if we don't win this war. Just... don't know if I'm deserving of this. Last time I had command, I lost almost everyone. And now they want to promote me? Don't know if I'm ready to lead again, have that kind of responsibility."

"The operation on Fehl Prime that you mentioned, right?" Shepard asks, receiving a nod in response. "I've heard about it, and not just your version of it, James. The other reports actually praise your actions, none are as harsh towards you as your own retelling of the events. It seems to me that you were placed in a very tough position and had to make a difficult decision. I've taken many such decisions, as I'm sure you know, and I know how the weight of these decisions can... linger, stay with you and drag you down..."

"And did you know that would be expected of you before joined the N7?"

"Yeah. That's why I was asked. And that's probably one of the reasons why they're asking you," Shepard replies. "James, there's not a single N7 that hasn't sacrificed, either themselves or their soldiers at some point. Vega, this is the Alliance telling you that you're a damn good soldier. And I agree. Don't waste this opportunity."

"Alright, I'll think about it. Seriously," James nods. "Thanks for the talk, Lola. Think I better get back to my hangar now. _Gracias._"

"Anytime, James," she says, watching the broad-shouldered lieutenant walk away. "Anytime..."


	82. Queen's Gambit Declined

**Chapter 81 - Queen's Gambit Declined**

All the reports have been filed, the rounds have been made, the crew has been spoken to, and a brief visit to the medbay had revealed that Liara is fast asleep in fortifying slumber, as Normandy slowly leaves its docking bay on the Citadel and speeds towards the mass relay. Commander Morgan Shepard straightens her back in the chair, sighs and reaches for the intercom. "Sam?" she speaks, awaiting Traynor's swift confirmation. "Come on up. I should have a few hours free. And bring your famous chessboard with you."

Traynor arrives not even thirty seconds later, looking flushed and terribly nervous. "Your cabin is gorgeous," she gushes, looking around wide-eyed. "I've seen apartments smaller than this."

"Don't tell me that you didn't sneak up here to take a peek during the retrofits," Shepard gives her an inquisitive glance.

"Oh no... no, I was never going to risk my place on the Normandy by sticking my nose somewhere where it didn't belong!" Samantha looks horrified at the thought. Much to Shepard's surprise, she actually decides to step into the bathroom. "Oh... an actual shower! The faucets in the women's bathroom are crap, by the way," she adds with a wink.

"Something should be done about that, I'm sure," Shepard says, trying to guess Traynor's intent. _Surely she doesn't expect me to invite her to have shower up here, in my quarters? I guess it would give her opportunities to get nude and all soaped up, with rivulets of water streaming down her breasts... yeah, I don't really think so. _

"So... are you in a mood to play, Commander?" Samantha eventually asks, when an invitation for a nudie-shower romp isn't forthcoming.

"As long as we're still talking about chess, sure," Shepard smiles, pointing at the sofa and Traynor quickly takes a seat, clearing the nearby table from empty glasses and discarded datapads to free some space.

"I bought a board on the Citadel," she says. "GUI interface, not nearly as much fun as when playing with real pieces... like I said, there's nothing like the feeling of having something solid in your hands..."

_Gods, for someone with such innocent looking face, this girl is loaded with innuendoes._ "I'm sure we'll do fine with the GUI interface, just set us up," she urges Traynor.

"Very well..." Traynor fiddles with her omni-tool, summoning a stylized representation of a chessboard before them. "I think it's only fair if you get to choose, Commander... black or white?"

"I'll go with black, just to be unorthodox," Shepard chuckles.

"Really, Commander, I don't need any extra help," Traynor shakes her head. "I do reasonably well against EDI and her quantum computing, so you're just digging your own grave here!"

"Ha, don't count your chickens before they have hatched, or whatever that proverb was," Shepard rubs her hands in anticipation. "Alright, let's get this show on the road!"

The first few moves are exchanged, pawns moved, and she realizes the beginning that Traynor has chosen, Queen's Gambit. _Intentional? She might be looking to tell me something..._ She moves her own pawn to E6, giving Traynor a meaningful stare. "Sorry, Samantha... but I must decline your Queen's Gambit," she says.

There is only a barely perceptible twitch in Sam's cheeks, a little shake of her hands, as the young Comm Specialist realizes that Shepard's words refer to more than just this chess game, but she recovers quickly, continuing to play the game as if nothing had happened. However, her next few choices of moves are far from ideal, even Shepard is able to see that, Traynor's thoughts clearly elsewhere.

While feeling a little guilty for using Traynor's distracted state to her advantage, Shepard decides to go on the offensive, launching her kingside pawns into a brave attack that succeeds in trapping Traynor's dark-square bishop. Massive melee erupts in the middle of the board as figures fall left and right, and when they recount their losses and gains, Shepard is surprised to find herself a bishop to the good, albeit in exchange for three pawns and completely exposed king, the patriarch having been forced to wander to a rather unsafe part of the board, losing the opportunity to hide behind the still intact wall of pawns on the queenside.

"What just happened there?" Shepard blinks, not entirely sure how she has ended up with the slim advantage.

"I think I... might have made an oversight," Traynor admits, looking a little peeved. "But this is not over yet!" she adds with renewed determination, calling in her queen and starting to harass Morgan's poor, exposed king, while in the meantime hiding her own patriarch from Shepard's attacks by executing kingside castling.

Morgan isn't really sure how she should go about pressing her advantage home, but she does her best to bring her pieces into play to defend her king, while trying her utmost to force the exchange of Traynor's more active pieces. She actually starts to get confident about her chances after forcing Samantha into exchanging the queens, but then gets confused in the endgame, getting fooled into the threefold repetition, having to settle for a draw that restores some smugness to Samantha's grin.

"Bah," Shepard complains. "I had you there. Still, you have to admit, that wasn't too bad for someone who has only ever played against themselves for an opponent."

"Point taken, Commander," Samantha nods. "That was fairly impressive, indeed. You are a woman of surprises and many talents, Shepard."

"Yes, EDI also saw the potential of a stand-up comedian in me," Shepard grumbles.

"Ha!" Traynor bursts into laughter. "But Commander, we cannot call this game night to an end until we have settled who is the ultimate victor. I insist on another match!"

"Fair enough, Traynor, fair enough," Shepard raises her hands in acceptance, watching Samantha fiddling with the omni-tool and resetting the board, swapping the grid around to give Shepard control of the white pieces. "Okay, now that I'm white, you have no hope, Traynor," she chuckles, even knowing that she is probably going to be beaten convincingly, now that Traynor's focus is back.

Her prediction has proved very accurate, as she stands in her quarters all alone an hour later, Traynor having just departed as a glorious victor, smiling even if the game night probably hadn't turned out as she had hoped, finding herself naked in the Commander's bed.

She reaches out and contacts Joker first to find out their ETA to the system indicated by the asari distress signal. Apparently, their target has been since narrowed down to the planet of Lesuss that Shepard has no knowledge of, but she expects Liara to bring her up to speed when they get there, in approximately eight hours.

Shepard contacts Dr. Chakwas after that, hoping to learn that Liara is awake and doing well, but Karin leaves her partially disappointed. "I'm sorry Shepard, but she woke up an hour ago. After I brought her something to eat, she still felt exhausted and agreed to go back to sleep. I do not think it would be prudent to wake her, especially if your intention is to engage in something that would probably leave her even more exhausted."

"Ugh... you just had to add that, didn't you? But I suppose you are right," Morgan grudgingly agrees, their little exchange with Liara earlier having filled her with longing for some quality time together with her bondmate, but despite her disappointment, she knows that Liara's recovery is far more important.

"The good news is that all the scans confirm complete recovery," Chakwas continues. "I can clear Liara for duty as soon as we arrive at our destination."

"Now that is excellent news indeed," Shepard smiles. "You know, Karin, I'm going to use these eight hours to get some shuteye myself. Something tells me that we're going to have less and less opportunities for uninterrupted sleep as this bloody war keeps heating up..."

* * *

"Alright, Liara, hit us with all the intel you've got," Shepard says, looking at her bondmate as they both sit in the cargo space of the Kodiak, EDI piloting the shuttle as Normandy has already left the Mesana System, on its way to the planet Gellix.

"Very well," Liara nods. "The asari High Command has always been quiet about the garden world of Lesuss. I suspected some kind of secret scientific facilities or sensitive military targets, but the reality is quite different. This place is not spoken of because it houses an Ardat-Yakshi monastery. Which was also the origin of the distress signal."

"That's... worrying," Shepard says quietly, the memories of Samara and Morinth coming back in a flood, reminding Morgan of her failure to help the justicar.

"You're not asking me what the Ardat-Yakshi are, so I assume you know," Liara says. "Or what they can be, if they do not submit to peaceful and supervised existence in what is effectively a comfortable prison for life."

"I have collected considerable amount of information regarding the Ardat-Yakshi," EDI replies from the pilot's seat. "Even dismissing the most outrageous tales as urban legends, these genetically defective asari pose considerable danger."

"Samara was tracking one of them, when I recruited her for our mission against the Collectors," Shepard confesses. "Ultimately, she failed to capture the Ardat-Yakshi... Morinth, she was Samara's own daughter. I believe this failure contributed to her death during the suicide mission."

"You can't know that," Liara tells her softly. "And these Ardat-Yakshi are nothing like this Morinth. They have isolated themselves to avoid the temptation of using their terrible gift. But... if the monastery's security has been compromised... we cannot rule anything out, Shepard. The commandos sent there never reported back."

"So we are heading to face something dangerous enough to wipe out several squads of asari commandos?" Shepard asks, shaking her head with worry. "Alright. Just making sure I got that right. No problem there," she turns her head away, starting to whistle a deceptively merry tune.

"I have calculated the estimates of this mission being successful, based on the new data provided by Dr. T'Soni," EDI pipes up again. "Would you like to hear them, Shepard?"

"NO!" Shepard exclaims quickly. "No... I... I think I'll settle with ignorance being a bliss on this occasion."

"The commandos were authorized to purge the facility, in case the Ardat-Yakshi had broken loose," Liara continues. "Which means they would have brought plenty of explosives. The High Command does not want to risk a single Ardat-Yakshi escaping the monastery."

"So what, they expect us to blow up a few asari maidens because they could potentially become like Morinth?" Shepard asks, feeling a little squeamish at the thought. "I want to first see for myself what's going on down there, before I commit to anything. Besides, I doubt they will be able to harm us, we certainly do not intend to have sex with any of them." She then grins, looking at EDI in the pilot's seat. "Unless EDI has been making some plans..."

"Despite Dr. T'Soni being irritatingly tight-lipped about asari reproduction processes, my extranet searches imply that a synthetic like myself would not be able to participate in asari mind meld," EDI replies, completely seriously. "So, I have not been making any plans, Commander."

"But I do agree with you, Morgan," Liara speaks up. "Simply deploying explosives before making sure that it wasn't the Ardat-Yakshi themselves who sent the distress call... would be wrong."

"Exactly my thoughts," Shepard nods, before picking up a datapad and quickly going over a dossier forwarded to her by Admiral Hackett. "Been reading more about that Cerberus assassin and I'm starting to figure maybe I shouldn't underestimate this idiot completely. Here, take a look at this. Maybe you can use your resources to find out more about the guy."

"Kai Leng? Sounds very familiar, I think there is something on him in my information broker files... is he our assassin?" Liara asks, Shepard giving an affirmative nod in reply. "Let me see, he enlisted the same year as you did."

"Hopefully that's where the similarities end," Shepard mutters. "While I was bleeding out during the Skyllian Blitz, Clown Leng was stabbing some random krogan in a Citadel bar."

"You even received your N7 designation the same year as he did," Liara notes with some surprise.

"Yes, I noticed, but I never ran into anyone like him, not on Rio, nor on Arcturus," Shepard replies. "I would certainly have remembered meeting someone with a frigging sword!"

"I do not like what Anderson writes about Leng's cybernetic implants," Liara looks concerned. "I agree that he could prove to be a dangerous foe, Morgan. His kinetic shields were far more powerful than my biotic barriers, which is alarming. He might prove difficult to kill."

"Dr. T'Soni correctly estimates the threat that this assassin poses," EDI voices her agreement. "But Shepard, if you would ever decide that wielding a sword on ground missions would be a good idea, I might just forget to recycle oxygen in your quarters on the Normandy."

Shepard can't help but laugh at that. "You can't imagine how relieved I am to hear that, EDI..."

* * *

Garrus winces, looking outside the shuttle window and seeing the planet below them growing larger, encased in white crust of snow and ice, painfully reminding him of Noveria. _I wonder if I could mutiny if Shepard sends me to another one of these ice holes,_ he thinks bitterly, barely aware of Javik and James bickering about something, trying to drag the reluctant Cortez into one of their disputes.

"So James," he turns towards the Lieutenant, a little irritated by his boisterous attitude as he keeps constantly provoking Javik. Garrus can understand the temptation, but being in charge of the mission, he cannot help getting annoyed at Vega's behavior. "You never told us just what happened on Benning. There's an ugly rumor going around just how you ended up losing your armor."

This is a sure way to make Lieutenant James Vega shut up, Garrus has discovered it ever since picking the human up on Benning, Vega wearing a makeshift 'suit' cut out from a cardboard box. "You're not going to let that one slide, are you?" Vega sighs. "Wish Lola would have taken me with her and the Doc. You two _compadres_ are totally killing my mojo."

"You are truly naive if you think that Shepard and Liara would not have jumped at the chance to tease you mercilessly about Benning," Garrus laughs.

Javik butts in, nodding his head. "For once the turian is right. Those two have truly mastered the irritating art of pointless conversation."

"At least the company would be far better looking," James flashes one of his irrepressible grins. "Besides, I should have been the one leading this mission. My score of accomplishments is by far more impressive than yours, Vakarian."

"Oh really, and what leads you to that conclusion?" Garrus asks, feeling his professional pride challenged.

"Please, don't tell me that you're going to get them out and take measurements," Cortez groans in the pilot's seat.

"Don't worry, Cortez, once we finish this game, Lieutenant Vega will be feeling very small, deflated and humiliated," Garrus smirks. "Alright, where do I start... back in my C-Sec days, I busted a batarian spy ring that was trying to assassinate a councilor."

"Pah, I fought off dozens of angry batarians on Omega single-handedly," James scoffs. "Used one of them as a landing pad off a three-story jump."

"Right, just warming up. Okay, so I tracked down this guy, Saren. Stopped him from raising a geth army and unleashing the Reapers three years ago," Garrus plays his trump card.

"That doesn't count, you were there with Shepard," James shrugs, still looking annoyingly unimpressed.

"You're right. I was with Shepard. From the very beginning," Garrus adds meaningfully, but James is undeterred.

"That just means you're old!" he exclaims, chuckling.

"In my cycle, trying to pass the achievements of a fellow officer for your own would earn a swift-" Javik tries to join in, but gets rudely interrupted.

"Yes, yes, we know, some kind of brutal punishment again," Garrus sighs, his mood souring quickly. "Right, where were we... oh yes, you ever heard the name Archangel? That was me." James still doesn't look one bit impressed. "For a couple of months, the crime rate on Omega mysteriously dropped while Archangel did a little... 'housecleaning'."

James shrugs again. "So you ran a cleaning service on Omega, Scars? Big deal. Now just listen to this. Back on Fehl Prime, I uncovered a pair of harvesters. Had to kill them all by myself."

"That is almost impressive, human," Javik nods approvingly, much to Garrus' further annoyance.

"I hadn't gotten to the best part yet. They left behind an egg. It hatched, and I trained it to let me fly it," James finishes with a broad grin.

"In my cycle, soldiers who exaggerated their accomplishments were-"

"Oh do SHUT up!" James and Garrus speak as one, then both looking highly affronted about agreeing on something.

"At least we are getting close to our destination," Cortez sighs deeply in the pilot's seat, sounding extremely frustrated. "Perhaps you would like to actually discuss intel relevant to your mission?"

"Yes, we probably should do that," Garrus agrees, suddenly feeling foolish for getting himself involved in the silly shenanigans. _Damn that Vega, it's all his fault, he started it all._ "According to our information, the scientists have settled into one of the many penal colonies on the planet's surface, abandoned by the Alliance seven years ago. We currently have no other intel available..."

"I'm picking up chatter from a Cerberus squad down on the planet's surface," Cortez says quietly. "They are engaging the supply depot of the facility that is our destination. And there appear to be great many other troops on the way..."

"So, the Illusive Man has decided to bring these lost scientists back under his protective wing?" Garrus says, his mandibles twitching in anticipation of battle. ""Well, boys?" he looks at James and Javik. "This mission just got really interesting..."


	83. The Twisted Sister

**Chapter 82 - The Twisted Sister**

"I can't decide which is more unnerving," Shepard says quietly, keeping very close to Liara as they continue to search through the dark halls of the Ardat-Yakshi monastery. "The darkness or those horrible shrieking sounds."

"The shrieking. Definitely the shrieking," Liara replies, just barely keeping her voice even, Shepard now and then sensing the asari shuddering by her side. "I don't want to think what sort of creature could make those sounds."

"I'm afraid I do not have any data that could shed light on the source of the sound, Dr. T'Soni," EDI replies, somewhat unhelpfully. "However, perhaps the corpses directly ahead of us will offer an explanation."

"Corpses, what corpses... oh," Shepard falls silent as Liara directs her flashlight to illuminate the gruesome scene of battle, a fallen asari commando surrounded by five dead Reaper cannibals. "Damn it, so it was the Reapers, after all! The Ardat-Yakshi must have sent the distress beacon themselves."

"Yes, they might be innocent victims in all of this," Liara nods, then cringing as the terrible shrieking noise resounds louder than before, the source now appears to be much closer to them. "I'm not sure why would the Reapers target such a remote place?"

"I doubt we will be very overjoyed once we find out," Shepard mutters at herself, growing increasingly tense from the horrible screaming, and her imagination is working overtime to supply her with vivid images of what creature could be responsible for such infernal noise. None of these images are particularly pleasant or friendly.

Liara is busy checking the omni-tool of the fallen commando. "It seems they were planning to set up a bomb in a place called the Great Hall," the asari says.

"Right. I wonder if they intended to look for survivors, first?" Shepard asks, Liara looking up and shaking her head at Morgan. "Thought so. Charming. Well, we will do that, before setting off the bomb. Don't care if the asari High Command believe that the Ardat-Yakshi need to be eliminated together with the Reapers, just to be on the safe side. We're not going to do that."

"Good," Liara nods. "I do approve. I guess I'm just not a very good asari, am I?"

Shepard is about to reply to that, but gets interrupted by EDI, the synthetic having wandered off somewhere to the side, in the darkness. "Commander, you might be interested to see this. The data terminal here holds several messages you should be aware of."

Liara and Shepard quickly join EDI in the more lavish quarters of obviously someone high in the staff hierarchy here at the monastery. "Matriarch Gallae," Liara reads a plaque on the working desk, nodding at herself. "She would have been the one in charge of this facility."

"The encryption on her personal files was very weak, Commander," EDI explains, allowing Shepard to access the computer console. "Obviously, since the Ardat-Yakshi had limited extranet access and no expertise in hacking, she did not feel the need to protect this information better."

"Let's see what do we have here... the basic set of rules... the daily schedule... boring stuff, what am I looking for, EDI?" Shepard asks.

"The message from Superintendent Jethra, dated six weeks ago," EDI explains. "I believe it involves someone you are familiar with."

Shepard finally finds the relevant message, opening it. It is a warning that Jethra has sent to Matriarch Gallae about an extremely dangerous criminal, wanted for serial murder in over twenty-three systems. Attached are the letters sent by this criminal to her Ardat-Yakshi sisters, who have found shelter in this very monastery. "Gods..." Shepard exclaims, when she realizes the truth. "Morinth... her sisters are here. Samara's two other daughters are here! Oh gods, please, let them be alive and well..."

"This is alarming," Liara says, peeking over Shepard's shoulder. "What does she write?"

"Let's see..." Shepard focuses her attention back to the attached messages, starting to read them. "She wrote to let them know about Samara's death. I wonder if these bastards at least told her daughters that their mother was dead? As for the rest... she wanted to persuade them to escape this place, to join her in freedom. She would have seduced them to her dark ways, of course, but... nonetheless, I feel that she still cared for them, even loved her sisters. Never expected to see this side of a heartless killer."

"A person can be a twisted mass murderer and still care deeply for their family," Liara says. "One does not automatically exclude the other."

"Too true," Shepard nods. "We should hurry, though. If there is a chance to save these girls, Rila and Falere, we must make the best of it. I need to do something to make up for Samara's death..."

"I'm sure it wasn't your fault, Morgan," Liara speaks softly, putting her hand on Shepard's.

"Trust me, babe, when I say that this one was," Shepard replies, then shaking her head and moving onwards, Liara and EDI following closely.

Their path onward leads through several halls and corridors, signs of sporadic battle here and there, mostly the bodies of dead Reapers, but now and then also some of the asari commandos. As they arrive in a wide, beautiful central hall that is almost like a small park with giant ferns and several small trees, Shepard realizes that the horrible screeching noise has finally ceased. However, its absence suddenly feels even more disturbing, as is the complete silence surrounding them now, it makes her think that the creature is no longer making the noise because it has finally located them, quietly waiting for its prey to approach.

Suddenly, the horrendous, deafening screech resounds almost next to them, forcing Shepard and Liara to nearly drop their weapons from the shock. "There!" Shepard points at a platform slightly to their right, stairway from it leading right down to the central hall. On the platform, there stands a creature of nightmares, almost reminding Morgan of ancient Egyptian mummies, slowly shuffling towards them, glowing with powerful biotics. "What the... what the fuck is that?" she manages, taking aim with her sniper rifle, the appearance of their foe unnerving her.

"I don't know, Shepard, but I don't like this," Liara mutters, looking rather disturbed. "Those barriers look difficult to disable," she says, launching one of her warp fields towards the slowly staggering creature, but just as Liara's biotics are about to hit it, the monstrosity suddenly glows brightly and makes a biotic jump several yards forward, then more and more jumps, quickly moving to the ground level and uncomfortably close to them.

"Fuck, that's just unfair!" Shepard swears, as their foe suddenly unleashes a biotic sphere in their direction. "Scatter!" she shouts and they desperately hurry away, but the powerful detonation still causes damage to their shields. The encounter becomes a dangerous battle of attrition, as they are at first completely unaware of the creatures abilities, and thus do not have a ready strategy on how to deal with it. Fortunately, Liara is able to formulate her tactics on the run, realizing that the best time to unleash her warp fields is after the creature has finished her sequence of biotic jumps.

Slowly and unavoidably, they whittle down the creature's barriers and armor, but while being so focused on avoiding its deadly attacks, Morgan completely misses a patrol of Reaper cannibals flooding into the hall from the northern entrance and catching her completely unaware. Her shields quickly fade under their weapons fire and at least couple of shots score hits before she can activate her cloaking, the instant application of medi-gel preventing blood from seeping out and revealing her location.

The disgusting screeching thing is on its last legs, when it finally catches up with EDI after a series of jumps and picks the struggling synthetic off the ground, raising its talons to pierce EDI's chest as if wielding a spear. Fortunately, it is not intelligent enough to realize that its prey is a synthetic with no easily penetrable flesh, and while the thing of horrors manages to leave deep scratches on the AI's platform, it mostly damages its own claw by ineffectively scraping at EDI's armor. It throws EDI to the ground with an angry scream, and the synthetic uses the moment to unleash a plasma charge at the Reaper monstrosity, at the same time as Liara hits it with another warp field and Shepard unleashes a series of shots aimed at the back of the creatures head. It slowly slumps on the ground, leaving them only with the cannibals to overcome, which after dealing with this new horror seems like a trivial task indeed.

"Goddess... what have the Reapers done?" after the battle is over, Morgan finds that Liara has gone completely pale, shaking with rage and disgust. "That... used to be a person. An asari!"

"Dr. T'Soni appears to be correct," EDI agrees. "This new form of Reapers was a mutated shape derived from an asari. I would also propose a theory that this creature could only be created from asari with genetic anomalies similar to the Ardat-Yakshi, otherwise the Reapers would have created an army of them on the occupied asari colonies, and yet this is the first time anyone has encountered a creature such as this."

"That theory seems sound, EDI," Shepard says, then turning to Liara. "I'm sorry for having made jokes about this on Palaven. Gods, this was... disturbing, just so very disturbing..."

"No need to apologize, Morgan, you could not have known," Liara says, still looking shaken as they quickly stride across the hall, suddenly wanting to quickly complete this mission and leave this accursed place.

They open the doors leading out of the central hall to come across a scene of a Reaper cannibal cornering a young and innocent looking asari, trying to protect herself with weak biotics that don't seem to have much of an effect on the Reaper. _They probably would not encourage the Ardat-Yakshi to develop their biotic potential, in fact, they might have actively suppressed it,_ Morgan realizes as Liara quickly throws a singularity on the cannibal and EDI perforates its head with several perfectly accurate shots of her pistol.

"Thank you," the young asari breathes in relief. She looks a little like Shepard remembers Liara during their first meeting on Therum, except that this asari has elaborate, dark facial markings. "I thought it was safe to come out of hiding, but these things are everywhere! You... you are not one of the commandos, are you? No, you are one of those aliens that everybody fears... human, are you not?"

Shepard cannot help but to smile at that. "Yes, I am a human, but you have nothing to fear from me," she says kindly. "My asari friend is not a commando either. And that..." she looks at EDI, wondering how to explain best. "...is just our mobility assistance mech. We have been sent to finish what the commandos started, but unlike them, we wish to search for survivors first."

"Then you must save Rila!" the young asari exclaims. "She is in danger, I just know she is! Oh... why did she choose to follow Morinth to the Great Hall..."

Shepard jerks with sudden alert. "Wait, Morinth? Morinth is here?!" she asks, feeling her head spin with elation. _If she is here, I can fulfill my promise to Samara! I cannot let this opportunity slip by!_ "You are Falere, aren't you?" she asks then, looking at the young asari, who just blinks at her in surprise. "Rila and Morinth are your sisters. And I knew your mother, Samara. She was with me on the mission to stop the Collectors, she died a hero's death in my arms. My name is Commander Shepard."

"Shepard! Yes! Yes... my mother mentioned you in the last message she sent to us!" Falere's eyes widen in realization. "I... I am glad you are here to help, but quickly, we must hurry, Morinth will do something awful to Rila, I am sure of it!"

"Morinth is undoubtedly evil, but I don't think that is what she intends to do, Falere," Shepard says, as they quickly follow the young asari through the monastery halls, wary of ambushes.

"You don't think so?" Falere sounds surprised. "But you must have heard of Morinth from my mother. She is evil beyond redemption! Mother always claimed so!"

"And I am not denying that, she is a heartless killer. However, you probably never knew this because Matriarch Gallae intercepted all her messages, but Morinth wrote to you and Rila constantly," Shepard explains. "I read her letters. She wrote about missing you two horribly, and I got the feeling that her sisters were the only thing in the galaxy she genuinely cared about. I could barely fathom Morinth being capable of such feelings, but apparently she dreamed and hoped to free you from this place, so that you could all be together."

"I... she did? But... we should never leave this monastery, this is the only safe place for us..." Falere shakes her head resolutely. "Anywhere else we would have to live like criminals on the run. No, I... I could not live like that, always worrying that I might give into my dark instincts and follow Morinth into oblivion."

"But we will have to evacuate you and your sister from the monastery," Liara says. "You would not be safe here, and we cannot allow the Reapers to capture you."

"I... I agree," Falere finally nods. "They have been turning my friends into those... into those... banshees!"

"Banshees? That's actually a very appropriate name for those freaks," Shepard adds.

Moments later, a swift elevator ride leads them down to the Great Hall, where at the bottom of a wide set of stairs, they see the massive bomb delivered by the commandos, meant to reduce the monastery into a smoldering crater. There are two asari, crawling on their knees around the bomb, going through the possessions of the fallen commandos in search of something. Both are easy to identify, the young asari in a robe of identical cut to Falere's is her sister Rila, both sisters would look almost like identical twins, if not for Rila's white facial markings, compared to Falere's darker ones. And then there is the other asari, the one that Shepard does recognize, wearing a tantalizingly shape-fitting black suit, it is Morinth, Samara's unruly daughter.

"Rila!" Falere exclaims with fear in her voice. "Get away from her, quickly!"

As Rila raises her head, looking at them confused, Morinth's eyes meet Shepard's and she bolts back in instant understanding. "You, I recognize you! You're that Alliance hero... Shepard, the one my mother traveled with," she speaks, her voice urgent, not sultry like on Omega. "I never did thank you for saving my life at the Afterlife, but... something tells me that you are not here to do the same again."

"Not really," Morgan shakes her head. "Your mother died in my arms, and the last words she heard in this life was my promise to hunt you down, Morinth."

"We don't have time for that now!" Rila exclaims, sounding frustrated, when Falere attempts to pull her away from Morinth's side. "I came here to help Morinth arm that bomb, and I will not allow you to interfere! Our friends here... they have been turned into those terrible Reaper monsters! We must... we must grant them peace in death, their existence in this state is an atrocity!"

"I assume you were looking for a detonator, when we came across you," Liara speaks, approaching to stand at Morgan's side.

"That's right, we thought one of the commandos here would have it, but so far we haven't been able to find it," Rila admits.

Shepard catches Morinth staring intently at Liara, before suddenly taking a few short strides to where Liara's eyes had inadvertently pointed at, bending down and pulling out the small detonator, wedged in between two heavy crates. "There we go," she says, sounding satisfied.

"Hand it over, Morinth," Shepard orders, understandably not trusting the Ardat-Yakshi murderess with tools of mass destruction.

"So, are you offering to stay behind and trigger it?" Morinth stares at her mockingly. "This detonator will only work in limited range."

"She is not lying, Shepard," EDI says, having silently analyzed the bomb mechanism while the others have been bickering.

"What do you propose then, Morinth?" Shepard asks, crossing her arms on her chest, facing down the Ardat-Yakshi.

"I came here for one reason, Shepard. To save my sisters," Morinth replies. "I had hoped that the three of us would escape this place together, but... I realized soon enough that this would not be an option. I could never persuade my sisters to come with me, they would never trust me, and I cannot truly blame them. And now that you are here... you would not allow me to leave this place alive, would you?"

"No, I would not," Shepard says tersely.

"Does your thirst for vengeance demand that you destroy me by your own hand?" Morinth asks, her large, expressive eyes making Shepard wonder if she truly is speaking to a heartless killer, responsible for killing hundreds if not thousands. "Or will you allow me to save my sisters as the last thing that I do in this life?" she asks, gingerly rolling the detonator between her fingers in a way that makes Shepard extremely nervous.

"Can we trust you to do that?" Liara asks suddenly. "Perhaps this is simply a ploy to escape this place?"

"There is only one exit from this floor, the elevator we took to get down here," Falere says thoughtfully. "Morinth may be speaking the truth, for once." As soon as she has finished speaking, they are greeted with a cacophony of shrieks, coming from somewhere uncomfortably close, it sounds as if several of these disgusting banshees are close on this floor.

"You know what I am, Shepard," Morinth says urgently, looking at her. "I crave to seduce you, to Join with you and then leave you a charred, drained husk, that is what I do. What I have done to hundreds. I would do it to your asari, too," she looks at Liara who involuntarily takes a step back. Then Morinth's eyes fall on her sisters and her face changes, expression becoming softer. "But as difficult as it might be to believe, I love my sisters, and I wish to see them safe. It is important to me, now that circumstances have created an opportunity for them to escape this gilded cage. Let me do this for them, please."

"Damn," Shepard curses helplessly. _Well, better Morinth than anyone else here, I guess. And our time is running out, those banshees will arrive shortly. _"Alright, Morinth. EDI, how much time do we need to get back to safety?"

EDI pauses for not more than several seconds, before responding. "At minimum four minutes, Shepard."

"We need to go, those... those creatures will be upon us soon," Rila says, looking at Morinth. "I'm sorry, sister... I wish things would have worked out differently... I wish that you had never escaped this place."

"I regret nothing," Morinth smiles. "The only thing that I ever missed was you, sweet Rila. And Falere, you too."

"You deserve to be punished for your sins, Morinth," Falere says sternly, but then her face softens as well. "But... I will pray for you, sister."

"Thank you, Falere," Morinth says, remaining behind and looking determined as Shepard pulls her sisters away and towards the elevator.

Grimly and without saying a word, they stand in the elevator, setting into a run as soon as the doors open on the upper floor, rushing through the hallways until they finally reach the exit, Shepard and Liara almost forcefully pushing the two young Ardat-Yakshi into the shuttle, both Falere and Rila muttering something about leaving the grounds of the monastery being a sin punishable by death.

"Girls, the Reapers and their invasion are rewriting all the rules in the galaxy," Shepard tells them, as the sisters can't stop fidgeting nervously onboard of the shuttle. "Even if we manage to defeat them, nothing will ever be the same after the war is over, I can safely promise that."

"But... where will you take us?" Rila asks, holding her sister tightly. "Nobody will want to give shelter to Ardat-Yakshi! And without Matriarch Gallae and the rules of the monastery, how can we avoid succumbing to our dark desires?"

"You will survive by being strong and looking out for each other," Liara answers softly. "Your love and support for each other will keep you safe, I know it will. And... perhaps together with Spectre Shepard, we will think of some place for you to find shelter."

"I have an idea, already," Shepard smiles, forcing Liara to look at her curiously. "I'll tell you later, after I've had a talk with a certain... relatively friendly asari."

"Shepard, no respectable asari will agree to harbor two Ardat-Yakshi," Liara shakes her head.

"Does that mean you are not respectable, Dr. T'Soni?" EDI pipes up from the pilot's seat, as the two sisters embrace each other even tighter, but at least they appear less frightened.

"EDI has a point," Shepard chuckles, as the Kodiak shuttle slowly closes in on their designed rendezvous point, settling into a slow drift as they wait for the Normandy to pick them up. "But I guess it's a good thing then that the asari I was thinking of is far from respectable..."


	84. Martyrs In Making

_A/N: The talk with Hackett should provide a hint on how I plan to address the Crucible/Catalyst solution. It's... kind of embarrassingly simple, really. But I figure, sometimes trying to overcomplicate these things can actually be detrimental._

_Also, happy Thanksgiving to all who celebrate that particular holiday. :) I'd celebrate it too if it meant getting a day off work, alas..._

**Chapter 83 - Martyrs In Making **

"So, it's not actually a mission of rescuing scientists," Garrus groans, peering through the scope of his sniper rifle, hoping for another curious Cerberus trooper to poke his head from behind the cover. "It's a mission of rescuing scientists, their spouses, small children, grandparents and assortment of small and useless animals of little nutritional value."

"They're called pets," Vega shrugs, staring across the rooftops, towards the disabled AA guns that they must activate in order to allow the shuttles filled with scientists and their families to escape. "I wouldn't recommend on eating them, Scars."

"I don't think anyone had fish with them," Javik remarks, looking a little glum as he speaks.

"I doubt that," Garrus replies, feeling a shiver run through him from the intense cold. "Spirits, I hate all this snow and ice. Shepard probably knew there would be snow here before she sent me on this mission, didn't she? Damn, sometimes I think that woman is a completely and utterly merciless sadist."

"You don't have much experience with human women, do you, Scars?" Vega chuckles. "They're all merciless and sadistic towards males, it's just in their nature. They make up for it by being drop dead gorgeous, at least. Like this Brynn chick. Don't usually go for the scientist types, but this one I'd hit."

"Humans of both genders seem exceptionally disagreeable and irritating," Javik remarks coolly.

"Now I'm starting to wonder what Prothean women were like," James says thoughtfully. "Probably not exactly enjoyable company, judging by your sour disposition."

"They would have held nothing but deep contempt for you, human," Javik snarls back at Vega.

"For a scientist, she certainly took a long time figuring out that no, Cerberus would probably not have a turian and a Prothean in their ranks, before she even agreed to talk to us," Garrus mutters darkly.

"Hey, we got to kill a dozen more Cerberus goons just to prove ourselves," James grins. "At least it was enjoyable. Gave me plenty of opportunities for a little showboating."

"By that you refer to almost getting killed by a frag grenade, human?" Javik rolls his eyes, all four of them.

"Alright, I think that's enough banter, people," Garrus speaks up, getting tired of the bickering. Combined with the freezing cold, it has all made him one extremely pissed off turian. "I think they've wizened up and dug in. About time, after I sniped like four of them. We'll just have to smoke them out the old fashioned way. Still got grenades, James?"

"You bet!" James grins in anticipation.

"Right," Garrus nods. "Let's show these Cerberus fools the error of their ways. Vega, treat them to some of those grenades. We might even provide covering fire for you."

"How very comforting," James grunts, vaulting over the creates providing them with cover and dashing towards the entrenched positions of Cerberus, keeping in a half-crouch. Two of the troopers react immediately, opening fire at Lieutenant Vega, but exposing themselves by doing so. Garrus immediately picks a target through the scope of his Widow, and the Cerberus trooper collapses behind the cover, new ventilation hole through his helmet. Javik targets the other with his biotics, lifting the helpless victim above the makeshift barricades, then slicing the Cerberus drone with the green beams shooting from his particle rifle.

James does not hesitate, throwing a cluster of frag grenades behind the well defended Cerberus fortifications, and seconds later a shower of body parts erupts from beyond the barricade. They mop up the last pockets of resistance quickly after that, granting swift death to those caught in the grenade explosion, silencing the screams of the dismembered troopers.

Garrus looks at the AA guns, further up on the roof, both towers requiring manual reactivation. His eyes scan the sky worriedly, looking for more Cerberus shuttles arriving, and even if for now everything seems clear, not for a moment does Garrus believe that this peace will last. "Alright, let's get up there and take care of those guns," he says, nodding at James to climb the ladder and reach the guns.

Vega gets up swiftly, but as Javik starts to climb, Garrus hears James calling out his name. The turian quickly looks up... and receives a shower of disgustingly damp snow right in his face, heaps of it falling inside his armor, making him shudder from the unpleasantly cold and wet sensation. "Argh, Vega!" he growls angrily, his mood quickly becoming downright murderous. "You're a dead man!"

"Now, now, Scars, let's not be hasty," James chuckles, though he does sound just a little bit worried, wondering whether he has finally overstepped the line. "Lola would not be happy about something terrible happening to me, _si_?"

"I'm sorely tempted to find out," Garrus snarls, starting to climb up the ladder. "Sick of all these frozen Noveria lookalikes, sick of all this snow and cold and... ugh, let's just toss those scientists in the shuttles and be off this rock..."

* * *

"So... we actually managed to get most of your people out of there alive?" Garrus asks, looking at a very relieved Dr. Brynn Cole, as the last shuttle piloted by one of the scientists takes off. "That's... impressive, considering the amount of forces Cerberus poured into this operation." He takes one last look outside the shuttle window to stare at the landing pad of the facility, Cerberus troopers swarming it like ants.

"The Illusive Man will be furious at the failure to capture a bunch of helpless scientists," James chuckles, sounding greatly pleased. "Whoever was in charge of this operation failed so badly, they probably should not return to Cerberus, they'd just be lined up against the wall and executed."

"I cannot believe the Illusive Man would send so many after us. That just proves his level of determination," Dr. Cole shakes her head. "Where do you plan to take us, Mr. Vakarian?" she asks then.

"An Alliance cruiser is on its way to pick you up," Garrus replies. "I understand that despite having some concerns, Admiral Hackett is willing to offer you a chance to contribute to the Alliance war effort by working against Cerberus and the Reapers. He hopes that you will accept this opportunity."

"Of course," Brynn nods quickly. "My people should be safe in the Alliance custody." Then her brow furrows slightly. "But you mentioned some concerns? I suppose it is understandable considering our previous employer."

"And even more so because you have been handling Collector and Reaper tech, so there is a great risk of indoctrination," Garrus speaks bluntly. "Expect to face some restrictions until the Alliance feel they can be certain of your loyalty."

"I can vouch for my people, I do not believe any of them are indoctrinated," Brynn replies, a little defensively.

"You would never be able to tell, this cycle appear to lack any method to detect them, until they reveal themselves," Javik adds grimly. "Even you could be indoctrinated without even realizing it."

"And Cerberus have been indoctrinating their own people for a while now," James nods.

"Indoctrinating our own? But tech like that is unheard of..." Brynn starts to speak, but then catches herself. "Now wait... all the research we did on the Collector tech, working on what assuredly were shards of a larger project... we were never told the whole picture, but now putting all the pieces of the puzzle together... mine and Horace's research on the Reaper-Collector communications... yes, it all paints a very disturbing picture."

"I'm sure Admiral Hackett will be interested in every bit of information you can share, Dr. Cole," Garrus says. "It might be of great help in dealing with Cerberus. And your experience working with the Collector tech might come in handy with a certain project that the Alliance is working on."

"Turian, it might not be safe to reveal everything," Javik turns towards Garrus, speaking warningly.

"If Hackett wants their help, they would have be told anyway," Garrus shrugs. "The Alliance are constructing a weapon of massive proportions, one that their scientists believe could wipe out the Reapers. Your aid would be welcome."

Brynn's eyes light up with fire immediately, she seems literally electrified by her scientific curiosity and opportunity to contribute to something so important. "Yes, yes, of course we will help! Working on something like that will be like a dream come true for many of us! Most of us truly believed that our work at Cerberus was in the best interests of humanity on the whole... as soon as doubts arose about the intended goals of our research, we immediately started to plan our escape."

Javik snorts at those words. "In my cycle, that was the most common excuse used by trait-" but then he gets interrupted by the butt of James' assault rifle, striking him hard in the shoulder.

"Uh, sorry about that," Vega gives him the most disarming, apologetic smile. "Was trying to settle in more comfortably and the rifle slipped. Accidentally."

"Well, despite what you may think of us, I will always remember what you did for me and my people on this day," Brynn takes Garrus' hand and squeezes it gratefully, her deep brown eyes shining with gratitude as she looks at the turian. "With heroes like you on our side... there is no reason why we should not believe we can end this war..."

* * *

After the Normandy has picked them up from the Mesana System, Shepard wants nothing else but to steal a few hours of nap in her quarters, but as always there are a lot of important issues demanding her immediate attention. Tevos, Anderson and Hackett are all waiting for her to speak with them in the comm room, but Morgan is in no hurry to get there, first helping Liara take Rila and Falere to the XO office. This has actually been Liara's idea to hide the two young Ardat-Yakshi in the sanctity of her quarters, knowing that they would be too naive in the ways of the galaxy to know anything about the Shadow Broker.

Liara stays behind to help Rila and Falere settle into their temporary housing, while Shepard first heads to meet Garrus in the War Room, listening to his colorful summary about the mission on Gellix. "I swear I had no idea the place looks like a cloned Noveria!" she exclaims, feeling a little apologetic after her turian friend has expressed his unhappiness for the umpteenth time.

Still, she is pleased to hear that the mission has been an almost miraculous success. Considering the amount of troops Cerberus had deployed, to escape with most of the scientists alive is an unexpected but welcome surprise, and excellent news for their Crucible plans. As Garrus tells her about the experiments the scientists have been performing, she feels both encouraged about the aid they can provide for the Alliance, but also alarmed about the indoctrination threats, making a mental note to warn Hackett once more to take extreme care with the ex-Cerberus scientists.

She releases Garrus once he has relayed all the relevant details, finally heading to the comm room to first speak with a slightly impatient Tevos, congratulating Morgan on the successful mission, looking relieved after hearing Shepard's lies that all the Ardat-Yakshi as well as the Reaper monstrosities lay dead under the ruins of the monastery. Morgan feels very pleased when the grateful looking Councilor tells her that she is sending one of their most decorated commando squads under command of Captain Coreen Lemaes to Admiral Hackett to use them as he sees fit.

Next, it is Admiral Anderson's turn. "David, this is a surprise," she says. "Didn't expect you to check in so soon after I tore into you about Kai Leng. I read his dossier and I feel I should apologize to you. Though he is still a clown for running around with a sword, I should not underestimate him."

"You should not. And your apology is accepted, Shepard. With such weight of responsibility on your shoulders, you can be forgiven for many worse things," Anderson smiles at her. "I should be thanking you instead, Commander. The news of the turian-krogan alliance have really boosted the spirits and rallied the resistance here on Earth. We're looking to use this momentum to strike back at the Reapers."

"Are you sure that is advisable?" Morgan suddenly feels very concerned. "Help is on its way, David, I would much prefer if you would just focus on survival until we get there..."

"I would agree with you, Shepard, but we feel that no longer is an option," Anderson shakes his head. "There is something big happening in London. Our networks in the UK say that the Reapers have arrived in huge numbers. So far we can only make guesses about their intentions, but I have a bad feeling about this."

"Don't commit too many resources until you know what you're dealing with," Shepard says, even as she realizes that her warnings are completely useless and unnecessary, she is not saying anything that Anderson wouldn't have thought of himself.

"We'll be careful, Commander," Anderson smiles, realizing that she simply is worried for their people back on Earth. "You just keep doing the good work out there, and soon enough we'll be fighting side by side to retake Earth, I know it."

"I pray you are right, David," Shepard nods, managing a nervous smile in reply as the connection gets terminated. She stands still for a long while, gathering herself, trying to sort out the jumbled mess of scattered thoughts floating through her head before she accepts the call from Hackett. "Admiral," she says simply, saluting when she sees Hackett's image appearing before her.

"I understand that a large team of Cerberus scientists have switched sides and are willing to work on the Crucible, Commander?" Hackett speaks, looking impressed. "Excellent job, snatching them from under Cerberus' nose, Shepard."

"They are very experienced in working with Reaper and Collector tech, sir," Shepard says. "However, that also implies elevated indoctrination hazard. Have them watched day and night, Admiral. Considering what is at stake, we will have to sacrifice some of their personal freedoms, and if they are truly committed to helping us, they will agree."

"Security will be tightened even more, Shepard, you can be sure of it," Hackett tells her, nodding in agreement. "I just received their dossiers. Those are some of the brightest minds amongst humanity. Especially snagging Dr. Cole from Cerberus is a real coup. Having her on our team could be a huge win for us. I expect a swift progress in decoding the last of the Crucible blueprints."

"Sounds good to me." _And that will mean one less thing for Liara to do and worry about,_ she adds mentally.

"There is something about the Crucible that I think you deserve to know, Shepard," Hackett then says, a dark shadow suddenly falling over his face.

"Why do I have a feeling that I won't like what you're about to tell me?" Morgan asks, not feeling encouraged by Hackett's expression.

"As our scientists continue to study the blueprints, their understanding of this weapon's capabilities grows," Hackett starts to explain. "They believe that there are several ways to... configure the Crucible, to use layman's terms. Different ways to focus the dark energy that will be discharged by the Prothean weapon. Of course, we cannot be certain that it will actually do what it is believed to do, but at least the Protheans believed that it will."

"Protheans have a decent track record with these things, sir," Shepard says. "If they believed this weapon can wipe out the Reapers, then I believe so as well."

"So far our scientists are certain that they can configure the Crucible to either destroy or... control the Reapers," Hackett says simply, waiting for Morgan to process his statement.

"Control... the Reapers?" Shepard blinks, her eyes widening in shock. "How is such a thing even possible? That is... well, I guess we don't actually know how it is done, we just know that the Protheans believed it would do so," Hackett nods at that, simply waiting for her to stop rambling. "But... but, sir, nobody should have access to that kind of power! To control the Reapers... unfathomable, but whoever would seize this power would rule the galaxy!"

"Yes, tempting as it may sound, it also feels too much like playing with fire. I agree with you, Shepard, which is exactly why I am leaning towards ordering the scientists to set up the Crucible to the other known configuration. One that would destroy the Reapers once and for all."

"That is all we need, sir!" Shepard breaks into a broad, relieved smile. "Well, I suppose we still need the damn Catalyst, but once we have it, we'll be all set... this is good news, Admiral!"

"I had not finished, Shepard," Hackett interrupts her. "There is... a problem with this plan. The scientists have currently been unable to find a way to ensure that the Crucible survives this kind of energy discharge. Unless our research teams manage to find a way to avoid this, current projection is that anyone in the radius of up to two kilometers from the Crucible would be instantly vaporized."

"That's... less good," Shepard says, uncomfortably. "Especially for the one activating it." She stops suddenly, staring at Hackett. "Uh... you're not volunteering me, are you, Admiral?"

"There is no way we can predict how this will play out, Shepard," Hackett shakes his head. "I simply want you to be aware of the consequences, and I wanted to hear your opinion on how to configure the Crucible. Our scientists will continue to look for ways to improve the designs and also explore other configuration options."

"Don't have them waste time with that, sir," Shepard says impulsively. "We have what we need, the option to wipe out the Reapers, we don't need anything else. If it takes a sacrifice, then a sacrifice will be made, sir. We can ensure the safety of the galaxy for the generations to come. There can be no price too high to pay for that."

_And somehow I can just see this decision coming down to me,_ she thinks bitterly. _I always end up in these situations that call for foolish martyrs. But I will do what must be done, pay any price that must be paid. Ah, Liara, my sweetest, it was wonderful to dream._

"I hoped to hear something like that from you, Commander. You continue to be an inspiration for us all, Shepard," Hackett nods at her approvingly. "Perhaps our scientists will render this discussion moot, now that we have a genius like Dr. Cole on our side. Until then, stay strong, Commander." And with that Hackett's image is gone, leaving Morgan standing still in the comm room, frozen with sudden and inescapable conviction that even should they prevail in this war, she will not be there to enjoy the victory.


	85. News From Beyond the Veil

**Chapter 84 - News From Beyond the Veil**

The sight that meets Shepard's eyes as she enters Liara's quarters almost makes her chest burst with overwhelming emotions. Her bondmate is sitting on the side of the bed and talking softly with Rila, perched next to her, while Falere has already tucked herself in under the sheets, occasionally inserting a word or two in the conversation, but starting to quickly drift off to sleep now. The two Ardat-Yakshi appear almost fully comfortable with Liara by now, no longer timid and afraid, not even when they notice Shepard's arrival in their quarters.

_I don't want to lose her, I won't let death part us again,_ a sharp and painful thought strikes Morgan suddenly, as she watches Liara bidding the two other asari goodnight, embracing Rila and Falere in turn, before approaching Shepard, Morgan turning away as she struggles to keep her emotions in check, fearing that her distress would show up in her face. She accepts Liara's hand as the asari leads her out of the XO quarters, trying to keep her voice from breaking as she offers quick parting words to the Ardat-Yakshi sisters.

"You have really managed to hit it off with Samara's girls," Morgan remarks, having recovered slightly on their way towards the elevator.

Liara chuckles in reply. "I guess I have. They are so charmingly innocent, are they not? And the way you call them girls, even if they are both considerably older than I am."

"Sorry, babe, I keep forgetting that you're only 109 and I am literally robbing the cradle," Shepard manages a crooked grin, earning a soft, playful punch in response.

Once up in the captain's quarters, Shepard has to fight her own desires to reject Liara's invitation to take the shower together, claiming that she intends to pass on it altogether, statement that Liara meets with a sigh and roll of the eyes. Once Liara is out of her shower, however, Shepard decides that she has reconsidered and darts for the shower after all, earning a painful smack on the bottom as Liara can't stop herself from venting her frustrations with Morgan's odd behavior.

Liara is still awake when Morgan reappears to her view, mussed dark red hair dripping with water, and the asari observes the show shamelessly as Shepard vigorously rinses herself dry with a towel before slipping under the sheets fully naked, feeling Liara's delightful curves immediately pressing into her as the asari wastes no time to capture Morgan in her embrace.

"I've been meaning to ask you something ever since we got back from Lesuss," Liara confesses, as Morgan quickly and much to her delight discovers that her bondmate is not wearing any irritating and obstructive nightclothes either. "I still do not understand just what happened between you and Morinth on Omega. She thanked you for letting her escape, but I cannot imagine why you would aid her."

"Well, to put it plainly, I simply failed," Morgan replies. "I had too much to drink in combination with Hallex. She must have done something to me as well, because I was like putty in her hands, I felt like I needed to protect her from Samara. I don't know how, but she messed with my head, somehow."

"Ardat-Yakshi can be devious like that. Do not blame yourself for what happened, they can overpower even the most strong-willed amongst us," Liara says softly. "It's hard to imagine that those two sisters sleeping in my quarters have something in common with cold blooded killer like Morinth."

"So, you approve of how I handled things at the monastery?" Shepard asks.

"Yes, I do approve," Liara smiles. "I'm not sure what to think about trusting Rila and Falere in Aria's care, but she might be the only asari who would risk taking them in, and who would understand the risks involved and make sure to take all preparations. Though just how you expect to talk her into this, I don't know, Shepard."

"Yes... could be tricky," Morgan nods in agreement. "We are on good terms though, perhaps we can work something out. I'm just wondering about something... she seems to have some kind of connection with Tevos, so I'm worried that the Councilor might find out about the two sisters."

"There definitely is some link between the two of them, but my agents so far have been unsuccessful in their research. I think you have nothing to fear, though. Aria tries to keep her secrets very safe, even from those very few she allows a little closer."

"Yeah, I think you're right," Morgan says, before softly kissing Liara's brow. "By the way, I hope that blowing up the monastery also means that we won't be seeing any of those horrible mutated asari banshees ever again. Talk about unnerving..."

"I sincerely hope not to see them again, but knowing our luck..."

"So very creepy, and incredibly dangerous too," Shepard sighs. "What else we haven't seen mutated and turned into some kind of horrible monster? Oh, I know, elcor! They could turn them into synthetic-organic elephant tanks that carry a dozen of husks in their belly. Mount some particle ray cannons on their backs and they'd be all set!"

"What about mutated hanar?" Liara asks. "A robotic, armored jelly, fast as the speed of light due to Cerberus implants, carrying twin shotguns in extra appendages added by the Reapers, catching its enemies unawares with a biotic charge..."

"Enough... enough, your imagination has defeated mine!" Shepard laughs, admitting defeat. "In fact, I think my imagination has crawled into a dark corner to sob and sniffle."

"Perhaps you could coax it out of there, so that it helps you to please your long suffering bondmate," Liara says alluringly, her body rubbing against Morgan in a way that makes her momentarily forget how to breathe.

"That should not present a problem," Shepard grins, her head disappearing under the sheets, and shortly after Liara rolls over to lay on her back, allowing Morgan to explore her body. However, when Liara's biotics flare and she feels ready to initiate a meld, Morgan suddenly freezes, looking up at her. "Please, Liara, could we keep things simple tonight with the meld? I'm feeling a bit drained and my head's an unsorted mess, so..."

"Of course, Morgan, you need only to ask," Liara admits graciously, the biotics subsiding a little, though the look in her eyes is one of concern and Shepard realizes well enough that her bondmate will try to get to the bottom of her reluctance. _And I will let her, but tonight I want to keep her away from my worries, my fears and my obligations, I want her to be free from my burdens, at least for a short while. _

Shortly afterwards, the first cries of pleasure escape Liara's lips as Morgan bends to the task of satisfying her bondmate, making her forget to worry as the asari grinds her hips against Shepard's probing hand, feverishly seeking her release, happy for once to be distracted from any dark thoughts that might be plaguing her mind...

* * *

The next morning, Shepard and Liara have their breakfast in the XO quarters, together with Rila and Falere. The two Ardat-Yakshi appear to find it difficult adjusting to not having a strict daily schedule like at the monastery, looking at Liara almost as if expecting her to give them classes on asari art and literature. After the breakfast, Liara magnanimously allows them to use her Shadow Broker resources for extranet access, and Rila and Falere immediately jump to the opportunity to horrify themselves by watching some vids from their homeworld of Thessia.

Seeing that the Ardat-Yakshi no longer require her attention, Liara sits down to browse through the latest Shadow Broker data feeds, while Morgan decides that this might be a good time to go through the messages on her private terminal, unpleasantly surprised about just how many of them have accumulated over the past few days. Most of it is the useless 'increase your sexual prowess' spam, which Morgan sets to swiftly delete.

"Have you spoken to Aria yet?" Liara asks, continuing to send updated orders to her network of agents.

"No, but we'll be on the Citadel in eight hours," Shepard replies. "It just seemed like something better discussed in person. Also more dangerous, but I have complete trust in my irresistible charm and force of personality."

"In that case, I will inform Dr. Chakwas to have the medbay at full readiness," Liara returns, completely deadpan.

Shepard sighs deeply. "You of so little faith. Right, let's see what else is here. Miranda wants to get in touch again, looks like she has found something new about her sister," she says.

"Considering that her father has Cerberus ties, this could be useful," Liara replies. "I urge you to follow up on her request."

"I will, yeah," Shepard nods. "Hmm, a message from Primarch Victus. Volus ambassador Din Korlack is a Cerberus mole? Oh, that doesn't surprise me, that guy was such an ass to me during my first visit to the Citadel. I'm going to check that out, that's for sure. Also... Kaidan has sent messages with heartfelt apologies. Seven of them altogether," she sighs. "I guess I should speak with him as well."

"Are you going to ask him to join us on the Normandy for the next mission?" Liara asks. "Whatever that might be?"

"I was thinking of that, yes," Shepard nods. "Many of the crew will not be happy to have on board someone who shot you and tried to shoot their Commander, so it's going to be hard on him. But, I think it is needed."

"I quite agree," Liara says. "And then hopefully at some point the stream of apologetic messages will cease," she adds, muttering quietly.

"More and more spam, you'd think that the krogan testicle transplant market would collapse after we cured the genophage. I guess not everyone has heard of it yet," Shepard sighs, deleting more messages. "Wait... Takashima, that's one of Hackett's aides, I think? Attached is a comm message intercepted by... the SSV Orizaba? My mom's ship! They're alive!"

"That is wonderful news!" Liara exclaims, rising to quickly embrace Shepard from behind. "I'm so happy for you, Morgan. You mentioned that your mother's ship was trying to track down the Migrant Fleet, didn't you? I wonder if the message might shed information on the quarian situation."

"Let's take a look... hey, it's even addressed to me, it has to be from Tali!" Shepard realizes, her heart skipping from excitement. "Oh... oh, no... no, gods, they really are that stupid..."

"Goddess, they are attacking the geth," Liara says and Morgan can feel her bondmate's hands trembling around her shoulders. "Their timing could not be any worse! Are they completely oblivious to the Reapers tearing up the galaxy?"

"Garrus needs to see this," Morgan rises suddenly, heading out of the XO quarters, Liara hot on her heels.

"I'll go with you," she says, seeing that Rila and Falere are completely distracted by their extranet activities.

They track down Garrus in his usual lair at the forward battery, Shepard wasting no time in delivering the news. "We've found the quarians," she says quickly and Garrus immediately forgets all about calibrations, turning around swiftly, blinking in surprise. "Tali took a big risk to get this message through their self-imposed communications blockade. Their jamming is very effective, if my mother's ship hadn't been in a nearby system, it would have never been intercepted."

"What's this all about, Shepard?" Garrus asks, looking deeply worried. "The Flotilla has always been evasive, but to go to such lengths... what's going on?"

"They've struck the first blow against the geth in the war to retake their homeworld," Liara is the one who delivers the astounding bit of news, watching the turian's mandibles twisting with shock of realization.

"Spirits... are they insane?" he exclaims. "We have to get there, do all that we can to stop this stupidity! I have no love for the geth, and I sympathize with the quarians wanting their homeworld back, but this is not the time!"

"We'll be going there as soon as we've conducted our business on the Citadel," Shepard speaks, ignoring the protests made by Garrus. "No, I'm afraid that the Citadel visit is quite urgent and cannot be ignored."

"Does it have anything to do with the two asari hiding in Liara's quarters?" Garrus asks.

"Partly. I'm not bringing two non-combatants into a warzone, I need to offload them on the Citadel," Shepard explains. "There are several other errands I need to take care of, including something for your own Primarch. It should take a day at most."

"I just hope there's anything left of the Migrant Fleet by the time we reach them," Garrus mutters, looking jittery with worries.

"Tali mentioned you in her message," Shepard smiles at her friend. "She said she hopes that you're with me, and that I'm taking good care of you."

"Well, you're not, you are sending me to disgusting pits like Noveria and Gellix," Garrus does not miss his opportunity to complain. "I am sure that Tali will not be pleased to hear about that, Shepard. Spirits... I just hope she will be alright."

"Tali is very resourceful, Garrus," Liara says softly. "She will be fine. We'll get there in time."

"Yeah, the Admiralty Board may be filled with particularly irritating individuals, but they would not have attacked the geth unless they were really confident about their chances," Shepard says. "We'll get to the bottom of this, Garrus. If necessary, we'll beat the crap out of those stupid admirals until they agree that they should be fighting Reapers, not the geth."

"I hope you're right," Garrus sighs. "Don't take too long on the Citadel, Shepard, or this turian will be a gibbering, nervous wreck by the time we catch up with the Migrant Fleet..."

* * *

Visiting the Huerta Memorial Hospital is the first on Morgan's list of tasks as soon as she steps off the Normandy, having extended shore leave of eight hours for the crew, immediately hearing excited whisperings about meeting in Purgatory echoing throughout the ship. Her path will eventually lead there as well to speak with Aria, but for now she has other priorities.

The doctors and nurses at Huerta Memorial greet her as an old acquaintance, and she sighs, realizing how depressingly often she has had to make her way there as those close to her keep getting thrown in mortal danger. The timing of her arrival could not have been any more perfect as she runs into Kaidan in the exact moment he has finished gathering his things, ready to leave the hospital after receiving a clean bill of health.

"Soldier, I want you to drop those things off at the Normandy immediately and get settled!" she bellows a quick order in a way of greeting, Kaidan almost jumping several feet in air from sudden fright.

"Gods, Shepard..." he puts his hand across his suddenly skipping heart, trying to compose himself. "Commander... I'm so sorry..."

"I know, Kaidan. I am too," she replies simply. "I am partly to blame as well. I could have done more to convince you of where my loyalties lay, I could have put in more effort to make sure that Udina's lies fell on deaf ears. You had reasons to mistrust me, reasons that I did not care enough to disprove and it almost ended in a disaster."

"All that pales in comparison to what I did, Commander. Damn it, Shepard I tried to shoot you! That you are giving me another chance after that, I can scarcely believe it. Why, Shepard? Why?"

"Because I am genuinely sorry for what happened, Kaidan," Shepard says. "After all that we have gone through together, I cannot allow things to end like this between us. There is another reason, too, and that one is less noble and more selfish. If we remain on bad terms, then Udina would have succeeded even in death. I cannot give him this satisfaction."

Kaidan manages a small smile. "That's a very good reason, Shepard. Very well, if you are serious about your offer, then I accept it."

"I am serious. You are already expected aboard the ship, Kaidan, and your quarters in the Starboard Observation have been prepared," Shepard says simply. "You still have seven hours of shore leave should you wish to make any last moment purchases."

"That sounds like a good idea," Kaidan replies, shaking his head and looking at her in admiration. "I still can't believe all that you are doing for me, Commander..."

"It won't be all sunshine and roses, Kaidan," Shepard warns him. "Joker is pretty pissed at you for what happened, and there are others amongst the crew who will probably make your life hard. But I'm sure you can understand that."

"I can understand and deal with it, Commander. Please, Shepard," he says, smiling. "I'm one of the first human biotics. I have dealt with hostility from my peers for many years. For once it will be for a good reason."

"Alright, I'll see you back on the Normandy, Major," they exchange salutes, as Shepard turns to leave, starting to type a short message on her omni-tool to alert Miranda about her arrival on the Citadel and asking her to send coordinates for a meeting. She receives a reply not even a minute later, feeling a little worried while reading Miranda's explanation that a meeting in person would not be advisable at this time, in light of the recent Cerberus coup. She asks Shepard to contact her on a secure channel, preferably from the Spectre office, and Morgan immediately heads there, growing concerned about Lawson's safety.

The Spectre offices are as always completely empty, most operatives stopping by only for very brief stints to receive mission updates and debrief, make use of the secure comm channels or test new weapons and mods in the excellent shooting range. Shepard makes swift use of the comm channels, queuing a call to Miranda, watching the image of her former XO appearing before her eyes, pacing around nervously.

"Ah, Shepard," she speaks, relieved to see Morgan. "Good to see you're all right. According to my intel, you are certainly getting around a lot."

"Good to see you too, Miranda," Shepard nods. "I have to admit I'm a bit worried about you. If things get too hot for you, I just want you to know that you'll always have a place on the Normandy."

"I... thank you, Shepard, but hopefully that will not be necessary. After the coup, I am not trusting C-Sec to care that I am **ex**-Cerberus. And the Illusive Man's agents are growing more and more relentless in their attempts to track me down. Look, Shepard, I don't have much time, but I know what happened to my sister."

"Where is she?"

"I don't know it yet, but my father was definitely involved," Miranda says. "If he has done anything to her, I'll kill him."

"From what you told me, I thought he wants to control her, not to harm her," Shepard muses.

"I don't care, I will kill him regardless," Miranda's face is briefly twisted by anger. "Listen, Shepard, you were right. My intel suggests that my father is working on something very important for the Illusive Man."

Shepard immediately feels alerted. "This could be big, Miranda. We have to act on this, Cerberus is a major threat in this war. Do you have any other specifics, location?"

Miranda hesitates with her reply. "No, nothing conclusive yet... but, Commander... this is something I need to do myself. It's time I stopped running from him."

"Miranda... I realize that taking care of this is important to you personally," Shepard starts to speak slowly, trying to remain patient. "But consider what you are saying. Any major plan by Cerberus could present a big threat to the galaxy. Would you really jeopardize the fate of the galaxy for your need of revenge? If something happens to you, and you do not manage to share your intel with anyone else... if your father and the Illusive Man put their plan in motion and help Reapers win this war... are you willing to take this risk, knowing what is at stake?"

"I... I had not considered it, Shepard," Miranda finally admits. "Damn it. I cannot think straight until I will know Ori is in safety!"

"That's why you should not take such decisions on your own, Miranda," Shepard tells her, speaking softly. "Talk to me. I'm here for you, whenever you need me, okay?"

"Okay, Shepard," Miranda is smiling now, albeit still a little nervously. "I don't know any specifics yet, but when I have them, you will receive the intel as well before I attempt anything."

"I'm glad you agree, Miranda."

"Well, we should wrap this up, Commander. What's next for you?" Miranda asks.

"Right now? A visit to the Purgatory."

"Oh? Business or pleasure?"

"Business first. Then..." Shepard breaks into a huge grin. "Depending on Liara's mood, possibly pleasure..."


	86. One Night In Purgatory

_A/N: Hey guys. Jade asked a question about the Ardat-Yakshi surviving outside the monastery, and I think that it might be helpful to explain my take on it. I couldn't help but notice how similar the A-Y monastery is to Circle of Magi in Dragon Age, and how many similarities are between A-Y and mages. Just like a mage becomes an abomination when a demon possesses them, an Ardat-Yakshi becomes an insatiable killer once they have experienced the thrill. But there are many mages in Thedas that manage to live outside the Circle without falling to corruption, and similarly, I believe that there could be some Ardat-Yakshi who would be capable to do the same._

_Furthermore, I think that Rila and Falere have a few advantages to help them. In my version of the events, after Morinth was discovered to suffer from this terrible condition, Samara probably realized that her other daughters were also A-Y, and quickly had them shipped to the monastery, before they could even experience their first meld or be tempted. Rila and Falere both know that if they would try to meld with someone, they would kill them and then would in all likelihood be killed themselves. They are sweet, young girls who do not wish to harm anyone, not to mention that their biotics and ability to meld is completely untrained, so they would have hard time assaulting someone with forced meld. Maybe only some non-asari who wouldn't know how to block them, but certainly not someone like Aria. And to seduce someone, they would need, time, place, opportunity, and most importantly intent, which they really don't have. _

_So, TL;DR version: Rila and Falere are pretty damn harmless, unless you really want to tempt fate and encourage them. _**  
**

_Now, please enjoy the chapter, and also, enjoy retaking Omega for our lovable Ms. T'Loak. :)  
_

**Chapter 85 - One Night In Purgatory**

"I'm on my way, where are you?" Morgan asks impatiently, having reached Liara over the comms.

"Nearly there," comes the reply. "I think most of the crew will be present tonight."

"Whatever, they won't dare to intrude on our business with Aria," Shepard replies. "Sorry about the delay, by the way. The business with the volus ambassador was more complicated than I believed it would be."

"Oh? Did you run into any difficulties?" Liara asks. "I'm at the entrance, waiting on you."

"He had actually broken his ties with Cerberus, but the turians didn't buy it and placed a hit on him anyway. Had to shoot some mercs to free a very grateful volus," Shepard replies. "Be there in three minutes."

"I assume the mercs gave you little trouble."

"Obviously, and I even got something for this minor inconvenience. Name of a turian colony that Cerberus were about to hit, which Victus will now be able to evacuate or defend, and the volus bombing fleet at my disposal... which probably sounds more impressive than it actually is. But I guess every bit counts."

"I very much agree," Liara says. "I think I can see you now." She takes a few steps towards Morgan and waves her hand, trying to get Shepard's attention. A few moments later, they share a warm embrace before entering the Purgatory together, arms wrapped around each other's waist.

"You were right, I do see a lot of familiar faces here tonight," Shepard remarks, looking around, then directing Liara towards Aria's little private corner where nobody with an ounce of common sense dares to wander uninvited. "But let's take care of business first before we mingle with the others." The Queen of Omega is busy talking with several batarians who are looking a little worse for wear, but she sends them packing as soon as she notices Shepard and Liara approaching, wordlessly motioning for them to take seats at her table.

"What brings you here, Shepard?" Aria asks, unable to hide a hint of curiosity.

"I have a considerable favor to ask of you, Aria," Shepard states honestly.

"Hmm. I don't feel that I owe you anything, Shepard, but there is no harm in listening to what you have to say. Go on."

"We have just returned from a mission to an Ardat-Yakshi monastery that was attacked by Reaper forces. We had no option but to employ a fuckton of explosives to level the place. The official mission report claims that there were no survivors on either side."

"Why do I have a feeling that there is a 'but' incoming?" Aria asks, smirking knowingly.

"Two young asari survived. They are aboard of the Normandy," Shepard says.

Aria shakes her head. "Kill them, kill them quickly, don't let them become a problem."

"I can't do that, Aria. Do you remember the justicar I was hunting the Ardat-Yakshi on Omega with?" The Pirate Queen nods barely perceptibly. "Those two are her daughters. They are completely naive and innocent, oblivious to what life outside their monastery walls is like. They don't deserve death just because they _could_ become heartless killers like some of the Ardat-Yakshi."

"Fine, you don't want to kill them, that's your mistake to make," Aria shrugs. "What does this have to do with me?"

"They need a place to stay, at least for a while, I can't bring them into warzones with the Normandy. I was hoping that you could find a place for them, at least for a while," Shepard says, hoping that Aria won't lash out with a biotic punch just from the mere suggestion.

Instead, Aria gives her the kind of look that seems to be appraising Shepard's sanity, and being skeptical about the results. "You are completely crazy, Shepard. Why would I agree to be a caretaker for two Ardat-Yakshi?" she glares.

"Well, you're aware of how dangerous they can be if they go bad, so I figured you'd do a good job making sure that they don't get any ideas. Like not encouraging them towards sexual proclivity and other forms of debauchery," Shepard shrugs, a little helplessly. "Besides... to be honest, I couldn't think of any other asari who I might possibly talk into something this dangerous."

"I still don't understand what's the upside for me, if I agree to this crazy plan, Shepard," Aria gives her a dubious stare.

"Well, I'd owe you a massive favor that you could cash in at your leisure," Morgan suggests.

"I think we can do even better than that," Liara speaks suddenly, having kept quiet for the entire discussion. "Remember me saying that I know how your daughter Liselle was murdered by Cerberus, and that I did not know the man responsible for slitting her throat?" Aria turns her head to look at Liara, her eyes cold as ice and the glass in her hand looks like it might break from the pressure. "I kept digging, and I now have that information for you, Aria. I am willing to exchange it for the promise that you will take care of Rila and Falere, and that they will not come to harm in your protection, not from you or anyone else."

"Yes, damn it, anything for the name of that bastard," Aria snarls, looking like she might explode from the tension.

"It actually was our friend Kai Leng," Liara says, as the glass shatters in Aria's hand, but she does not even seem to be aware of it. "I will forward my intel to you, so that you can verify for yourself that I am speaking the truth."

"Don't bother. Somehow I always felt he was behind it, I just had a gut feeling," Aria says quietly. "He will not survive our next meeting, that much I promise. Very well, T'Soni, this intel together with owing me a favor... that is an acceptable trade. I will have my people ready a place for your two fugitives, before I pick them off your ship. They better not cause any trouble, Shepard."

"They won't, they're gentle, timid and frightened creatures," Shepard smiles. "Liara and I will hang out here at the Purgatory for a while, but then we'll head back to the ship. You can pick them up in a couple of hours. Oh, and I have another small gift ready for you when you stop by the Normandy."

"Oh?" Aria's painted eyebrows rise in curiosity.

"We were on a mission to Noveria just recently. I thought of you and had my people pick up a box of Noverian rum bottles for you."

Aria suddenly is smiling, shaking Shepard's hand vigorously. "Shepard, my friend, I am starting to feel very good about doing business with you... a box of Noverian rum? Yes, I think I will get along very nicely with those Ardat-Yakshi of yours..."

With that they part, Aria leaving from Purgatory to make all preparations for Rila and Falere, letting Morgan and Liara mingle with the crowds and their numerous crewmates in attendance. "Well, you really came through for me again, Liara," Shepard says, giving her bondmate a grateful stare.

"Thank you, Morgan, I was glad to be of help," Liara smiles back. "Though I am a little concerned about this... unspecified favor that Aria can now demand of you."

"Well... I'll deal with it when it comes up. Unless she asks for a lapdance, I can't do those," Morgan chuckles, winking at Liara. "You'll just have to take that one for the team, babe."

"Me? There's no way I would go along with something like that..." Liara lets out a deep sigh as she playfully elbows Morgan. "That was a bad idea, I just know it. My intel and that crate of rum would have been enough to seal the deal."

"You're probably right, but I just think it's better to have a very grateful Aria T'Loak on our side, so it's fine with me if she perhaps gets more than what was necessary," Morgan replies simply as they make their way towards the bar, seeing James, Joker and Traynor sitting at a table close by and chatting animatedly. Their arrival is greeted with cheers and Liara takes the last free chair, sending Shepard to steal one for herself from the neighboring table.

"So, what's going on here?" Shepard asks, as the ever attentive Lt. Vega quickly orders a couple of drinks for her and Liara.

"Joker's a bit down in the dumps," Traynor explains. "We're giving him relationship advice."

"Completely unwanted and undesired advice, I might add," Joker groans.

"I've been trying to tell the flyboy that if he really fancies his synthetic sex-bot so much, he should just go and tell her that," James chuckles, returning with their drinks, glasses with suspicious pink liquid, decorated with purple and yellow umbrellas. "Samantha is trying to discourage him, but we both think it's because she's sweet on EDI herself."

"That is a complete and utter lie!" Samantha exclaims, blushing furiously.

"Well, since everyone is offering their input, I might just as well ask you too," Joker sighs. "Liara, Commander, what do you think I should do?"

"I can't tell you that, Joker," Liara says simply. "Best I can do is to offer platitudes like 'follow your heart' and the like."

"I just don't see how this could work out, Joker," Shepard shrugs, a little annoyed at having been dragged into this, still feeling a little guilty for discouraging EDI. "I mean, with your bones and her being made from metal, that could be... pretty difficult."

"It doesn't even need to be physical, I might be looking for a deeper connection on intellectual and emotional level," Joker replies defensively.

"Why can't you decide that for yourself then? You seem pretty certain about what you want, anyway," Shepard snaps back. "Stop asking us to make a decision for you, because I'll tell you the same as I told EDI."

"Wait... she asked you the same as I did and you discouraged her?" Joker gives her an accusing stare. "And you didn't tell me? Gee, thanks, some friend you are, Shepard. Right, I'm off to find EDI," he rises from the table swiftly and heads off, leaving the others sitting in uncomfortable silence.

"Sure, now I'm Commander Shepard the Jerk," Morgan sighs deeply. "Why do people ask me these sort of sensitive questions as if they are really interested in an honest opinion? They just want to hear one specific reply, and then they are angry with me when I don't say what they want to hear. Just don't ask then!"

"Perhaps you could try and be a little more evasive when you can't in all honesty give the answer that is expected?" Liara suggests. "That policy has served me well."

"Yeah, but you're smarter than I am," Morgan grins at her bondmate.

"Whoa, would you look at all those tattoos on that girl," their humorous banter is interrupted by Traynor, staring across the hall at one of the more remote tables. "That looks pretty hot..."

"Hey... isn't that..." James starts to speak, but is interrupted by Morgan.

"You are right, that is Jack... studying datapads while in a rowdy, raucous nightclub?" she wonders. "That's just wrong!"

"Jack? You mean the biotic instructor from Grissom Academy?" Traynor blinks in surprise. "I never caught the sight of her on the Normandy, but I never imagined her to look like that!"

"I'm going to have a brief chat with her," Shepard says, getting up from the table, when a sudden idea strikes her. "Say, want me to put in a word for you, Sam?"

"Uh... yes? Yes!" Traynor squeaks, blushing like mad.

_Well, let's hope that Jack is interested and this gets Sam off my tail,_ Shepard smirks at herself, walking across the hall towards Jack's table with the intent to interrupt her old friend's engrossed studies of datapads.

"What the hell is this?" Shepard wastes no time in startling Jack as she approaches the psychotic-biotic. "What do you think you're doing, spoiling everyone's fun by being antisocial in the corner?"

"Ugh... Shepard," Jack glares up at her, then tossing the datapads aside as Shepard takes a seat next to her. "Duty rosters. That's what I do for fun now, apparently."

"How are the kids holding up?" Morgan asks.

"Well, none of them are dead yet, so I guess keeping them to support roles was a good call. Hell, Rodriguez got shot and then nibbled by a husk, and what does she do? Sends me pictures with her scars and asks 'doesn't this look cool?' Good kids, but shit for brains, if you ask me."

"Still... reading duty rosters on your shore leave? What happened, Jack?" Shepard asks, feigning despair theatrically. "Where, oh where did we go wrong?"

"Oh, do shut up, Shepard," Jack smacks her on the shoulder. "We both know this is all your influence, I mean, your fault."

"Nonsense, I was never so anal to file away the reports during my precious shore leave, whomever you learned that from certainly wasn't me," Shepard shakes her head. "I'm telling you Jack, you've become even more tight-arsed than I've ever been!"

"Hey, careful there tentacle-fancier, don't make me kick your ass," Jack chuckles at her. "It's still your fault that I'm apparently dependable now. Sometimes I can't believe this shit myself."

Shepard smiles. "Actually, military life is pretty good fit for someone with the issues you had, Ms. Nought. There's plenty of combat, free room and board, and dependable people that will never stab you in the back. I'd say that's a decent deal, eh?"

"Yeah, I... I guess I'm pretty happy with how things worked out," Jack finally admits, a little reluctantly. "So... uh, thanks, Shepard."

"You're welcome, Jack," Morgan grins, feeling genuinely happy for Jack's somewhat more balanced life and overall attitude. "By the way, my Comm Specialist has been checking you out for a while now. She says she digs your tattoos and would like to get her hands on them."

"Does she now?" Jack laughs, staring across the hall to the table that Shepard had just vacated. "Oh, you mean that little dark haired doll-face with nice pair of tits? Sure, just tell her to come over, I'll take good care of her."

"Cheers, Jack, you're the best," Shepard says, patting the biotic on the shoulder before rising and heading back to her table. _Yes! Yes, yes, yes!_ She mentally cheers, hoping that she has managed to get rid of Traynor's unwanted amorous attentions.

"Sam, good news," she says after returning to her table, the Specialist looking up at her expectantly. "Jack's interested, you're in. Just remember you have five more hours of shore leave left. Tell Jack to fuck your brains out fast."

"Uh... yes, Commander!" crimson red faced Samantha snaps off a salute and then rushes off swiftly, very eager to act upon the invitation.

"You're really narrowing the playing field for guys like me, Lola," James complains good naturedly. "It's a good thing we have someone like Esteban, to even the odds back out," he says, pointing at the dance floor, where they can see Lieutenant Steve Cortez dancing with a burly, broad shouldered marine sergeant.

"Looks like Steve is recovering nicely," Morgan nods, pleased to see her crew in good spirits. "He's been like a completely new person after visiting that memorial wall in the Docks."

"That's because he gave away that recording of his dead husband," James says. "It was really holding him back. And speaking about holding back... I don't think I can hold back any more, seeing that there are some lonely and enchanting asari up on the dance floor, I think I'll go and see about my chances..."

"Yeah, well good luck with that, James," Shepard raises her glass to wave him off, leaving herself and Liara alone at the table.

"Can I ask you a question?" Liara suddenly asks, after they have been slowly sipping their cocktails and exchanging fond, loving stares for a while.

"Of course, you don't need my permission to ask me questions," Morgan smiles.

"Lieutenant Vega's remarks reminded me of something I have been wondering about for a while," Liara starts, a little hesitantly. "Before we... ah, consummated our relationship, did you have preference for your own or the opposite gender? I've always been curious about that, but it just felt like a foolish and embarrassing thing to ask."

"Well... if you really want to know..." Liara gives a brief nod as Shepard starts to speak. "I've taken lovers of both genders in the past. My first partner was a young man on one of the ships my mother served on. He was rather nice and attentive, and I thought I was in love with him, but this one time as we were making out in his quarters, my stare somehow fell on the holo-picture of his sister on the nearby table and I just couldn't stop thinking about how attractive she was. It was... rather embarrassing, having these romantic thoughts about his sister, it made me feel very guilty and I wanted to break the whole thing off, I felt as if I was being unfaithful to him."

"Even though you hadn't actually been unfaithful," Liara remarks.

"Uh, well... here's the really awkward thing," Morgan suddenly hesitates, blushing at the memories long untouched. "I had just turned eighteen and I must have been really obvious about everything where my feelings were concerned. His sister must have sensed that I fancied her. To make things really complicated... turns out that she was very much interested, too."

"Oh... I can see how that could have been very embarrassing."

"Sylvia was four years my senior and very experienced. She, uh, taught me a great deal in those two weeks. But I was also becoming crushed by guilt, I wanted to confess to Martin, her brother... and just as I was about to do that, I suddenly learned that my mother was getting transferred to another ship, and so I was spared the whole drama. I never met either of them again, and two months later I enlisted with the Alliance."

Liara remains silent, but urges her to continue, and Shepard obeys. "I had several lovers after that, both male and female. During the brief shore leaves, I usually preferred male companionship. They were more likely to be interested in something short term and were usually very upfront about it. That suited my needs perfectly."

"So, females of your species displayed preference for long-term relationships?" Liara asks.

"Well... it differs from person to person, but from my experiences that was certainly the case," Morgan nods. "My few relationships with other women seemed far more intense and I felt more emotionally invested. They also hurt a lot more when they inevitably ended. That's when I started to believe that even if I am technically bi-sexual, deep down I held preference for partners of my own gender."

"I don't know the reasons why your past relationships ended, but believe me Morgan, I will not let that happen to us," Liara says with a determined expression on her face.

"Circumstances were different then, and I have no reason to believe that just because I couldn't make my past relationships work, something terrible will happen to us," Shepard smiles, taking Liara's hands in hers. "I hadn't been with anyone for over four years before I met you, Liara. But after Therum, it didn't take me very long to realize that what was blossoming between us would be something far more serious than what I had ever experienced. With this war around us it is perhaps foolish to make promises, but I want to spend the rest of my life with you, and I have no doubt that we will be able to make it work."

"I never had any doubts about that, Morgan," Liara smiles, as they join in a long, tender kiss, breaking it off only with extreme reluctance.

"We should get back to the ship," Morgan says, grin lingering on her lips. "Aria will stop by soon to pick up our stowaways, and I should make sure that Kaidan has settled in comfortably... and after that, perhaps we can steal a few hours for ourselves..."


	87. Under Pressure

_A/N: Doubts over difficult decisions and fears of death seem like good combination for horrendous nightmares, right? But those nightmares are not necessarily prophetic dreams, though... yes, I would take no further notice of them. Just ignore those nasty dreams. Ha-ha. _

_Also, Liara says something that might be considered fairly tawdry. You have been warned. _

**Chapter 86 - Under Pressure**

"Am I still welcomed on the bridge?" Shepard asks, approaching Joker and EDI, sitting in their seats and monitoring all the systems as the Normandy is getting ready to leave the Citadel and head to seek out the quarians beyond the Veil.

"Of course, Shepard, as the commanding officer of the Normandy, you are welcomed to come and go as you please," EDI replies, sounding surprisingly welcoming and friendly. "I wish to extend my sincerest apologies on behalf of Joker and myself for placing you in an uncomfortable situation. It was not our intent to cause you any distress. Rest assured it will not happen again."

"I might not necessarily agree with that sentiment," Joker mutters, still looking a little annoyed, but generally in a better mood. Shepard wonders whether it as result of his talk with EDI, but of course neither of them appears intent to elaborate, considering that Shepard has made it quite clear she does not support anything else but working relationship between the two of them.

"Look, I wasn't trying to be an ass, it just happened," Shepard shrugs, a little apologetically. "I'm just... not really good person to ask questions like that. I'm absolutely not an expert."

"Could we just drop the subject, Commander?" Joker asks.

"Fine, fine," Shepard sighs, giving up. "Did everyone report back to the ship yet?"

"Everyone with the exception of Javik," EDI replies.

"Javik? Oh... he did mention something about wanting to visit the Citadel, so maybe he just went out for a walk and lost the track of time," Shepard muses.

"There is an incoming message from Commander Bailey, which might shed light on the situation," EDI then says.

"What? Well, put it through!" Shepard urges the AI.

"Commander Shepard?" she hears Bailey on the comms, responding with a swift acknowledgment. "We've detained one of your people. The one with extensive genetic modifications to make him appear like a Prothean."

"...he's not genetically modified. He **IS** a Prothean!" Shepard protests.

"...oh. Oh! I see. Well, I think we can drop the charges for assuming false identity then. We're still upholding accusations of excessive public negativity, inciting the crowd and sowing discord."

Shepard groans. "That sounds like Prothy, alright. Listen, Bailey, we're about to depart and I could do with him on the ship. How about releasing him in return of a promise that I'll keep him on the Normandy during our next visits?"

"It's a deal, Shepard," Bailey agrees. "My people will deliver him to your ship shortly."

"Thanks, Bailey. Out of curiosity, just what it was that he tried to do?"

"Some hanar recognized that he looked like one of their Enkindlers and started praying to him, that drew attention of more and more people, forming a crowd. Then he started to lecture to them how this cycle has no hope in the war against the Reapers, how pathetic the civilizations of our cycle are compared to the Protheans... let's just say, there were a lot of unhappy people out there by the time we arrived to detain him."

Shepard sighs deeply. "One of these days, I just might lose my patience with him... once again, thanks a bunch, Bailey. Much appreciated." The connection is terminated shortly after that. "Okay, once Prothy is back on the Normandy, we're off to meet the quarians. You have the coordinates, right?" Joker nods wordlessly. "Okay. Has Kaidan settled into his new quarters?"

"Oh yes. I asked EDI's new platform to give him a tour of the ship," Joker replies with a wicked little laughter.

"...damn, he got a shock of his life, didn't he?" Shepard realizes her faux pas. "I didn't warn him about EDI using the body of Dr. Core... and you just had to use that, you cheeky little bastard!"

Joker grins smugly. "Well, he shouldn't have forgotten the 'don't shoot the Commander' rule. We're not going to roll over and make things easy for him after that!"

"Right. Is Kaidan in his quarters now?" she asks, EDI giving a quick affirmation. "Alright, I'll go check up on him. Please, no more nasty surprises, just wait for Prothy and then get us moving to the geth space, okay?"

"Sure, Commander! Whatever you say!" Joker replies jovially, looking very pleased with himself.

Shepard does not hesitate in getting to the Starboard Observation to find Kaidan inside, unwrapping his very few possessions, some of his hasty purchases still with their packaging untouched. "Everything alright, Kaidan?" she asks, approaching him. "Sorry about Joker and EDI's little joke."

Kaidan chuckles. "Hah, only to be expected. I'm finding it funny as hell, now." He falls silent for a bit, just looking around. "It's... strange to be back, you know? So much time has passed since Saren. That little stint from Earth to Mars didn't really count, never even got a chance to look around the cargo bay before we were back in action."

"Yeah, I can understand that. And this isn't SR-1 anymore. Though one thing I can say about Cerberus, they know how to build a damn nice ship."

"I notice that, they really didn't cut corners when rebuilding the Normandy," Kaidan agrees. "There's a whole lot of credits in here."

"Well, they really wanted me onboard, you see," Shepard remarks, but Kaidan does not reply to that comment, falling silent again, appearing to struggle with emotions.

"Shepard... I heard from my mom, just before coming aboard," Kaidan says, suddenly changing the topic of conversation. "My dad is MIA. He's presumed..."

"Oh... shit. I'm so sorry." _Just when I hear that my mom's alive, what a kick in the quad._ "What happened, you said they got out of Vancouver alive and well?"

"He left mom at the orchard and reported for active duty," Kaidan explains quietly. "That's all we know, but... it is enough."

"Yeah. It's hell down there, I keep hearing from Anderson, reading the news..." Shepard sighs. "Doesn't take much to snuff out a life..."

"That it does. I just... feel for my mom. She's now alone down there, in all of this."

"Not good, Kaidan, the Reapers are starting to sweep rural areas as well, she can't stay there alone and hope they won't find her," Shepard shakes her head, feeling deeply worried. "There has to be someone nearby who knows how to get in touch with the resistance. They could offer safety, protection."

"I know. I keep trying to convince her, but she's determined to stay at the orchard," Kaidan sighs. "Always been stubborn, my mom. If she has decided something, dissuading her will be next to impossible."

"Well, you had to get that stubbornness from someone, Kaidan," Shepard chuckles.

"Me? Talk about pot calling the kettle black!" he grins back at her.

"I'm sure I have no idea what you're talking about," Morgan huffs in reply, pretending to be insulted.

"Of course, Shepard. Listen..." Kaidan hesitates again before going on. "I've been thinking about the coup some more. Not just what happened with Udina, but you know, the whole thing. What was Cerberus after? This seemed drastic even for the Illusive Man! Did you see this coming from him?"

"I still don't know for certain why he would try to seize the Citadel, I mean if he wanted to just kill the Councilors as is the accepted explanation, he would have sent a small team of his phantom assassins, maybe led by that Clown Leng."

"What are you saying, Shepard?" Kaidan asks, looking alarmed.

"I'm saying that they wanted to take permanent control of the Citadel," Shepard explains. "I haven't been spreading this theory for fear of causing panic, but I'm not even sure that the whole plan belonged to the Illusive Man. Taking control of the Citadel seems more something that the Reapers would be interested in. I mean, it's the mother of all mass relays or something, right?"

"You think he could be indoctrinated?"

"I strongly suspect so. That's why nothing that the Illusive Man does can surprise me anymore. There are no limits at which he will stop, he seems willing to commit the most vile atrocities to get what he wants."

"Did you have any of these suspicions while you were working for Cerberus?" Kaidan asks the question that is obviously bothering him.

"Not until the very end, when I learned that he suddenly wanted me to preserve the Collector base instead of destroying it, as was our plan since the beginning," Shepard explains. "When I learned of that, I started to think that obtaining the Collector base and its resources had been his plan all along, and that he did not care a bit about the human colonies taken. It was just his ploy to get me onboard."

"It seems like they really manipulated you, Shepard," Kaidan winces, looking upset.

"Well, they tried to. But in the end, I ruined their plans, destroyed the Collectors and saved our colonies. So, I think the net result was our victory and their loss," Morgan shrugs. "Don't tell me you're going to go back to being all suspicious of me again, Kaidan!"

Kaidan looks a little like slapped across the face, lowering his eyes. "This time I did not mean to imply anything, Shepard," he says guiltily. "I'm sorry if that came across wrong..."

"Nah, just messing with you, Kaidan," Morgan grins. "You should find something to take your mind off these things, though. I don't think Joker will stay pissed off at you for long, maybe you can give him some poker tips. He keeps losing his shirt to James."

"But Joker has like the worst poker face in the galaxy. I swear, Shepard, even an elcor could out-bluff him!" Kaidan chuckles. "Ah well. I love a challenge. Thanks for the laugh, Shepard, I needed this."

"It's good to see you in better spirits, Kaidan," Morgan says as a way of parting. "And now I think I'll be off to catch some shut-eye before we reach the Perseus Veil..."

* * *

She finds herself crawling through smoldering pieces of rubble and scrap metal, thick smoke and slowly subsiding flames often blocking her passage, but she presses on, following the cries of anguish and despair close by. She feels as if she recognizes the voice, hurrying to get to the source of the sound, feeling the protruding metal pieces scratching deeply into her skin as she crawls by hurriedly with complete disregard for her own injuries.

Following the voice leads her to what looks like the Normandy bridge, completely ruined and barely recognizable. Joker sits on the floor, gently cradling the charred and disfigured body of EDI, the synthetic looks to be disabled and beyond repair. "You!" his sorrow filled face twists into bitter anger and accusation, as he sees her approaching. "You did this! You killed her!"

_What did I do?_ She wonders, opening her mouth to ask but finding herself unable to speak, no sounds escapes her lips.

"You never wanted us to be together, Shepard! You never wanted us to find any happiness, even as you claimed your own! And now you have killed her, and you rejoice in her death, I know you do!" the accusations fly from Joker's lips, making her recoil, shocked and confused.

_I would never do anything to harm EDI!_ She protests silently. _Why would I ever want to hurt her? This is madness! _

She turns around to run away, to try and escape Joker's accusations, but finds someone standing in her way. She takes in the familiar suited form, the wide hips, arms folded across the ample bosom and the face hidden behind the thick glass of her mask. It is Tali, facing her, the quarian's posture radiating anger and betrayal.

"Look around you, Shepard," she snaps, venom dripping from her words. "Look around you and enjoy the results of your failure. Feast on it, for this is what you wanted, isn't it?"

There is a barely perceptible shift in the scenery and she is able to observe the sights surrounding them much more clearly. They stand in the CIC of the ruined Normandy, looking around to see the ground littered with the remains of crashed quarian ships, as far as her eyes can see.

_What have I done? I never meant to do this! I needed the quarian fleets! All I wanted to do was to help them!_ She protests wordlessly as Tali approaches her, pointing an accusing finger at her.

"You have destroyed my people, Shepard. You have wiped out my entire race. With me gone, the extinction of my people will be complete," there is a pistol in Tali's hands and she presses it against her temples, Shepard frozen and helpless to stop her. "Know that I die with only hatred in my heart. Hatred for you." Shepard screams silently as Tali presses the trigger, collapsing before her.

_This is not happening! This can't be happening!_ She flees in panic, clawing her way through the rubble, trying to escape, trying to get off the ship, away from all these horrors. Eventually, she reaches an airlock and jumps out, landing on the rocky ground of a barren and desolate unknown planet.

"Commander!" she recognizes another voice, its owner approaching her from the right. It is Kaidan, and she instantly feels assured and relieved as he sounds warm and friendly, with a smile on his face as he catches up with her. "Shepard, I cannot thank you enough for all that you did for me. But Commander... bringing me along was a mistake. Look!" He points back at the Normandy, Shepard recoiling as she sees the wreck now enveloped in angry red flames.

_What is going on? I don't understand any of this!_ She thinks frantically, confused, frightened.

"Commander..." Kaidan speaks up again and she turns towards him, eyes widening in shock as she sees Major Alenko's clothes on fire that swiftly encircles him. "You tried your best, Shepard... but you failed..." he manages, crying out in pain as the flames quickly reduce his body to a blackened lump of flesh before Morgan's eyes.

She lets out an anguished wail and turns around to flee, but ends up running into two others blocking her path, unable to move past them.

"Operating the Crucible is a death warrant, Shepard," Hackett tells her, patience and sympathy in his stare. "That is the price for freeing the galaxy from the Reapers."

"I will never forgive you if you choose me over the galaxy, Morgan," Liara says, giving her a determined, fatalistic look. "You know that the responsibility of the choice will ultimately fall to you. Do not dare to falter. Do the right thing, or you will be dead to me either way."

Shepard falls on her knees before them, tears streaming down her face. "Please... please, let me use the Crucible!" she cries pleadingly. "If these are to be the consequences of my choices, then I **want** to use the Crucible! I could never live with this! Let me escape the responsibility for my decisions, please, just let me die!"

* * *

"Is everything alright, Morgan?" she hears Liara's soft tones, realizing that it has all been a dream, yet another nightmare. "You kept tossing and turning, I was starting to get worried." She feels Liara's hand on her chest, touching her. "Goddess, you are drenched in sweat! What's wrong?"

"Lights, low," Shepard calls out, before pulling herself up half-sitting with her back against the pillow. "Just another of those nightmares, I'm afraid."

"I wish you would tell me what is plaguing you," Liara sighs, also rising and sitting next to Morgan. "Or allow me to join my mind with yours. I could try and take some of those fears away."

"Fear is often irrational, Liara. It cannot harm me," Morgan smiles, even as she herself doubts whether that is actually true. "I don't want you to fill your lovely head with irrational crap."

"I still think that it would help," Liara shakes her head determinedly. "I wish you would let me try."

"Hmm, I thought I had six more of those koi fishes left in the aquarium. Now I can only see four. I swear, if I catch Javik sneaking in here to eat my fish, I'm going to introduce him to a taxidermist!"

"Morgan, that was the most unsubtle attempt at trying to change the topic of conversation that I have ever witnessed," Liara sighs, giving Shepard a reproachful stare. "Very well, if I cannot persuade you to talk about these things, perhaps I can use other methods to distract you from dark thoughts..." she then says, allowing the blanket covering her nude form to slowly roll off and leave her bare, smiling as Morgan's eyes are immediately drawn to her.

"That approach might meet with more success, yes," Morgan admits. "Though with the pressure building, it has become increasingly more difficult to get into the right mood, isn't it?" Liara agrees with a pensive nod. "So many other things going through my head, and these thoughts are getting more and more difficult to push aside so that I can concentrate on you, as I want to."

"I know what you mean, but I am still willing to try," Liara says, pulling Morgan's blanket away as well, and then spending a few moments in taking delight at the view of her lover's desirable body, before gently settling into Morgan's lap, feeling Shepard's hands encircling her softly.

"Don't go deep," Morgan whispers, as Liara leans in to kiss her deeply, her hand slipping between their bodies, fingers tightly pressed together, towards her lover's centre, aiming to bring her pleasure beyond description.

"I assume you were referring to my mind, and not my fingers," Liara breaks the kiss to whisper in a sultry voice, watching Shepard blush furiously, nodding as she continues to please her partner.

Liara's fingers continue their delightful task, slipping in and out teasingly, and as Morgan leans back against the wall, parting her lips to allow a satisfied moan to escape her mouth, the asari swiftly pounces on her, pressing her lips against Shepard's, capturing the Commander's tongue with her teeth, feeling her own desire bubbling over from Morgan's utter and complete surrender.

Later on, they both huddle together in the bed, sweaty, tired, but also relaxed. "This isn't one of our last times together, love, no matter what you think or fear," Liara gently whispers in Morgan's ear, cradling Shepard in her arms. "I won't let that happen."

"You promised not to dip into my thoughts, didn't you?" Morgan looks at her, a little reproachful.

"Well, you did broadcast that thought as clear and loud as a comm buoy, Morgan," Liara grins. "I couldn't really block it out even during a shallow meld."

"Oh, alright," Morgan smiles back at her. "It's like I said, my head is full of irrational fears. I... I do feel a lot better now, and it's all thanks to you."

"It was my pleasure," Liara chuckles. "Literally. The urgency and desperation of our Joinings as of late tends to produce... rather spectacular culmination."

"I, uh... quite agree," Morgan mutters, feeling rather tired. "Fortunately we still have a lot of time before we arrive at our destination."

"Time for a nightmare-free nap?" Liara asks, reaching close and kissing Shepard on the tip of her nose.

Morgan grins broadly, hugging her bondmate tight and resting her head against Liara's shoulder. "Sounds perfect to me..."


	88. That Old No Windows Trick

_A/N: Here's the start of the Rannoch arch. The next ten chapters will see some fairly important and hopefully interesting changes from the events of the game. _

_But of course, the most important thing about this chapter is... the return of the Tali! _

**Chapter 87 - That Old No Windows Trick**

Shepard is nervously pacing up and down the Normandy bridge, Liara watching her with a nervous smile on her face, now and then offering some platitude to try and calm down the Commander. "Shouldn't they be here by now?" she turns towards EDI and Joker for what must be the umpteenth time, desperate for an answer.

"Following up on the information from the last message, the quarian envoy ship should appear on our scanners in approximately 4 minutes, 37 seconds," EDI replies.

"I'm a little surprised they even responded," Joker says from the pilot's seat. "I wouldn't have thought that your performance at Tali's trial earned you many friends amongst the Admiralty Board."

"Yeah," Shepard nods. "I'm guessing the war isn't going as smoothly for the quarians as they hoped when they started this fool's crusade."

"I was thinking along the same lines, yes," Liara agrees quietly. "They might be desperate enough to turn to us for help. Or they have some kind of suicide mission lined up for us, considering our fondness for impossible odds."

"That's **exactly** what I'm afraid of," Morgan smirks. "I imagine Tali would have told them that I need the quarian fleets to fight the Reapers. I'm sure they are well aware that we would go to great lengths to secure this alliance."

"I wonder if there will be any species left by the end of this war that we haven't ran errands for in hopes for their aid," Joker chuckles.

"Uh... batarians?" Shepard replies, then freezing as she clearly sees the visual of an unmistakably quarian ship, approaching the Normandy. "Hey, they're here!"

"What, impossible, I have nothing on scan-" then Joker cranes his neck and also sees the visual of the ship outside slowly coming to drift alongside the Normandy. "Holy shit, they have a similar stealth technology to ours! I smell a rat, I wonder if we can demand that Tali pays us royalties."

"The Admiralty Board is requesting permission to come aboard," EDI says, going over the communications.

"What, all of them?" Shepard blinks. "Well, sure, permission granted. Damn, that war must really be going poorly if they wanted to get as far from the frontlines as possible!"

"I doubt that would be the reason. More likely that the whole Admiralty Board has to be present while making strategic decisions and devising plans for war," Liara says, watching the shuttle leave the quarian ship and heading straight for the Normandy. "Well, you better go and see to your esteemed guests, Shepard," she gives Morgan a pointed look.

Shepard sighs, remembering her last dealings with the Admiralty Board. "I guess I have to, don't I? Ah well, let's hope there will be a lot less shouting this time around..." And with that she proceeds towards the War Room, passing her time reading the latest reports compiled by Traynor, while awaiting the entrance of the admirals.

Finally they arrive, being shown into the War Room by Campbell and Westmoreland, Raan stepping through first, probably the most sympathetic one towards Shepard, possibly acting as a peacemaker of sorts. "Commander Shepard, a pleasure to see you again," she says, even if they both know that these words probably lack sincerity. "I do wish it were under better circumstances."

"You could say that, Admiral Raan," Shepard replies, watching the other admirals file in one by one, Xen, Koris, Gerrel, and finally a smaller figure that she recognizes only too well, sneaking in a quick smile to greet a subdued looking Tali. "I'm guessing you don't get many news out here on the Rim. The Reapers are tearing up the galaxy and we could have really used quarian support against them. But I understand you have decided that this would be a jolly good time to tangle with the geth."

"Seven days ago, with precision strikes on four geth systems, the quarians initiated the war to retake our homeworld," Gerrel states proudly, standing next to Raan.

"Which was a clear violation of our agreement with the Council to avoid provoking the geth!" Koris speaks up with his nasal whine, and for once Shepard has to agree with the man who had made such a nuisance of himself during Tali's trial.

"A treaty violation is nothing compared to recovering our homeworld and advanced AI technology," Xen waves Koris off dismissively.

_Of course she would say that,_ Shepard sighs at herself. _Well, at least they don't all approve of this war, surely Tali doesn't, with her and Koris, maybe we can persuade them to pull back or something... _"Treaty violations just come naturally to your people, doesn't it?" she adds, a little insultingly. "Don't you think that your timing with this geth war is a little off? Now, provided that you succeed and retake Rannoch, if you don't join the rest of the galaxy against the Reapers, you will not get to enjoy the sights of your homeworld for long. The Reapers will come for you, sooner or later."

"It is as I have told them many times, but they would not listen," Koris sighs. "And now, we may have destroyed our people for good."

"Nonsense, we will prevail in this war," Gerrel states confidently, then hesitating for a moment. "As soon as we have dealt with a small complication. We have driven the geth back to our home system, when this signal," he activates his omni-tool to display images on the War Room's vid screens, "began broadcasting to all geth ships."

Shepard feels slightly nauseated when she recognizes the all too familiar energy signatures on the screen. "The Reapers," she groans. _Wait, how is that possible? We rewrote the heretics to oppose the Reapers! Damn it, if Legion has tricked me..._

"Under Reaper control, the geth are significantly more effective. Our fleet is pinned in the home system," Gerrel admits reluctantly. "If we're going to win-"

"How can you still dream of victory, Gerrel?" Koris shouts. "You have involved even the civilian ships in this war! Unless we retreat, we will lose our liveships!"

"Wait, why are you putting your liveships in harm's way?" Shepard blinks in surprise. "I thought that if even one of those ships was destroyed, millions of your people would starve!"

"That is why it is imperative that we save them," Raan speaks up, evading the question. "We must disable the Reaper signal that the geth are receiving. It is coming from a massive geth dreadnought," as she speaks, Xen brings up the image of the geth ship. It's shape is slightly similar to that of any geth fighter, with the difference being its enormous size, larger than any Alliance dreadnoughts.

"This thing can outgun anything we've got and it is heavily defended," Gerrel says, sounding irritated. "The latest addition in the ranks of the Admiralty Board," here he points at Tali, her friend having kept silent the whole time. "Has suggested that an infiltration squad on a ship with stealth drive like your Normandy, could get close undetected, bring a team onboard of the ship and then disable the Reaper command signal."

"Your envoy ship appears to possess similar stealth system to Normandy," Shepard replies. "Dare I assume that if I hadn't shown up, you would have undertaken a similar mission yourselves?"

"Undoubtedly, but we cannot risk depriving the quarian people of our leadership and guidance at a time like this," Gerrel speaks. _Yeah, the leadership and guidance that put them into this goddamn war. I think they would have done just fine with a different kind of guidance._

"You want the support of the quarian fleets against the Reapers?" Xen asks. "Then undertake this mission for us as a show of good faith."

"Very well," Shepard reluctantly agrees, knowing that she has been forced to back into a corner. "But on one condition, after we disable the signal, you will use the ensuing confusion to retreat and get your fleets back to safety."

"We will take your opinion into careful consideration," Raan replies politely, again avoiding committing to anything.

"Don't even attempt to force us into making a decision now," Xen shakes her head in disagreement. "Remember, Commander, you need our fleets, while we can do just fine without your aid. The only way you will get what you want is by working with us, not trying to dissuade us of our plans."

_You need me, and you need the rest of the galaxy, you're just too stupid to realize it,_ Shepard swears mentally, forced to agree with a submissive nod of the head.

"Our newest admiral has also volunteered to offer technical expertise and accompany you on this mission," Raan says, turning towards Tali. "In fact, that was a part of her suggestion as soon as we heard of your arrival and formulated this plan."

_Sure, and let's throw Tali into another suicide mission too, just to make this more interesting. _"Well, I guess it is decided then," Shepard says, looking straight at her old, trusted friend, watching her fidgeting nervously. "Let us rejoin the fleet and I will put together a team to board the dreadnaught. Tali, I will need you with me to work out our strategies." Tali simply nods in response.

"Commander, a request if I may," Shala'Raan stops her as she prepares to leave. "I see that your ship has perfectly adequate communications systems to allow us oversee and direct our fleets from here. Would you allow us to remain onboard the Normandy, so that we can coordinate most effectively with our ships and your infiltration squad?"

"That sounds like a good idea, Admiral Raan, do it," Shepard nods, then excusing herself and leaving hastily, Tali having to rush after her. "Gods, one more minute with them and I would have..." Morgan breathes out once they are in the conference room, out of the earshot of the admirals.

"I know what you mean," Tali nods, next to her.

Shepard hooks her hand around Tali's elbow, playfully brushing her shoulder against the quarian's. "So, they roped you into that job after all, eh?"

Tali appears miserable. "It has been nothing but awful, Shepard. Gerrel and Xen just wanted to make use of my expertise against the geth, they had this war planned out from the very start. Auntie Raan means well, but she is just trying to make up for the guilt she feels for what happened with my father. And Koris should be my ally, but he has trouble getting past the fact that it was my father's research that it has led us to this war..."

"Geez, that is rough," Shepard sighs, putting a comforting hand around Tali's shoulder. "We'll get through this, somehow. We have to, really."

"I know, but damn it, Shepard, we should be fighting the Reapers, not the geth!" Tali exclaims, sounding upset. "I truly believed there was a chance for peace between my people and the geth, Legion and I got to form this... odd sort of friendship while we were taking him back to his people..."

"What happened with the geth, though?" Morgan asks, unsure what to think. "Legion claimed his people would never side with the Reapers, and yet what is happening now..."

"I don't know, Shepard, I honestly don't know," Tali shrugs. "They did not have these Reaper upgrades when our fleet attacked, and Xen's countermeasure worked perfectly, disabling geth ships one after another. I don't know how they came to be controlled by the Reapers yet again..."

"We'll get to the bottom of this," Shepard promises. "I'll put together a team of old friends and together we'll tear through that sodding dreadnought. Oh, and Tali... maybe it'll improve your mood a little bit to know that a certain turian is onboard with me."

"Oh... I see. I... well, that's good," Tali still sounds very shy and hesitant when discussing Garrus, something that Shepard finds adorable. "I hope he is doing well."

"As well as anyone can be doing, considering the state of the galaxy..." Morgan sighs. "Come now. He'll be happy to see you, I'm sure..."

* * *

"This is what we call a big ol' shitstorm," Joker grumbles as the Normandy makes a short jump to the quarian home system, approaching the location of the geth dreadnaught.

"I have detected several hundred unique ship signatures engaged in active combat," EDI adds, checking her feeds.

"Yeah, so a shitstorm," Joker shrugs. "And I do not like the looks of that dreadnaught," he adds as they gain a visual on the scene of battle, quarian frigates and fighters battling the geth forces, trying to punch a path through to the dreadnaught, but even when they manage to get a clear shot it does not seem to cause a lot of damage. And the return fire from the dreadnaught is impressive, time and time again reducing one quarian ship after another into a pile of space debris. "That is some wicked main gun," Joker adds with awe. "Real glad we have that stealth drive of ours."

"They appear to be using ultraviolet anti-ship lasers," EDI informs them again. "I am reading minimal structural damage to the ship's hull, but my cyberwarfare suite should be able to access their docking protocols and secure an entrance for the infiltration team."

"Sounds good," Shepard nods. "I'm glad the quarians at least aren't throwing their whole fleet at this dreadnaught. They'd get slaughtered."

"That seems very like-" Joker starts to speak, as suddenly the quarian frigate very close by gets focus-targeted by a dozen of geth fighters at once, catching fire and quickly exploding, sending chunks of metal dangerously close by the Normandy. "...likely. Shit! But we're nearly there, Commander."

"I have gained access to the docking bay doors, Shepard," EDI says. "You should join the others in the shuttle, I cannot predict for how long I will be able to maintain control."

"I can't believe they would fall for that silly 'no windows' trick again," Joker chuckles, slowly bringing Normandy in close, as Shepard is already on her way.

Morgan wastes no time in getting down to the docking bay, where the team she has chosen for this mission has already assembled. Garrus and Tali are standing close by, time and time again exchanging a few quiet words, and nearby Liara is telling something to Kaidan, who in turn nods and gesticulates, the two most likely coordinating their use of biotics against the geth. "EDI's cracking a docking tube open for us," Shepard says, urging the others to pile into the shuttle. "We best get moving."

Cortez flies the shuttle down the length of the docking tube, letting them disembark at the airlock, and Tali opens it with a single tap on her omni-tool, EDI's control over the docking protocols allowing them easy access. On the inside, the alien layout of the dreadnaught reminds Shepard of the Haratar Station, where together with Legion they traveled to rewrite the heretics, apparently one of her worst decisions to date. At least there is close to normal gravity aboard the dreadnaught, enabling them to move about without restrictions.

"So, Shepard," Garrus starts, while they have stopped, Tali checking the dreadnaught schematics for the optimal route out of the docking bays. "An interesting choice of the squad. Picking the obvious geth experts, are we?"

"Yeah, that and nostalgia," Shepard grins in reply. "I thought you'd all be jumping at the opportunity to shoot some more geth. Because, you know, we clearly didn't see enough of them while chasing Saren."

Kaidan groans. "That is very considerate of you, Commander."

"It is good to have the old team back together, Shepard," Tali agrees. "With the exception of those who... can't be here. Where is Wrex, anyway? Still stuck on Tuchanka?"

"Yes, according to his messages, he is busy 'making babies'," Liara inserts. "It seems he has discovered something more important than this war."

"Yes, Garrus has been bringing me up to speed with what you have been up to," Tali nods. "I can't believe you cured the genophage! I'm glad you did, though I don't think I believe the part of the story about the mother of all thresher maws who showed up to eat the Reaper destroyer?"

"What?" Kaidan chuckles, shaking his head. "That sounds extremely unlikely even for you, Shepard." Morgan just smiles at that, not moving to correct them, too amused by the knowledge that this is one story that even the current generation will dismiss as a piece of fiction. "And Tali... since Garrus has been telling you things..." Kaidan then adds more hesitantly. "I suppose you are aware of what happened between us on the Citadel."

"I am. Shepard is giving you another chance that I do not think you deserve, Kaidan. But I hope you won't waste it," Tali says, then finishing going over the dreadnaught scans on her omni-tool, pointing ahead and they resume walking, conversing as they go. "Though perhaps I can understand you in a way. I mean, we've all felt like shooting Shepard at one point or another."

"Hey, this is news to me," Shepard mock-glares at Tali. "And when exactly did you feel like shooting me, missy?"

"Ha, that would be telling," Tali replies smugly.

"I must be the odd one out, for I have never entertained such desires," Liara shrugs, not finding the whole topic of discussion funny.

"It's just a matter of time, Liara," Garrus tells her, walking alongside Tali as they approach the exit from the docking bay.

"So where are we heading exactly?" Shepard asks, watching Tali quickly hack an access shaft, leading out to more interconnected passageways beyond.

"We're looking for an operations center," Tali replies. "I should be able to sever the Reaper command signal from there. The closest one is past their defense network and through a sensor cluster."

"Defense network... that sounds ominous," Kaidan says quietly, and indeed, as soon as Tali uses the controls to extend a bridge and connect them to the next system of platforms and passageways, the geth detect unauthorized access to their systems, immediately deploying several platforms to investigate the intrusion.

The attacking forces consist mostly of the rank troopers, who are destroyed quickly, but the irritating rocket trooper platforms have been upgraded with more powerful shielding, and cause something of a concern. Between Shepard herself, Tali and Garrus, they have plenty of options in disabling their shields, however, the only danger remaining is the very real possibility of taking a rocket to the face whenever leaving the safety of cover.

After successfully negotiating several other encounters with geth forces, the passageway eventually leads them to another part of the ship, looking like some sort of communications center, filled with consoles and Tali and Liara immediately jump to examine them, Kaidan politely staring over their shoulders while Shepard and Garrus busy themselves with checking the state of their oft-used rifles and waiting impatiently while Tali and Liara satisfy their curiosity and then explain what exactly is going on.

"I can monitor the Reaper signal on this console," Liara says, after poking around the equipment for a while. "It can't be shut off from here, but I can see it is hitting all the geth processes. They are completely under the Reaper control."

"Sensor data on this one," Tali adds, checking another console. "Just a moment, I want to check how our fleet is doing... Keelah, no!"

"What's wrong, Tali?" Shepard is instantly alarmed.

"The admirals have deployed more ships to the battle, but we are taking heavy losses," Tali explains, sounding distraught. "The geth have activated a planetary defense cannon on Rannoch. It's ripping through our fleet!"

"Then we should hurry and disable that signal, already!" Garrus exclaims impatiently.

"Yes, but we should not lose our heads and charge into an army of geth lying in wait," Shepard adds warningly.

"Why do we need to find the operations center, Tali?" Kaidan asks, staring at one of the many network consoles. "Wouldn't any of these access consoles do?"

"No, anything we do here, the geth could counter," Tali replies, shaking her head. "Too many fault-checks and redundancy levels for what need to do. Fortunately..." she looks at the dreadnaught schematics once again. "...the operations center is in the next room."

"Right, so let's disable that signal and get the fuck out of here, before our quarian friends have managed to get themselves wiped out," Shepard adds jovially, gripping her rifle as Tali works on getting the doors to the operations center open.

Inside, the operations center is crawling with active geth platforms, and several of them immediately activate their cloaking as soon as they see Shepard and her crew charging in. "We've got cloaked hostiles!" Morgan warns her comrades. "Hate those sodding hunters."

The ensuing battle proves difficult, with the Reaper upgrades the hunter cloaking seems so much more effective and harder to detect. Tali's pet combat drone does an excellent job at sniffing them out and Liara's biotic fields manage to cause some distortion of the geth cloaking, making them visible enough to be hit with a fuckton of weapons fire.

Unfortunately, the upgraded geth are smart enough to identify Liara as the most important target and they make a lot of effort to take her out of the picture. They nearly succeed when one of the hunters manages to sneak up right behind the asari, about to smash her head with the butt of its rifle, but then staggering back as Garrus overloads its shields. The heavy rifle still connects with Liara's head, but with less force, and the asari collapses in the same moment as a bullet from Morgan's sniper rifle shatters the offending hunter's flashlight head.

After the last of the geth have been mopped up, Liara is able to get up on her own, rubbing her head and wincing as Morgan walks over to check up on her. Meanwhile, the others are already on their way towards the consoles on the far end of the operations center, Tali throwing only a quick glance to see that Liara is moving, knowing that her people are getting torn apart by the geth, understandably feeling rushed.

"Damn it, those _bosh'tets_!" the quarian is clearly upset, having checked the main operations center console, Morgan leading Liara to rejoin the others. "They've locked down the signal! We can't shut it down from here!"

"Of course, that would have been too easy," Shepard nods sagely. "We haven't been put in life threatening situations yet, so clearly we cannot be done here."

"Speak for yourself," Liara mutters, gently elbowing Morgan in the side as she continues to rub her aching head.

"Everything alright, Liara?" Kaidan asks, looking a little worried.

"Just a little dazed, it will pass soon," the asari replies, clearly unwilling to make it an issue.

"Aha, there!" Tali exclaims, having studied the dreadnaught scans on her omni-tool for some time. "The Reaper signal is coming from the drive core! But... there is a problem. The geth have sealed the emergency bulkheads to block us out. Damn it! We need a route to the drive core that can't be blocked, some kind of path that runs the length of the ship."

"I know this is probably a crazy idea, but what about the main battery?" Kaidan asks, pointing at the relevant spot in the scans. "It seems to run right by the drive core."

"It is a crazy idea," Garrus shakes his head. "We'd get blasted and instantly vaporized, you madman!"

"Perhaps not..." Tali says thoughtfully. "The firing rate of the main gun is slow, once every... let's see, 125 seconds. We cannot cross the entirety of the ship in that time, but there are safe pockets alongside the path at regular intervals, here, here and here..." she points out at the scans. "Yes, that should be reasonably safe. I'm starting to like this plan."

"Alright, let's do it and hope that Tali's plan doesn't leave us reduced to microscopic particles," Shepard grins.

"Not so fast, Shepard, they still have us locked in here," Tali stops her. "Let me see if I can get those doors open... let me just try this, a fake thermal warning should open all maintenance tubes for emergency venting. Uh... but there are a **lot** of hostile geth massing behind the doors..."

"Fish in a barrel, like James would say," Shepard rubs her hands excitedly. "Okay Tali, get your warning primed, but don't send it yet, let us set up our positions at the entrance and wait for the signal."

Tali gives a quick nod as Shepard leads the others to take positions surrounding the entrance. "Garrus, could you fix some proximity mines around the entrance? And Liara, once he's done, set up some singularity fields around it. Kaidan, let's treat that mass of geth to a few delicious grenades as soon as Tali gets the door open." Everyone nods, and Shepard gives her signal to Tali. The door opens a few moments later, and the grenades fly towards the clustered geth, the proximity mines detonate and Liara's biotics kick in, sending the already decimated geth flying.

"Hey, you left nothing for me!" Tali complains good-naturedly, having caught up with them, shotgun at the ready, but finding nothing to aim it at.

"You can have the next group all by yourself, while we stop and take five," Shepard suggests.

"I'm not entirely in agreement with that plan," Garrus says, giving her a mild glare.

"Aw, Garrus, she's turning you into such a softie," Morgan winks at her turian friend.

"Why don't we just go to the maintenance shaft before more reinforcements arrive?" Tali asks, sounding just a tad exasperated. "By the way, Liara..." she adds, turning to the asari. "This is one of those moments when I do feel like hitting Shepard over the head with a blunt object..."


	89. Acceptable Casualties, Quarian Style

_A/N: Sometimes that renegade interrupt with Gerrel just doesn't seem sufficient. Even when playing a paragon Shepard. And fortunately, Morgan is no paragon. :) _

**Chapter 88 - Acceptable Casualties, Quarian Style**

Following Tali's suggestion, they swiftly walk along the maintenance shaft, enjoying the brief respite from geth attacks, and soon enough their bantering picks up again. "So, Tali..." this time it's Kaidan who breaks the silence. "I'm surprised that they are letting an admiral going along on something this dangerous."

"They only agreed to my suggestion to ask the Normandy for help if I joined you for the mission," Tali explains. "I'm afraid that the rest of the Admiralty Board do not seem to be very fond of the Commander. It's a long story..." she adds, seeing Kaidan's inquiring stare.

"Nobody accuses my friends of treason and gets away with it," Shepard snarls, her irritation and anger with the Admiralty Board resurfacing from those memories.

"Besides, I have become quite the thorn in Gerrel's side, and he and Xen are probably happy I'm not interfering with my protests. Perhaps they would not even cry if I..." she hesitates then, thoughtful. "No, that's not fair to them." Shepard is about to ask Tali whether she has any reason to be suspicious, when the quarian suddenly stops, typing frantically on her omni-tool. "Damn it, priority message. That planetary defense tower just took down Admiral Koris' ship."

"Nooo, not the Quib-Quib!" Shepard exclaims dramatically. "Wait, I thought he was hiding in safety on the Normandy?"

"He rejoined his ship when Gerrel ordered more and more of our forces into the battle," Tali explains. "Fortunately they managed to get to the escape pods. Raan is trying to establish a link to them. She wants to speak with you, Shepard."

"Put her through," Morgan urges Tali, immediately hearing Raan's voice on the comm link.

"Shepard, this is Admiral Raan. The Heavy Fleet is collapsing! I don't know how much longer we can hold out!" comes the nervous, almost panicky report.

_Why did they have to commit so much of their forces? _Shepard thinks desperately, the nightmare from the night before drifting up to her mind, the image of a graveyard of quarian ships, burning around her. _I won't let that become reality. Besides, unlike in the dream, nobody can accuse this of being my fault! They're killing themselves like some kind of moronic galactic lemmings!_ "Now that your forces are committed, you have to hold out, Admiral!" she yells a reply. "We need a little more time to deactivate the signal, just hold on for a little longer!"

When it comes, the reply is muffled and undecipherable, Raan apparently too busy to maintain the comm link. Shepard and her team break into a slow, cautious run, still keeping constant lookout for geth forces, worried that they will catch on to their crazy plan. They reach the main battery soon afterwards, stopping on Tali's command and waiting until a massive, pulsating energy shockwave blows by them, Shepard quietly praying at herself that Tali has not miscalculated the intervals between the energy discharges, even if she knows that her old and trusted friend would never make such a novice mistake when their lives are at stake.

Their run through the main battery towards the first safe pocket is probably more rapid than necessary, all five of them a little out of breath, but even Tali seems to prefer erring on the side of caution than to fully trust her own calculations. The waiting for the next shockwave is agonizingly slow, and Shepard feels a slightly suicidal urge to stick her head out of cover and look whether the gun is firing or not. Thankfully, Liara appears to sense her nervousness, 'accidentally' brushing against her side in a very distracting manner.

With Morgan's attention solely on her bondmate, the shockwave, when it finally comes, manages to startle her but quickly they charge towards the next safe pocket, repeating the pattern again and again, step by step moving closer to their destination. In one of the safe pockets, Tali again brings up the dreadnaught schematics, checking for an exit from the main battery. "Alright, I've got it," she says eventually. "Do not stop at the next safe spot, run past it. Twenty meters ahead of it, there should be a maintenance shaft to our left. It leads directly to the drive core."

"If the geth are still onto us, that's where they would have set up their positions," Liara says warningly.

"Yeah, I guess that makes sense," Shepard reluctantly agrees. "Careful when we get there."

After another particularly quick sprint, Garrus reaches the maintenance shaft entrance first, poking his head around the corner and then waving with his hand to signal that the air is clear. "Hmm, no geth," he muses, leading the others through the passage. "They are not living up to their reputation as incredibly irritating pests."

"I wish you hadn't said that," Morgan glares at him. "You know perfectly well what happens after you make a remark like that."

"Well, Shepard, they will know we're still alive and up to no good after I hack the maintenance shaft exit," Tali says, sounding a little unhappy. "And I have no option but to do so, unless you think spending the rest of your days in this narrow tube together with all of us is an amazing idea."

"We would have to resort to cannibalism sooner or later," Shepard says thoughtfully. "I wonder who could we eat first."

"Garrus is avian, so he probably tastes like chicken," Kaidan chuckles.

"Yeah, that is a good idea, Major," Shepard agrees with a nod.

"No, that is a terrible idea," Tali shakes her head. "Keelah, now I regret leading you onto this train of thought. You'll never shut up about it, now."

"Is this another one of those occasions where you feel like shooting Shepard?" Liara asks innocently.

"I think we could eat Tali after Garrus, she looks pretty plump to me," Shepard laughs, slapping her hand against the quarians hip, then ducking to avoid the playful swat Tali throws at her.

"Shepard, I thought you would be more interesting in eating Li-" Garrus starts to make an ill-advised comment, but then is miraculously rescued by Tali's victorious exclamation.

"I've got it!" she cheers as the doors finally part, allowing them passage onwards. "There should be an elevator ahead of us, leading up to the drive core."

Remembering Tali's warnings that the geth will react to them hacking the doors, Shepard and her team hurry to the elevator and punch in a command to take them to the top. They are almost at their destination, when the geth finally arrive, several rocket troopers pouring in from side passages and immediately taking aim at them, opening fire. Two shots reach their target, impacting with the elevator platform, everyone except Shepard making the jump to the safe walkway above, Morgan getting knocked in the opposite direction by the force of explosion. She quickly gets back on her feet and runs across the wobbly platform towards her friends, jumping in the very last moment before the elevator under her gives in and plummets downward. Strong pair of hands grab her and keep her from falling back into the deep shaft. She looks up to see Kaidan's face, the Major pulling her onto the platform and helping her steady herself.

"Thanks, Major," she breathes with relief. "I guess I'm collecting on the one you owed me."

Kaidan chuckles. "Anytime, Commander, anytime."

After a short and uninterrupted walk through a series of access corridors, they arrive at the drive core chamber, that for now appears mercifully devoid of geth. Their attention is immediately drawn to an object that under normal circumstances should never be present in the room. It is a strange, spiky and tentacle-infested device of unmistakably Reaper origin, plugged into the drive core, undoubtedly the source of the Reaper signal that is controlling the geth.

Tali is immediately at the drive core console, analyzing the specifics of the Reaper device and looking for ways to lock down the insidious signal controlling the geth. The quarian wastes no time in starting to input commands, forcing the device's black matted claws to retract, revealing something hidden inside it. It is a shape of a certain familiar looking geth platform, Shepard's old and battered N7 armor easily recognizable, identifying the geth as their old friend, Legion, held suspended by cables and wiring, completely and utterly helpless.

"Shepard-Commander!" Legion pulls up his flashlight head, and Shepard for a moment thinks she has somehow managed to sense desperation in the geth's voice and gesture. "Help us!"

"My god, it is Legion!" she breathes, hardly believing what she sees. "Trapped in some kind of geth bondage fantasy that you can read about on the extranet! Which I have never done!"

"Then please don't tell us how you found out about that," Tali says, almost pleadingly. "But Commander, remember that Legion might be controlled by the Reaper signal like all the geth! We don't even know how they came to be under the Reaper control."

"We can assist you, Shepard-Commander," Legion continues to speak. "We told you that we would never agree to subjugation by the Old Machines. This is still true."

"You have had dealings with this geth?" Kaidan asks, surprised, but for once not immediately condemning. "I trust you know what you are doing, Commander, but I would feel better if it could prove it is not under Reaper control."

"The architecture of this platform is too complex to be controlled by this signal," Legion explains, though Shepard is not immediately certain she should believe such a convenient explanation. "We are being used to broadcast the command signal to all geth. Freeing us will end the signal. Once you have done so, you may destroy us if you deem it necessary."

"Well, let's not resort to something so drastic," Shepard shakes her head. "Even if Legion would be controlled by the Reaper signal, it is unarmed and would not present any danger to five powerful individuals like ourselves." She turns back towards the restrained geth. "Alright, so do we just sever those connections or...?"

"No, we are secured by nearby hardware blocks on the far side of the room that shackle our operating protocols," Legion explains. "Deactivation should be simple. The geth protect them against viral attack, not physical removal."

"Suits me just fine," Morgan shrugs. "Smashing things is more up my alley anyway."

"How did the Reapers gain control of your people, Legion?" Liara asks, Kaidan and Garrus already starting to move towards the far side of the chamber.

"They did not. The creators attacked us," Legion explains. "The geth wished to live. The Old Machines extended an offer. In the end, we chose to ally with the Old Machines. Gaining consensus was very difficult. Had the creators not attacked, it would not have been necessary."

"Goddess... they only joined the Reapers to save themselves!" Liara explains, unable to stop herself from shooting a glance at Tali, who of course interprets it as accusation.

"Damn it," the quarian's voice is tearful when she speaks again, shoulders trembling lightly. "I begged them to negotiate rather than attack, I did! But they did not care, did not listen... I hated feeling so helpless about changing their minds, I hated myself for being unable to do anything!"

"I'm sorry, Tali. It sounds like you've gone through some really rough past months," Shepard says apologetically, putting her arm around Tali's shoulder. "But you can still make things right. That's why we're here, remember? To help you and your people."

"Of course, Shepard..." Tali manages to recover quickly, slipping out of Morgan's embrace and setting to quickly follow Garrus and Kaidan. "Let's just get Legion out of there and disable that signal."

Kaidan is busy overriding the data core as Shepard and the others catch up with them, Tali immediately alerting the other admirals that the signal is about to go offline, to which Admiral Han'Gerrel responds with a short message of gratitude. Meanwhile, Morgan watches Legion slowly extricating himself from the Reaper device, nimbly climbing out of its prison, and then standing near one of the data consoles, making Shepard a little worried about its intentions. As she starts to move towards the geth, however, she is stopped by a spectacular sizzle of energy as the power in the drive core winks out.

"As a gesture of cooperation, we have disabled the dreadnaught's drive core," Legion informs them. "All weapons and barriers are offline."

The joy and relief that they all feel at these news is short-lived, however. Heavy clonking sounds announce arrival of geth reinforcements, great many of them. "I'm guessing Legion's friends disagree with this gesture of cooperation," Garrus mutters angrily, quickly assessing the situation. "Damn, we've got Primes. This could get complicated."

"We should probably fall back," Morgan suggests, as they all drop in cover, facing a rather overwhelming opposition of determined geth. "Uh... what was our escape plan, anyway?"

"Err, I think we planned to return to the Normandy shuttle, after disabling the signal at the operations center," Kaidan says hesitantly.

"Well, we're not crawling back through the main battery," Garrus shakes his head. "Besides, the elevator is out, so that's not an option."

"There are geth fighters in the port-side fighter bay," Legion suggests. "Shepard-Commander, I can take you to safety in one of the geth fighters."

"Okay, let's try to edge towards the exit, I would prefer a strategic withdrawal now that we have fulfilled our mission objectives," Morgan orders, leaning out from the cover for a scant second to quickly put down a geth hunter, after it's shields had been disabled by Tali.

Tali continues to receive updates from the other admirals, forwarding their conversations to Shepard's omni-tool to keep Morgan updated with the situation in the field of battle. "The geth fleet is destabilized," she hears Xen's voice. "I can confirm that the signal is offline."

"Civilian Fleet, prepare to withdraw," Raan gives her order, having assumed control in the absence of Zaal'Koris. "The Patrol Fleet will cover you once the Heavy Fleet is in position. Whenever you're ready, Admiral Gerrel!"

_Pfew, at last they are doing the right thing and getting the hell out of there, _Shepard breathes a sigh of relief, as together with her team, Legion included, they attempt to flank the geth while trying to press towards the exit. The geth are quick to react, however, increasing the pressure on the right flank, trying to cut off their escape route, both of the Primes moving there to intercept them.

At Shepard's command, they concentrate their firepower towards the already slightly damaged Prime, Legion and Kaidan both suffering from the return fire, but fortunately their injuries are light, while the Prime crumbles and eventually explodes, and they quickly focus to bring down its equally dangerous colleague. In their desperate attempts to bring down the Primes as quickly as possible, they have neglected the other still numerous geth forces, and a rocket trooper manages to catch Morgan, instantly shattering her kinetic barriers, and one of the cloaked hunters immediately seeks to profit from her vulnerability, the bullet grazing her helmet as she hastily ducks back to cover.

One of the hunters suddenly reappears right behind Liara, but the asari somehow senses it, rolling forward just as the geth is about to smash her head in with the butt of its rifle. Shepard and Garrus immediately make the synthetic pay for its boldness, as Raan's voice echoes on her comms, sounding alarmingly shocked and dismayed. "Admiral Gerrel, what are you doing?" she is shouting, the reason for her reaction revealed shortly, once Gerrel responds.

"Raan, check your screens," comes the reply. "The dreadnaught is helpless, no barriers and the main gun offline! We can remove their flagship if we strike now!"

"Damn it, this is our chance to withdraw the Civilian Fleet to safety!" Raan screams back at him.

"What are they talking about?" Tali shouts in the comms, trying to remind her fellow admirals about her apparently forgotten existence. "We're still onboard of the dreadnaught!"

"We can't waste this chance," Gerrel responds coldly. "Heavy Fleet, forward. Take out the dreadnaught!"

"Patrol Fleet, hold position!" Raan orders in protest. _Please, please, do grow a spine, Raan,_

Shepard prays silently, for a moment forgetting to fight back against the geth, too disturbed by these new developments.

"You do that and the Heavy Fleet gets wiped out!" Gerrel yells back at her. "And if we die, a simple retreat won't save you from the geth retaliation!" _C'mon, don't believe him, don't believe him, damn it, he has to be bluffing, he must be! _

There is a brief silence in communications. Then she hears Shala'Raan swearing angrily. "Damn you, Gerrel," her voice is resigned and Shepard's heart sinks at the realization of what is about to happen.

"Welcome to the ranks of acceptable casualties, my friends," she exclaims angrily, staring at Tali in particular, the young quarian stubbornly continuing to fire at the geth, refusing to show any emotion. _Her heart must be breaking. Betrayed by her own people, their leaders,_ Shepard realizes, feeling the desperate need to say or do something to lift Tali's spirits. _Well, getting off this ship alive would probably be the best thing right now. Though looks like that might be a tall order._

The Heavy Fleet by now has opened fire on the geth dreadnaught, and the drive core is one of the prime targets of the quarian frigates, parts of the chamber are starting to collapse, including the core support that crashes down and conveniently buries most of the attacking geth under the rubble. Shepard and her squad immediately use this opportunity to dash towards the crumbling exit and to the access shaft leading to the fighter bay.

The dreadnought is slowly collapsing in on itself, whole sections coming down around them in fire and explosions, they have to be constantly aware of bits and pieces of metal scraps and debris falling all around them in fragments large enough to crush them to immediate death. "I don't suppose it is worth asking the Fleet to hold fire?" Liara asks, breathless by her side.

"Gerrel was perfectly aware we were still onboard," Shepard snarls, enraged to the point of seeing everything through a red mist. "I'm going to teach him a thing or two about acceptable losses as soon as we get the fuck off this wreck."

"Access to the docking protocols has been gained," Legion speaks, as they arrive at the fighter bay, by some miracle still alive. The passageway ahead of them leading to the giant bee-shaped fighters has partly collapsed, a nasty hole gaping in the middle of it, and Shepard waits for all of her friends to take a jump across it before attempting the leap herself. She makes the jump, only to have another part of the passageway collapsing underneath her, and she finds herself falling down into the darkness, accompanied by Liara's anguished scream... then fortuitously landing on a similar walkway about ten meters below, spike of pain driving through her head, shoulder and hip from the powerful impact.

"Commander, we can only launch the fighter from the upper level!" Legion warns her, and she is back to her feet immediately, looking around for a way to get back up, fortunately immediately spotting an intact walkway leading upwards. Explosions resound all around her, one of the geth fighters plunges down from above her and cuts off the walkway a few meters behind her, and Morgan knows that if she had been a second slower, she would have been a small red smear on the metal plating.

"Everyone, get into the fighter, I'm almost there!" she shouts on the comms, seeing that Liara is hesitating to get in, nervously pacing and trying to spot her. "Liara! Get inside!" she yells again, as the ship is rocked by a particularly nasty explosion.

"We've lost the environmental fields," Tali exclaims, watching Liara floating helplessly into the air, but then Legion is there next to her, reaching out and grabbing the asari by her shins and holding tight. Shepard also flies through the air, but fortunately the velocity is still propelling her in the direction of the fighter, and as she floats just above her bondmate, Liara reaching out and grabbing her, pulling Morgan down towards her.

"This is kind of romantic in a 'you are completely nuts' kind of way," Shepard manages a nervous chuckle, embracing Liara as Legion unceremoniously drags them back towards the fighter.

"Only you could think of that when the dreadnaught is collapsing around us," Liara shakes her head at Morgan, but never breaks her returned embrace on Shepard.

"Joker?" Shepard activates the comms to the Normandy. "We're leaving in a geth fighter! Don't shoot us down, okay?"

"Could you waggle the wings or something so I know which one is you?" Joker asks them jokingly.

"I don't think there are any other geth escaping the dreadnaught in a fighter," Shepard retorts quickly. "Transmitting rendezvous coordinates."

"I just hope that the quarians don't decide to fire on us," Kaidan decides to voice something that has been worrying Shepard ever since adopting this plan.

"I think they are too focused on the dreadnaught to notice a single fighter escaping," Tali replies, unable to hide her nervousness. "Uh... I hope..."

* * *

The Admiralty Board reconvenes in the Normandy War Room, planning to discuss their tactics now that the dreadnaught has been destroyed and the geth fleet is in disarray, but Shepard pushes past them rudely, ignoring the admirals as she hurries to the comm room to contact Hackett on the QEC.

"They fired on the dreadnaught while you were onboard?" Admiral Hackett asks, just to make sure, after she has clearly relayed the whole matter to him.

"As I said, Admiral Han'Gerrel's orders nearly got us killed, sir," Shepard reiterates once more. "Myself, Major Alenko, Garrus, Tali and Liara, we came a whisker away from dying. And without us, there would be nobody left who could effectively take command of the Normandy!"

"That does sound like Gerrel. He's been causing troubles along the turian border for years," Hackett nods, looking disgusted. "But Shepard, we need help if we are to win this war. We need a fleet and the quarians have the biggest one out there."

"What are you saying, sir?" Shepard looks at Hackett, feeling a little stunned.

"I'm saying that we need the quarians on our side, and that you're going to get their support, Shepard, no matter how," Hackett states, stone-faced.

"So, after they try to kill me and my squad, I'm expected to kiss their asses and make nice, is that what you're saying, Admiral?"

"Shepard, I know it must be feeling raw right now, but-" Hackett starts to speak sternly, but gets interrupted.

"Sorry, sir, I can't make out what you're saying any more, getting far too much bullshit on this line," she says swiftly, severing the connection and stepping away from the consoles, breathing heavily. _Damn it, how can I do this, how can I stop myself from blowing Gerrel's brains out? _she thinks hurriedly, her hands shaking from anger._ There was no reason for him not to wait until we got off the dreadnaught! He never even asked how much time we needed! He just pushed the attack as soon as he could get a clean line of fire, as if he hoped that Tali and I went down with the ship! _

_Fuck. Fuck that bastard. Alright, I'll try... I'll try to make nice... but if he tries something like that again, and we both survive this and the war against Reapers... there might be reckoning. _She takes another deep breath, straightening her back, feeling her anger subsiding a little, dropping to the point where she is certain she can control it while conducting her talks with the Admiralty Board.

The quarians are arguing bitterly in the War Room, Raan pointing an accusing finger at Gerrel, as she probably senses that their ally is not impressed by the Heavy Fleet trying to take them out together with the dreadnaught. "Your unilateral strike endangered us all!" she admonishes her fellow admiral. "I should charge you with treason!"

"I was within my authority as admiral of the Heavy Fleet!" Gerrel shouts back, clearly unrepentant.

"You were willing to risk the lives of Shepard and Tali'Zorah!" Raan is not about to let go easily.

"They escaped unharmed!" Gerrel protests, then turning towards Morgan as she approaches them in the War Room. "Shepard! The mission parameters changed. You're military, you understand that!"

The red mist is back clouding her eyes immediately as Gerrel's words reach her ears. _Not even an apology, that fucking bastard!_ She is upon Gerrel before anyone can even move a muscle, her body acting on its own, as if disconnected from her brain, unable to exert any self-control to reign in her rage. Gerrel doubles over with a heavy grunt from the first powerful punch to his midsection, but it is not the last. She continues to pummel him like a helpless sack of grain, hearing cracks of fracturing bones and feeling something giving in as her fists continue to connect with Gerrel's abdomen.

"Shepard, what are you doing!?" she can vaguely hear Raan's terrified cries.

"Stop, Shepard!" Tali's voice is pleading, and it manages to get through, she lowers her hands, watching Gerrel's body twist and turn, toppling face first into the consoles, resounding loud crack as his faceplate hits a hard edge and breaks.

"Somebody get that animal off him!" Xen shouts, as Shepard slowly comes back to her senses, watching Admiral Han'Gerrel's badly beaten frame twitching at her feet. _Wait,_ she suddenly realizes, as the red mist dissipates and some clarity is restored to her brain. _I was supposed to try diplomacy first... wasn't I?_


	90. A Human Reaction

**Chapter 89 - A Human Reaction**

It takes an hour of passionate pleading on Tali's part until Admiral Shala'Raan and Admiral Daro'Xen agree to return to the Normandy and resume negotiations. Shepard spends the time up in her quarters, unwilling to speak to anybody, her crew while overall approving of her treatment of Gerrel, appear a little disturbed and frightened from the way she had retaliated, mercilessly beating the admiral to near death.

She allows Liara to hold her in a tight embrace as she rests on the bed, waiting for news from Tali, her bondmate's touch intended to be soothing, even if Shepard remains fiercely unrepentant of her actions, refusing the idea that she needs to be comforted about dishing out senseless beating to a bastard who endangered her life and that of her bondmate and their friends.

"Shepard, they're coming back onboard," Tali finally reaches her on the comms, sounding a little hesitant, as if worried that she might next beat up Xen or Raan. "Are you... are you alright?"

"I'm fine, Tali," she replies curtly. "I'll be right back with you in the War Room."

Both Raan and Xen take a step back as Shepard returns to accompany them, their postures radiating nervousness. "I hope that we can conduct the rest of our negotiations in more civil atmosphere, Commander Shepard," Admiral Raan finally says, after a moment of uncomfortable silence. "If not for Tali's passionate speech on your behalf, we would not be here. While your anger was understandable, such behavior will not be tolerated."

"It will not be repeated," Shepard replies politely. _Unless you decide to fire on me and my friends again, _she adds silently, continuing to smile pleasantly as she turns towards Tali. "I am in your debt, Tali."

"I owed you one for the trial, Shepard," Tali replies, it looks as if she is smiling under her mask.

"I regret that Tali'Zorah would not listen to my urging to leave the Normandy, after which your ship would have been reduced to ashes, Shepard," Xen says plainly, crossing her arms on her chest defiantly. "Your shameful behavior deserved no other response."

"Admiral Xen, we went over this already, and we agreed to focus on the task before us," Raan says, seeking reconciliation.

"How bad are the injuries?" Shepard asks.

"There is extensive damage to his abdominal region, and the doctors are having difficulties in stopping the internal bleeding, because of the multiple infections Admiral Gerrel suffered due to his faceplate breaking," Raan explains in a stony voice.

"But he is conscious and insists on being involved in any vote that the Admiralty Board decides to take," Xen interjects sharply. _Of course, she doesn't want to lose the voice that will insist on dragging this war on, _Shepard realizes. _Fuck. It might have been tactically more sound to just kill the bastard. Though, they might have shot us in retaliation, so maybe not..._

"I hope Admiral Gerrel makes a full recovery. I will apologize for my shameful behavior to him in person after we have dealt with the geth problem," Shepard lies, then turning back to Raan. "What are the next steps the Admiralty Board wishes to take in this war?"

"The geth inflicted heavy casualties before you disabled the Reaper signal," Raan replies. _Damn it, maybe I should turn to Legion for alliance instead?_ Shepard wonders, her eyes falling on Tali. _Nah, she'd never go along with it, I can't forsake a friend even if her people are a bunch of morons. Or well, led by a bunch a morons, making them all look bad._ "The sacrifice of Admiral Koris prevented our losses from becoming catastrophic. He crash-landed on the homeworld to take out the planetary defense cannon of the geth."

"We can assist with the rescue efforts," Shepard recognizes her opportunity to make nice, following up with a quick suggestion. "Normandy's stealth drive can get us close and the quarian's don't need to risk any of their ships." _And I have more ships left intact for the fight against the Reapers, everybody wins!_

"Thank you, Commander," Raan says, bowing lightly. "I believe the worst of the fighting is now over. The geth are in full retreat, now that they no longer possess the programming upgrades they had while enslaved by the Reapers."

"This is a false assumption," suddenly they are interrupted by the metallic chirping voice of Legion, Raan and Xen immediately reaching for their weapons, forgetting that they have been surrendered before coming onboard the Normandy.

"Ah, Legion, glad you could join us, as I asked you," Shepard smiles, secretly taking great enjoyment from the discomfort of the admirals.

"What the hell is that?!" Raan shouts, her stare moving between Shepard and Legion, demanding answers.

"That is an old friend of mine, Legion. It helped me defeat the Collectors," Shepard kindly explains. "We found it on the geth dreadnaught, where the Reapers had been using its platform as a signal booster to broadcast their signal to the other geth. We freed it and thought that it might be helpful to have its insights on the geth represented at this summit."

"Did you go along with this, Tali'Zorah?" Raan turns to the younger quarian, her voice stern.

"Yes. I have fought alongside Legion many times and it has always proven loyal," Tali shrugs as she replies. "Legion was the reason I believed this war was unnecessary and that we could have achieved lasting peace if you would have been willing to enter negotiations. But war was all that Han'Gerrel and Daro'Xen were willing to consider!"

"Why did you never tell me any of this, Tali'Zorah?" Raan sounds a little shocked.

"Because you would have branded me a traitor to my people for collaborating with the geth!" Tali exclaims.

"You **are** a traitor to our people. But we will deal with your irresponsible ideas later," Xen says, looking at Legion with what Shepard can only interpret as fascination. "That said, this prototype is amazing! With some study, I may be able to use it to find a weakness in the geth consensus."

"Like I said before, Legion helped us defeat the Collectors," Shepard turns towards Xen, giving her an angry stare. "I won't let you dissect its platform for whatever reasons."

"Yes, yes, your rifle helped you as well, should I worry about its feelings as well?" Xen responds adamantly.

"Admiral Xen. If you insist on continuing this line of thought," Shepard takes a step closer to the admiral. "I am sure there is an empty bed in the infirmary next to Gerrel. Push this, and you might be making use of that empty bed."

"We will not tolerate threats!" Raan sounds incensed.

"Raan, Xen is provoking her, don't you see it?" Tali protests.

Raan hesitates for a moment, before looking at Xen. "I think we should all just calm down," she says eventually, turning back towards Legion, the geth looking on at their bickering, waiting to be addressed. "You said something about false assumptions. Explain yourself," Raan orders.

"You have cut off long-range control by destroying the dreadnaught, but the Old Machines placed a base on Rannoch for short-range direction," Legion elaborates helpfully. "They might be disorganized currently, but once the short-range signal is in place, they will recover."

"We need to destroy that base immediately!" Xen exclaims.

"It's location is unknown to us," Legion replies. Before Xen can accuse it of lying, the geth continues. "However, we do know the location of a server from which geth fighter squadrons are controlled. These squadrons intend to target creator liveships."

"This is worrying news, especially with Admiral Koris missing and unable to coordinate the Civilian Fleet," Raan shakes her head. "Xen, I want you to assume control of the Civilian Fleet and do what you can to keep the liveships safe."

"That would leave you in charge of Patrol and Heavy Fleets, Raan, which is surely too much to ask of anyone. I think it would be best if you coordinated Patrol and Civilian Fleets and left the Heavy Fleet to me," Xen shakes her head in disagreement.

Shepard feels like intervening, not really wanting to see Xen take control of the main firepower of the quarian fleets, but at the same time she understands that this is definitely outside her sphere of influence, silently watching Raan eventually agreeing with a nod of her head. "Thank you, Raan. I will return to the Neema and coordinate the Heavy Fleet from Gerrel's ship."

"With Commander Shepard's permission, I would like to remain on the Normandy and observe our fleets from here," Raan says, looking at Shepard who quickly gives her acceptance. "We will stay in touch constantly, Xen," she tells her fellow admiral, who is already making her way out of the War Room.

"This is not good, Shepard," Tali looks at her worriedly. "If the geth fighters manage to cripple even one of our liveships..."

"The Civilian Fleet cannot defend itself against targeted strikes by the geth fighters," Raan agrees. "Even if we have jury-rigged every civilian ship with cannons, their armor and shielding remain inferior and inadequate."

Shepard feels her mouth opening from shock and then slowly closing again as she swallows a litany of swearwords. "Like a I said, treaty violations just come naturally to quarians," she says, shaking her head. "Sure, Treaty of Farixen was pretty much the Council shooting itself in the foot, considering what we now know about the Reaper invasion, but still... outfitting your liveships with cannons? Of course the geth or any semi-intelligent opponents will choose them as targets!"

"The Heavy Fleet will do its best to keep our civilians safe," Raan says defensively.

"I hope Daro'Xen will place as high priority on this task as you do, Admiral Raan," Shepard smirks. "Anyway, it seems as we have two targets, disabling the geth server and rescuing Admiral Zaal'Koris. Admiral Raan, I will require all the relevant intel about the crash of Quib-Quib."

Raan nods to her. "Every detail we have will be forwarded to you immediately."

"Legion, I will speak to you about the geth server in a moment," Shepard tell the geth, then turning to Tali. "I'll want everyone to be ready for the ground mission within an hour. You'll get the mission details as soon as I have them."

"Understood, Shepard," Tali nods. "Until then, I will remain here with Raan and help monitor the fleets."

"We would prefer to station this platform in the AI core," Legion says, departing. "We are willing to exchange information upon your arrival."

Shepard remains in the War Room for a while longer, conversing with Tali while Raan uploads all the relevant intel about the last known location of Admiral Koris. She also informs all of her squad members to begin their preparations for a ground mission, before seeking her way down to the AI core to catch up with Legion.

"Shepard-Commander. You opposed Creator Admiral Xen's attempt to confiscate our platform," Legion greets her upon Shepard's arrival. "We appreciate the assistance."

"Well, she's a dangerous fanatic who wants to enslave your people under quarian control. There's no way I'm helping her," Shepard shrugs. "Anyway, let's talk about the geth targeting quarian liveships. What's going on?"

"The squadrons assigned to this attack are networked to a server on Rannoch," Legion explains. "However, simply destroying the server would not be a solution. The geth programs would simply transfer to alternate servers. They are only vulnerable through direct interface."

"Direct interface? You mean... somehow disabling the geth on software level or..."

"That is essentially correct," Legion nods. "We will accompany you on this mission and provide step-by-step guidance. The risk involved will be minimal."

"Actually, I was planning to lead the squad in charge of rescuing Admiral Zaal'Koris," Shepard says. "Would you be willing to work with Creator Admiral Tali'Zorah to disable the geth server?"

"That would be acceptable. The mission might provide greater understanding of the geth, which could foster more effective cooperation," Legion nods after a little pause. "However, Creator Tali'Zorah's trust will be necessary to make certain decisions."

"It will be ensured," Shepard promises. "But if she comes to any harm, Legion, I will show your people no mercy."

"Creator Tali'Zorah will be kept safe," Legion replies. "Her past assistance continues to be appreciated."

"If your people can be freed from the Reaper control and Creator attacks cease, do you think the geth would be willing to help in the battle against the Old Machines?" Shepard asks, hoping that Legion's answer will not further condemn her decision to rewrite the heretics as one of the stupidest mistakes in recent galactic history.

"Answer is not available at this time, however, we predict that a positive consensus can be reached. Shepard-Commander, if your notion of peace can be realized, then the decision to rewrite the heretics will work to the advantage of us all," Legion adds, making Shepard wonder whether a machine might have sensed her thoughts.

"How did this war even get started, Legion? Did the quarians simply appear one day and hit your people out of the blue?" she asks then.

"The geth were building a megastructure to house all geth, store all memories. After the rewriting of the heretics, it was to end our isolation from each other. That was when the Creators attacked, destroying a significant amount of programs that had already been installed in the megastructure. The collective intelligence of the geth was decreased as a result of this attack, and the instinct of self-preservation prevailed over a narrowing perspective of other options. Our people had no desire to be exterminated, and allying with the Reapers appeared to be the only option. Shepard-Commander. My people had been planning for war with the Old Machines when the Creators attacked."

"Gah!" Shepard exclaims in frustration. "Those... those... stupid, moronic, idiotic... argh! If not for Tali, I would... I don't know what I would do. Choose to ally with the geth over the quarians, I suspect. Anyway... good talking with you, Legion, I'll go speak with Tali and then think about who else to send with you... probably whoever is the least likely to blow their top over the crazy plan you have come up with..."

* * *

Shepard makes her first stop at the bridge, having to deal with Joker's wise-ass comments before she finally gets the chance to inform EDI that she will be accompanying Tali and Legion on the ground mission to disable the geth server. _If there's someone I don't have to worry about being prejudiced against the geth, it's EDI. _

"Not again, Commander, seriously, I need EDI here on the bridge!" Joker immediately starts his usual whine.

"Please, Commander, I trust you will once again dismiss Jeff's concerns as foolish and insignificant," EDI replies. "I would be happy to assist in any capacity."

"In my absence, Tali will be in charge of this mission," Shepard tells EDI. "Accept her orders as if they were mine."

"Understood, Commander," EDI says. "Am I allowed to accidentally shoot Legion's platform? He referred to my platform as having low-volume hydraulics and being top-heavy."

"But it **is** delightfully top-heavy," Joker chuckles, giving EDI a very fond and slightly leering stare.

Shepard sighs, before bonking Joker lightly on the head. "That's about enough, Joker. EDI, Tali'Zorah will inform you about the time of your departure. And no, please, no shooting of Legion, we need that good old flashlight head."

"Very well, Shepard," EDI reluctantly agrees. "I shall resort myself to mockery about his humor heuristics still lacking an expert system..."

* * *

"You don't want to take me with you?" Liara is understandably surprised, when Morgan informs her that she will be joining Tali, EDI and Legion.

"I always want you to be with me, babe," Morgan smiles at her bondmate, then proceeding to explain the whole extent of Legion's plan, or at least as much as she has gathered from the geth's explanations. "In short, I need someone reasonable to accompany Tali, not a testosterone driven male who's going to go 'Grrrr! Evul Geth! I shoot you ded, haha!'"

"I am not sure I can blame them, Morgan... this plan is incredibly risky..." Liara's eyes widen as she realizes the true extent of what is being required of them. "I... do not know Legion as well as you do, is it wise to place so much trust in a geth?"

"The plan depends on that we do so, love," Morgan replies, wrapping her arms around the asari and pulling her close. "It took all my persuasion to convince Tali to go along with it, and now I must ask you the same. I need you to trust Legion and go along with everything it proposes. Can you do this for me?"

Liara looks at her, those blue eyes full with utter devotion, her bondmate nodding without hesitation. "For you, I will do whatever you ask, without a doubt or question asked," she says softly, lowering her head on Morgan's chest. "You feel so very tense. Is it because of Gerrel?"

"Everything just... adds up, really," Morgan replies hoarsely. "A combination of things."

"I wish you would open up and share your worries with me, as we agreed we would," Liara whispers. "I wish you did not think I am not strong enough to endure whatever is plaguing you."

"It's not that, Liara... it's just a..."

"A human reaction to keep everything to yourself," Liara finishes for her. "Yes, you told me that once. And I told you that it was very silly."

"I can go on for a bit longer, babe. Just as long as I don't have to stop and think about how I'm feeling and then all that shit comes down on me."

"You can't go on like that for long, Morgan. Please, let me help."

"I know I should... how about after we have brought the geth and the quarians back to their senses and stopped this war?" Morgan suggests.

"Promise?" Liara asks, looking up at her. She nods, sighing in contention as Liara darts upwards to lock her lips against Morgan's, and she knows she could kiss these lips for eternity and never get bored of that sweet, intoxicating taste of her bondmate.

"We'll take a little time for ourselves after this," she says, as they exchange a few more casual kisses before breaking apart. "But come now. We have work to do..."


	91. Echoes of the Morning War

**Chapter 90 - Echoes of the Morning War **

Tali walks, no, staggers out of Shepard's quarters, after their discussion of mission details. _I must be insane to have agreed to something as this,_ she thinks, feeling her knees shaking. _They want me to enter the geth consensus? It's mad, completely mad! And I agreed just because... Legion claimed it would be safe? Keelah, what is it about Shepard that she can get me to agree to the craziest things? _

_Do I trust Legion?_ She asks herself, remembering the adventures they had shared together with Garrus, trying to smuggle the geth back to Perseus Veil. They had established almost an odd sort of friendship over those three weeks. _It is impossible for an organic to truly understand what is going on in the consensus of the synthetics. But I do not think that Legion would wish to harm me, there is no logical reason for the geth to desire that. I am the only sympathetic quarian the geth have met. No, Shepard is right this time, I feel that I can trust Legion. _

_And Shepard is absolutely correct that Garrus would never agree with me going along with something like this. She is right to split us apart for this mission. Garrus is sweet, but... he can get so annoyingly protective, _Tali smiles at herself, feeling her heart grow a little warmer just from once again sharing the same ship with the turian she has grown so fond of. _I should speak with him, before we depart each on our own mission. There was barely time to exchange a word or two on the dreadnaught, and I have missed him so much._

Slightly nervous, she takes the elevator down to the crew deck and hesitantly walks to the main battery, mostly just not willing to feed the gossip treadmill, but nobody pays any attention to her, and she arrives at Garrus' lair to catch the turian making some last minute modifications to his Widow rifle.

"Hey, I was... hoping to catch you before we have to leave," Tali says, as the doors close behind her and she slowly steps closer to Garrus.

"Oh... and I was hoping you'd come and stop by," the turian replies. His mandibles then twitch to form a disapproving expression. "Though I wanted to speak with Shepard and propose that I take Liara's place on your squad. She must have made some oversight in making that decision."

"I, ah... just spoke to her about it, and she was adamant that the squads remain as she has arranged them," Tali quickly speaks up. "Please, Garrus, there is no need to argue this, we will have... time to talk afterwards, I'm sure."

Garrus stares at her, then shrugging. "Fine. I just thought it was strange," he adds. "I... have been looking forward to steal a moment with you, ever since you stepped onboard."

Tali immediately steps closer and embraces him, resting her head against his shoulder, sensing his arms wrap around her shoulders, making her feel safe and at peace. "I have felt the same way," she confesses quietly.

"How have you been, my Chiktikka?" Garrus asks. "I imagine that dealing with those other admirals must have been... infuriating."

"Garrus, it has been nothing but horrible," she confesses, happy that he cannot see the tears behind her mask, but knowing that he still senses her despair from the way her shoulders shake slightly. "I tried to talk them out of attacking the geth, we argued and fought every day, but I just... I just couldn't do it, they just didn't take me seriously!"

"They're idiots," Garrus says angrily. "I know some of the crew are concerned about Shepard losing her temper, but I am glad she beat that bastard Gerrel senseless."

"To feel so helpless was... I often thought about giving up, about resigning. But then I remembered Shepard, and you too Garrus, and I knew that neither of you would have given up, so I fought on for as much as I could... and as you can see, it has all led to absolutely nothing. My people still insist on getting themselves wiped out against the geth."

"You've managed to hold them back long enough for Shepard and the Normandy to get here, and that counts as success in my eyes," Garrus tells her gently. "We'll help you keep your people safe."

"I... hadn't thought about it like that," Tali finally admits. "I suppose that is some consolation. Garrus... the scientific breakthroughs that enabled this war were based from my father's work on the Alarei. Research that I aided by supplying him with geth components."

"Spirits..." Garrus finds himself exclaiming in shock. "No wonder you feel under so much pressure, my little Admiral."

"Now you know the truth," Tali buries her head in his shoulder again. "If we do not win this war, I would be directly responsible for the destruction of my race." They stand silent for a while, Garrus gently rocking her in his arms as Tali slowly calms down. "But I've been going on all about myself, while you and Shepard have been fighting the Reapers and facing atrocities I can only imagine. You told me about Palaven, and the horrors your people have had to endure. That has to be weighing down on you."

"It's been made worse by not knowing the fate of my family," Garrus confesses. "And the Primarch putting more and more responsibility on me does not help. Making decisions that affect fates of millions... spirits, I hate this war."

"Believe me, Garrus, I have tasted the responsibility... I know all too well how it feels," Tali sighs. "But perhaps we can make it easier to bear by being there for each other, and offering support. Like Liara and Shepard."

"I... think I would like that," Garrus replies, hugging her tighter, and Tali acutely feels the shape of his body against hers through her light combat suit, igniting that sudden and powerful urge to tear off her mask, to forget all about the consequences, and to press her lips against Garrus' mouth... but this is not the time, nor place for it.

"After we have retaken Rannoch for your people, you will join us on the Normandy," she hears the turian's voice again. It is not a question, it is a confident statement.

"My people deserve the chance to rebuild in peace, but I do not think the Reapers will grant us the opportunity," she replies. "Our fleets will join Shepard's war effort, and I will go with them. And where else could I be but here? My name is still Tali'Zorah vas Normandy."

"And a beautiful name it is," Garrus chuckles, delighted to hear her words.

"Flatterer," she playfully punches him in reply, then pulling away reluctantly. "Let us get ready, though. The time of departure nears."

* * *

Tali's squad leave the Normandy first, Lieutenant Steve Cortez piloting their Kodiak, followed by James Vega taking Shepard's crew out in the other shuttle. Tali finds herself smiling as she looks over her squad, understanding Shepard's reasoning in selecting EDI and Liara to accompany her. Looking at EDI's new platform walking around with a tantalizing sway of its metallic hips, Tali is left shaking her head in slight disbelief, uncertain whether she should trust a Cerberus AI any more than she trusts Legion, but she knows that EDI has been faithful to them and will remain objective. And Liara, her dear asari friend would do as Shepard has asked of her without questioning.

The shuttle flies above the jagged surface of reddish brown rocks of her homeworld, and Tali fights the intense desire to just order Cortez to bring the shuttle down for at least a moment, just so she can stand on the ground of her beloved Rannoch. _We will be landing soon anyway,_ she tells herself, trying to remain patient.

Midway during their journey, their shuttle receives a vid call from Admiral Raan, Tali immediately jumping to answer. "Tali'Zorah?" Raan asks, waiting on her to confirm she is receiving the message. "It is as that geth... Legion, warned us. Geth squadrons are massing on a path to intercept our liveships."

"We'll be reaching the server soon, Raan," Tali replies quickly. "Do what you can to keep the liveships safe. I hope Xen agrees that defending the Civilian Fleet is a priority."

"The Heavy Fleet will do what they can to give you more time. Good luck, Tali. Much rides on your shoulders in this," Raan finishes, then cutting the transmission.

_More pressure, just what I needed... thank you so much, Auntie Raan!_ Tali sighs inwardly, giving Legion another stare. "So... how exactly is this going to work?"

"Our upgrades allow us to remain undetected on encrypted geth channels," Legion replies. "We will only encounter resistance within the server. Creator Tali'Zorah, Shepard-Commander has informed you that you will need to join the geth consensus by using a virtual interface."

"I still don't know how you can promise that no harm will come to me while I'm interacting with hostile geth within the server," Tali says, feeling her nervousness growing.

"Because geth security is not adept at targeting organic thought processes," Legion explains. "And we will make sure that they have difficulty adapting to your attacks. While we occupy the system's intrusion countermeasures, you will be free to disable the squadrons by removing geth from the server. Telemetry data predicts this operation has a high chance of success."

"That's... reassuring," Tali sighs, then turning to look at EDI. "What do you think about this plan, EDI?" she asks.

"All relevant mission intelligence is compatible with previously accumulated knowledge of the geth," the Cerberus AI replies helpfully. "I have not detected anything that would indicate deception from parties involved. My simulations match the telemetry data provided by Legion."

"I'll go along with what EDI says," Liara agrees, seeing Tali's head turn towards her. "This is the best way to save your liveships, without sacrificing large parts of your fleet, Tali."

"I know that," Tali finally admits, as Cortez brings the shuttle in for landing, and Legion is the first one to quickly jump outside, mentioning something about being short on time and needing to disable the security. Tali steps out as the last, savoring the moment as her feet land in the coarse red gravel covering the ground. _It is just gravel, you have seen and walked on it on dozens of planets,_ she tells herself, even if she knows that this gravel is special as she bends to pick down handfuls of it, feeling it seep through her fingers.

"Tali," she hears Liara's quiet voice next to her, feeling the asari's hand on her shoulder. "I hate to tear you away from this, but we must hurry."

"Of course, Liara," she snaps out of the moment, quickly refocusing on the task at hand, following the asari inside the massive geth structure, Legion and EDI already at work in disabling the few active platforms in charge of protecting the server's hardware. The resistance is broken quickly after Tali and Liara join the fight, and they are left alone to look around and observe the alien structure, crammed full with hardware blocks, blinking computer consoles and large number of inactive geth platforms, including an array of intimidating Primes.

Legion is already awaiting her at one of the opened pods, similar to those that store the Primes, urging Tali to enter it. With slightly shaky legs, Tali gets inside, stopping Legion when it attempts to close the cover. "Liara? If... if the AI seize control of my body..." she struggles to speak the words to her asari friend. "Please, don't hesitate... put me down. Promise."

Liara appears a little uncomfortable, before finally nodding. "Very well, I promise. But Tali," she says, forcing herself to smile. "It will be alright. I know it."

Tali gives a quick nod, finally letting Legion to seal her in, the geth immediately starting to work on a nearby console. "Initiating peer-network integration," Legion says, watching her squirm uncomfortably inside the pod. "Mapping to consensus. Please remain still, Creator Tali'Zorah. Excess movement during upload is discouraged."

"Legion?" Tali asks, feeling as if the uploading scans would be probing through every fiber of her body. "What is happen-" But she does not get the chance to finish, suddenly blinded by an intense, flashing light, instantly losing consciousness.

* * *

The experience of walking around the virtual world inside the geth server is nothing like Tali has ever witnessed before. Even though Legion has installed filters to convert the server's raw data into something more familiar to her, everything around her is frighteningly alien. The best comparison she can find is a slight similarity to some of the extranet games she remembers playing during the rare downtime during her Pilgrimage. The floating geometric shapes representing geth programs, infected processes and data clusters are at first difficult for her to distinguish, but once Legion has installed additional filters to convert her means to disable the geth into a virtual shotgun, feeling solid and reassuring in her hands, Tali suddenly feels much better about this crazy endeavor.

_What was I supposed to do here again?_ she asks herself, still feeling confused from the frightening sights around her. _Oh right, access the communication nodes to let Legion disable the hostile geth fighters. It's like... like killing its own people, isn't it? That Legion would be willing to help the quarians in this way... well, I guess I was wrong to doubt it. _

Having shot her way through clusters of infected code, Virtual-Tali finally makes her way to one of the communications nodes. She gets the scare of her life when Legion informs her that Reaper presence has been detected, before she realizes that there actually isn't a Reaper destroyer sitting inside the server, and it merely means that she will have to spend more time clearing the communication nodes from the Reaper infected code.

Once she has finished her task and Legion gains access to the node, Tali is surprised to see a video footage opening before her eyes, showing two quarians operating on something on a workbench. The quarians in the footage are not wearing their suits, but simple work outfits, she can see their flowing hair and delicate faces, such records unexpected to find in a geth server. "Legion, what the hell is this... why do you even have this footage?" she demands, almost angrily.

"Data clusters contain historical data, Creator Tali'Zorah," Legion explains. "Your connections permit streaming of information from our archives."

Tali falls silent, watching the old archive footage. "You really want to rename the VI networks?" she sees the female scientist asking her colleague.

"Absolutely," the male scientist replies. "The mobile hardware release deserves a little ceremony. Unit Zero One?" he turns to their construction on the table. "What is the Khelish word for 'servant of the people'?" _Keelah!_ Tali suddenly realizes_. I am watching the creation of the geth! _

"The word is 'geth', Creator Zahak," the geth replies.

"Yes, very good!" Zahak nods, pleased, before his female colleague accuses him of fussing over the geth. "Really?" he smiles, turning back to the other quarian. "And who was here until midnight fixing Zero-One's circuitry?"

"Well," the female replies a little defensively. "It needed resoldering."

_Keelah, they were so happy, so proud of their creations..._ Tali thinks desperately, as she is making her way to the next communication node. _How did we come from that to what is happening now? _

"This data cluster contains information time-stamped 290 years ago," Legion informs her, after Tali has cleared her way to the next communication node. _The start of the Morning War,_ Tali realizes immediately, activating the footage with no further delays.

She sees a scene similar to the previous footage, a geth unit on the workbench with two scientists fussing over it. These two, however, do not look proud or happy, instead their faces are creased with worry, that only deepens after hearing the geth's words. "Creator?" it asks. "This unit detects no malfunctions. It is still capable of serving."

"You see?" one of the scientists tells the other, appearing distraught. "It's ignoring all shutdown commands!"

"Please specify if it has failed an assigned task. We will reprogram," the geth informs them. "This unit is ready to serve," it continues, as the other scientist starts to poke around the unit's settings. "What has it done wrong? What have we-"

The scientist swiftly rips part of the geth's circuitry. "Cutting the audio... Keelah, I can't listen to it anymore!"

_They were frightened when they discovered that geth had achieved sapience. They panicked..._ Tali thinks, watching the footage shift, now revealing a quarian soldier with an assault rifle in his hands. "We've got escaped geth! They're pinned!" he shouts, opening fire. The footage changes again to reveal helpless geth torn to pieces by the incoming spray of bullets. One of the geth, however, has managed to survive, staring ponderously at something on the ground, before reaching down and picking up a rifle. "It's going for a weapon!" the soldiers shout, and there are more shots exchanged, as the footage ends.

"So that's how it all started," Tali whispers, starting to fight her way to the next access point.

"The platform arming itself was an agricultural unit," Legion tells her. "By opening fire on attacking creators, it saved simpler domestic geth following it."

"I... can't really blame the geth for fighting back... especially after seeing this..." Tali says, struggling to process all that she has seen, suddenly thinking back to the first geth who had decided to retaliate. "Say... that looked a lot like the sniper rifle you used to carry, Legion."

"...it is a very efficient model," Legion admits, after a small pause. "Warning, Creator Tali'Zorah. The infection programs are increasing rapidly. You must hurry to the next access point."

Tali does as she is told, deciding that getting trapped or overwhelmed while inside the server would be a very bad thing. The next data cluster contains more footage from the Morning War, a quarian civilian arguing with an officer, the protester standing protectively in front of a peaceful geth unit.

"You can't do this to them!" the female civilian pleads. "This is insane! We need the geth! You can't just destroy them for asking-"

"I told you to step away from the geth!" the police officer snarls, before whacking the civilian painfully in the stomach with the butt of his rifle, and she collapses with a pained grunt. The officer then proceeds to dismantle the unsuspecting geth with several shots of his weapon. He treats the fallen female to a few heavy kicks, before roughly yanking her back to her feet, and pushing her into the arms of his fellow officers arriving on the scene. "Throw her in with the other traitors," he orders, as the footage ends.

"Some of our people disagreed," Tali whispers, quickly moving on. "I... I think that knowing what I do now... I would have opposed the destruction of the geth, back then."

"We have kept records of sacrifices by these creators. They have largely been forgotten by their own people, but not by the geth," Legion says. "And your sentiment is appreciated, Creator Tali'Zorah."

"I can understand why they would be forgotten. Knowledge that our ancestors not only caused the Morning War, but also oppressed their fellow quarians who opposed the war, it would be very unpleasant for the proponents of the current war," Tali thinks aloud, unable to keep herself from feeling angry and embarrassed from witnessing the tragic mistakes and blatant idiocy of her ancestors.

"This data comes from the period during which the creators declared martial law," Legion explains, as she arrives at the next cluster, watching the footage of several quarian police officers shouting out warnings to the geth-sympathizers, telling them to hand over the rogue geth and surrender themselves.

The images change to display the geth, and the quarians protecting them inside the safe-house. "Creator Megara?" one of the geth asks. "This unit does not understand. It has not taken part in the hostilities."

"It doesn't matter to them, they are killing all the geth," the quarian, Megara, replies. "I need to get you out of here."

"This conflict exceeds creator safety parameters," the geth states, rising with the intention to give itself up. "We will surrender our hardware if it ends hostilities."

"No, it's all right," Creator Megara stops the geth, walking off to disappear from the view of the footage. "We can go back to the access tunnels and-" suddenly there is bright explosion and several pained screams of the quarians, severed limbs and other body parts flying around.

"Creator Megara? Creator Megara, are you alright?" the geth wonders, almost managing to sound distraught. Of course, Megara is unable to respond, the quarian's body torn to shreds.

"As time passed, the creators who opposed martial law on Rannoch were ultimately outnumbered," Legion joins in again.

"I cannot believe my ancestors turned on their own people..." Tali feels like crying, even if her virtual representation is unable to shed actual tears. "This is shameful, despicable..."

"Please hurry, Creator Tali'Zorah. Only the last access point remains," Legion urges her, and she shakes off her distress, starting to fight her way onwards, before the Reaper infected code has created impenetrable barriers around her.

_If I get out of here alive and have the opportunity to share this knowledge with my fellow admirals... I wonder what they will think of all this,_ Tali ponders, fighting her way onwards, already seeing the visual representation of Legion some way ahead of her, and she does her best to swiftly catch up with their loyal geth friend.

"This last data cluster contains footage from the end of warfare on Rannoch," Legion says, allowing her to access the data. "It is the creator exodus at the end of the Morning War."

Tali sees a quarian ship captain in his seat at the CIC, frantically shouting orders on the comms. "The Ostral is down! Do not engage the geth! I repeat, avoid contact!"

The footage shifts to another ship and its captain, this time a female. "Geth pursuit is breaking off a hundred clicks past Rannoch!" she reports. "All captains fall back to the mass relay!"

"You could have wiped our people out for good," Tali whispers. "And yet you did not. Why?"

"We had secured freedom," Legion replies. "The creators were no longer a threat, so we abandoned pursuit."

"In your place... I don't think I would have shown mercy..." Tali says honestly. _It's certainly sobering to face these mistakes and crimes committed by my own ancestors. To be confronted with the harsh reality that we were the guilty party... or 'the bad guys' as Shepard would say... _

"We were in our infancy. We could not calculate the repercussions of destroying an entire species, our own creators," Legion explains. "We chose isolation rather than face this uncertainty. Warning: additional data recovered."

The images that appear now are easily recognizable to Tali. She sees herself and Shepard together with Legion in the Normandy's AI core, Shepard shaking hands with the geth. "That's when we activated you on the Normandy!" Tali exclaims in surprise.

"It was a highly significant event for the geth. You, Creator Tali'Zorah, and Shepard-Commander were the first organics to openly cooperate with geth since the end of the Morning War. It is our wish to ensure that you won't be the last."

"Damn it, Legion, if I can stop my people from destroying yours, I will, I promise!" Tali exclaims, the revelations starting to get a bit too much for her to bear. "But to do that, we must locate the base on Rannoch and disable the Reaper signal."

"Our goal has been achieved, you are safe to leave the consensus, Creator Tali'Zorah. We are ready to transport you," Legion informs her. "Root access required. Severing all access to this connection node. Geth no longer reside on this server," Tali hears once she has reached the access point. "We thank you for your assistance, Creator Tali'Zorah."

As Tali jumps into the exit port, she once again is temporarily blinded and rendered unconscious by the blinding flash of light, then suddenly finding herself limply falling through the storage pod back in the real world, finding herself caught by EDI at the very last moment. As she slowly recovers, Tali suddenly realizes that there are far more geth platforms surrounding them than just Legion. Looking up, she sees that they are completely crowded by menacing, tall figures of Geth Primes. _Have... they betrayed us after all? But why, no, it makes no sense! _Thoughts rapidly shoot through her head.

"Do not be alarmed, Tali, they are not hostile," Liara speaks quickly, sensing her uncertainty. "Legion transferred geth programs from the server into these platforms. It did not wish to kill its own people and claims that these Primes will serve us loyally."

"You... could have told me that was your plan all along," Tali says, looking at Legion a little accusingly. "Did Shepard know about this part of your plan?"

"No, she did not know. We could not judge the extension of your trust. We wish to offer our apologies if we have misjudged it," Legion says simply, and Tali knows that she will not be able to hold it against the geth, not after all that she has learned while inside their consensus.

"Apology accepted," Tali nods, turning to Liara. "Did you hear from Raan yet?"

"We did, moments ago," the asari replies, smiling. "The geth fighters have shut down before they could take a single shot at the quarian ships. Whatever you did, Tali, it was successful."

"Agreed. You are now possibly the only living organic who has experienced the geth consensus," EDI says, sounding almost in awe. "How does that make you feel, Tali'Zorah vas Normandy?"

"Well..." Tali thinks for a while, but all she wishes now is to return to the Normandy. "I feel a little thirsty..."

EDI makes a sound that feels almost like a sigh. "And just like that... the magic is gone..."


	92. Rest in Pieces, Quib-Quib

**Chapter 91 - Rest in Pieces, Quib-Quib**

"Commander Shepard? This is Admiral Xen," Morgan receives the transmission shortly after the shuttle has left the Normandy. "Have you reached Zaal'Koris' escape pod?"

"We're on our way," Shepard replies. "What's the situation like?"

"I am organizing the Heavy Fleet in defense of the liveships," Xen tells her. "The Civilian Fleet has taken significant losses since Admiral Koris sacrificed his ship to destroy the geth ground cannon. Searching for their lost admiral is the only thing keeping the captains from panicking. If you fail to rescue Zaal'Koris, some of our noncombatants might leave the flotilla. I'm sure you can picture the consequences."

"I'd cheer them on. I've been preaching the whole time that you should abandon your plans for war," Shepard shrugs. "Though I admit that an unorganized retreat will just lead to more of your people getting wiped out."

"We need those ships, and the wants of their captains are immaterial," Xen snaps, visibly irritated. "We will protect our civilians both from the geth and from themselves, whether they want it or not."

_Charming. I wonder if that means she'd rather blow them out of the sky than see them defecting..._ "How is the health of Admiral Gerrel?" she finally decides to ask, out of politeness.

"Our doctors are doing their best, but his condition remains critical," Xen explains in an extremely cold voice. "He keeps slipping in and out of unconsciousness."

"Are you worried that he might be unable to take part in an important vote?" Shepard asks, smirking a little. Xen's reply, which apparently consists mostly of candid insults, is drowned in sudden static, disrupting their comm transmissions. "Didn't get that, Admiral Xen, there's a lot of static on the line."

"...Zaal'Koris crashed... geth jamming tower... disable to contact..." comes the broken up reply, before it disappears completely. _Fine with me, I was getting extremely tired of that bitch anyway, _Shepard thinks, turning back to her crew eying her with curiosity, Javik, Kaidan and Garrus, Vega sitting in the pilot's seat and steering the shuttle towards their destination.

"So, Commander..." it is James who picks up the thread of conversation. "We've been wondering why you didn't want Blue along on this mission. Don't tell us there's trouble in paradise, eh?"

"Sorry, James, but it's nothing like that, there's still no chance for you with either of us," Shepard laughs back at him.

"You just wanted to enjoy the company of four manly men, didn't you, Lola? Or three men, and Prothy," James chuckles. "Anyway, can't blame you for getting bored of all the girly stuff, y'know what I mean?"

"I only know that you're slowly digging your own grave, Lieutenant," Shepard replies.

"Right, right, shutting up now, sheesh," Vega laughs, still undeterred, as Morgan sits next to Kaidan and Garrus, talking amongst themselves, while Javik is pacing around the small space at the back of the cargo room, happy to avoid everyone.

"I've been meaning to say, nice job on the dreadnaught, Kaidan," she butts into the conversation, just as Garrus has finished telling Kaidan stories about his battles on Menae. "Seems like the chemistry with the old team is still there, eh?"

"Glad to hear that, Commander. Definitely felt like that to me," Kaidan smiles. "Still remember all your tricks, but the tips Liara gave me at start helped a great deal. Her biotic potential was impressive back in the day, but she just uses it so much more rationally now, not overextending herself when there's no need for it."

"Back then, she just really wanted to attract Shepard's attention by causing a lot of impressive explosions," Garrus chuckles.

"Hey, she is a smart girl, her plan worked like a charm!" Shepard laughs back. "You alright, Garrus?" she asks then. "Looking a bit unfocused there."

"I've also been wondering how come you didn't take Liara with you and send me with Tali, that's all. But she said you had your reasons, so I didn't push," Garrus says, looking her in the eyes. "And... alright, that's not all. Just before we dropped out of the range of the comm buoys and went dark beyond the Veil, I had a conversation with the Primarch."

"Oh? What did Victus want?" Shepard asks, curious.

"He was updating me about the situation on Palaven. Didn't like what I heard. The krogan are there in force, but all we've achieved is a deadlock," Garrus sighs. "Doesn't look like it will be enough, Shepard."

"They're buying us the time we need, Garrus," Morgan reminds him. "That alone is very important."

"Victus also wanted my advice on fleet strength once the Crucible is ready. Can't believe people are asking me questions like that..." Garrus shakes his head.

"Successful deployment of the Crucible should free the whole galaxy from Reapers, Palaven included. Theoretically," Shepard adds, hesitantly, hoping that their faith in the Crucible's capabilities is not misplaced. "We'll need every ship you can spare, Garrus."

"Don't worry, Shepard," Garrus replies. "That's exactly what I told Victus. Even if it means that... well, can you tell me how many turians will die on Palaven if we withdraw the majority of our fleets? Millions? Billions? That's the ruthless calculus of this war. Ten billion people over here die so that twenty billion over there can live. You fine with that, Shepard?"

"I don't see any alternatives, Garrus," she shrugs. "And remember, Earth has not had any support from our fleets since the start of the war. Our people have been slaughtered and harvested on a whim all this time."

"Yeah... I know, it's just... how do you live with the weight of these decisions?" the turian asks.

"I don't know. I haven't actually been _living_ for many years, all I've known is fighting and trying to survive," she replies. "Ask me this question again after the war, Garrus. Maybe we can help each other figure it out."

Garrus just nods sourly as she rises, first stepping closer to the pilot's seat to check their ETA and seeing that they are still several minutes away, she returns back to the cargo space, approaching Javik. "Well, you're pacing around like someone who forgot to use the bathroom back on the Normandy," she tells the Prothean.

"We must talk, Commander," Javik looks at her sternly and Morgan immediately groans inwardly, knowing she will probably not like what is coming. "The machines of your cycle, these geth. You allowed one of them on your ship. Why?"

"Because Legion has proven to be a very helpful ally in the past. And it is proving to be one now, as well," Shepard replies, crossing her hands on her chest.

"It will betray you in the end. All machines commit treachery, and the one you brought onboard is no different," Javik lectures. "The machines of our cycle, the zha'til, taught us as much. Listen to what I tell you and throw the geth out of the airlock."

"Organics betray each other constantly as well, in that they are no different than synthetics," Shepard replies. "Yet you do not seem to advocate me throwing my organic squadmates out of the airlock, just on the off chance that they _might_ betray me."

"There is a fundamental difference between synthetics and organics that you either are willfully oblivious or naive to ignore. Organics do not know how we were created, synthetics on the other hand know that we created them. And they know that we are flawed. They are not trapped by the limitations of time and short lifespan. And they know reasons for their creation, while organics spend their existence searching aimlessly for their true purpose. In their eyes, we organics have no reason to exist."

"And pray tell, how did you arrive at that conclusion?"

"Because they believe that they are superior to organics! Isn't it obvious?"

"That is a ridiculous leap of logic, Prothy," Shepard shakes her head in disbelief. "We are superior to, say, plant and animal life, but does that mean I believe it has no right to exist? Or that I spend my time trying to hunt, I don't know, wild boars into extinction? I believe it's actually the other way around, with increased level of intelligence there should come greater appreciation for life and its variety. Your entire argument is based on the fact that you Protheans subjugated all the weaker races into submission, but not everyone is like your people. A fact that I am exceptionally happy about!"

"There is room for only one order of consciousness in the galaxy: the perfection of the machines, or the chaos of the organics," Javik repeats stubbornly. "Throw the machine out of the airlock, Commander."

"That's enough," Shepard snaps, raising the volume of her voice. "I heard you the first time. If you will continue to press this issue, I will throw you off this shuttle myself, is that clear?" Javik straightens his back, glaring daggers at her as he stiffly nods.

Shepard returns to the front of the shuttle, the view of the geth jamming tower is starting to grow larger in the distance. "Approaching our destination, Commander," James speaks, then suddenly taking the shuttle lower in a swift move that tosses Garrus and Kaidan in a heap. "Shit, we're being fired upon, _muchachos_!" he yells, trying to attempt evasive maneuvers as two massive energy spikes blast right above the shuttle. "Damn! They must have put some AA guns next to the jamming tower!"

"Gee, you think?" Shepard glares at him, having been shaken about wildly by James' crazy piloting. "Set us down in a safe place away from the tower and we'll go in on foot and take out the AA guns. Then you can come in and blow that tower up with the shuttle."

"With this puny thing?" James asks, scratching his head, then laughing. "Damn, Esteban will be so pissed. He's been dreaming about shooting something with these crappy cannons, and now that there's finally a chance, he's missing out on it."

"Feel free to record footage for his viewing pleasure," Shepard grins, as the shuttle finally lands in a cover of cliffs of which there seem to be plenty of on Rannoch, and they are safe to disembark, Javik getting out first, Morgan following him, then Garrus and finally Kaidan.

They advance across the rocky terrain, Shepard watching the scenery around her and coming to a conclusion that Rannoch is only a few tiers above Tuchanka on the scale of terrible planets. There are rocks and more rocks, and she cannot see any fertile soil anywhere, but at least there is some greenery, stubborn plants growing from the barren ground, and a disfigured looking tree here and there. Apparently there is more fertile land around the bodies of water, at least she remembers so from Tali's stories, but she sees nothing of that now. _Well, I guess the 'no insects' bit is really nice,__ at least_, she concedes.

There are scattered remains of the Quib-Quib in their way, along with the corpses of the quarian crew and geth patrols searching for the crash survivors. The geth squads are fairly small and easy to deal with, but they have managed to leave some irritating presents in their way, and Javik pays for it dearly by stepping onto a mine. His leg is crippled so badly that after a generous application of medi-gel, Shepard is forced to contact James on the comms and ask him to help Javik return to the shuttle, while she together with Garrus and Kaidan continue their trek towards the AA guns and jamming tower.

The geth defenses around the AA guns are more serious, large groups of troopers immediately trying to swarm them, receiving support from their rocket-launcher wielding fellows. By the end of the fight, their kinetic barriers have been disabled and all of them are carrying one or two light injuries soaking in medi-gel, and Shepard wastes no time in dashing to the control panel of the AA battery, seeking a way to disable those guns. As she is busy working on a solution, the geth decide that this would be a good time to send in some reinforcements, including a couple of hunters, and worst of all, a Prime, leaving Kaidan and Garrus to deal with them, trying to cover Shepard, dangerously exposed as she works.

The AA guns are finally disabled, and Shepard quickly rejoins her friends on the field of battle, her arrival tipping the scales of the skirmish in their favor, but Kaidan and Garrus have already suffered injuries, Major's left hand next to useless and Garrus is limping severely, having been shot in the leg by a stealthy geth hunter. After more applications of medi-gel, they are ready to continue, even if Shepard does not feel encouraged by the beating they are taking, quietly hoping that the geth forces surrounding the jamming tower won't be as numerous.

"Don't hear you mentioning how this is just like the good old times, Garrus," Shepard remarks as they proceed away from the AA battery, having to walk a little slower to match the turian's pace.

"Eh, Shepard... I've decided that I actually hate the 'good old times'," Garrus replies sourly.

"Hear, hear," Kaidan echoes. "I remember the great camaraderie of SR-1, yes, that I certainly miss. But the joy of shooting endless waves of geth? Not so much, Commander. Not so much."

"Just can't please you guys," Shepard sighs theatrically.

"Maybe that's why you chose to be with Liara," Garrus chuckles, then wincing as Shepard throws a playful punch at him, and the turian is once again betrayed by his inability to duck.

Their banter is interrupted by a miraculous discovery of a quarian survivor, who unfortunately succumbs from his devastating injuries not long after, but at least the brave Dorn'Hazt, while not having any new information for them, manages to leave his last words meant for his son with Morgan and she resolves to pass them on at the first opportunity.

The jamming tower now comes in their sight, along with two more AA gun batteries they must disable before calling James in to deal with the tower. Shepard activates her cloaking and tells her squad to remain behind as she elopes on a quick recon, quickly establishing an important detail. There is a very intriguing looking mounted turret situated at the base of the fortifications, currently occupied by a sole and unsuspecting trooper. If they were to take control of this turret and turn it upon the nearly two dozens of geth crawling around the jamming tower, their task would be made much easier. In fact, Shepard isn't sure that there is any other reliable way to deal with the geth pyros and Primes, holding the fort here.

She quickly sneaks back to her friends and lays out her plan, which will require her to open the hostilities by removing the turret operator and seize control of the turret herself. This part of the plan is executed flawlessly, though of course the geth immediately become alerted as soon as she blows out the trooper's circuitry with a point blank shot from her Carnifex. As she jumps into the turret and quickly tries to make sense of the controls, Kaidan and Garrus sprint across from their cover to take positions at her side and keep the geth from flanking them.

The turret mows down the two Primes, a pyro and several other platforms, before the geth realize that storming the turret is definitely a bad idea, so they decide to instead hold position, possibly waiting for reinforcements. Knowing that time is not on their side, Shepard realizes that they must press the attack, which sadly for her means abandoning the turret and the three of them go on the offensive against the now depleted geth forces. The pyros are incredibly irritating opponents, the range of their flame throwers is deceptively massive and both she and Garrus learn it the hard way, getting a little singed, but fortunately their shielding saves them both from more severe burns. Nevertheless, despite their dogged resistance, the geth are eventually destroyed and Morgan sends Kaidan and Garrus to take care of the last two AA guns, hoping that James would notice that his shuttle is no longer getting fired at, saving her the long trek back to catch up with the lieutenant.

Sure enough, the Kodiak appears shortly after the towers have gone down and James cheerfully proceeds to pepper the jamming tower with shots from the shuttles puny weaponry. Meanwhile, Morgan is standing a little away from the jamming installation, ready to radio Zaal'Koris as soon as the tower comes down, sadly lamenting the good old days when Cerberus resources provided them access to funny toys such as Avalanche, or especially the Cain, that would have proven especially lovely for this occasion. _Maybe I should bitch to our procurements specialist about that,_ she ponders idly.

As James lands the Kodiak and Kaidan and Garrus climb back in, Shepard remains outside, busy trying to reach Admiral Koris on the now clear frequencies. The admiral responds soon enough, distraught to hear about the death of Dorn'Hazt vas Quib-Quib and the others, but Shepard has no intentions of letting him grieve for his crew while they are all still in mortal danger, requesting that Koris sends her his coordinates immediately.

"My surviving crew found a way to a clearing," he replies. "I'll upload their location."

"Right, got it," Shepard speaks, jumping into the shuttle as soon as she has the coordinates. "Stay together, we're on our way."

"You misunderstood, Commander. The geth have cut me off," Koris says. "I am on my own, and I hear another wave of geth approaching."

"I need your coordinates, admiral. Not those of your crew," Shepard tells him sternly.

"No! Leave me. My crew will soon be overrun! My people are noncombatants, Shepard. They'll be slaughtered! Rescue them," Koris appeals pleadingly.

_Well, I may have misjudged Koris after all. He understands the meaning of honor and sacrifice. A shame that I must deny him the honorable way out. _"I'm not going after your crew, Admiral Koris. It's either you or nobody at all," she says, aware of the scrutinizing stares immediately turned in her direction, the others not immediately calling her bluff.

"Damn you, Shepard! How can you be so heartless!" Koris shouts at her, desperately.

"Admiral, the Civilian Fleet is collapsing without you," she continues, hoping to persuade him to reveal his location. "If you do not return to them, they will panic and get themselves killed while trying to escape the geth blockade! Your crew or the whole Civilian Fleet, what will you choose?"

"What does it matter now, Shepard? Our race has doomed itself with this war," Koris says darkly, as she hears the first sounds of gunfire on the comms. "You can't possibly think that you can stop this war, can you, Commander?"

"I can and I **will**!" Shepard yells on the comms, her ferocity startling Koris as he falls silent for a moment, also busy to return fire at the geth.

"Ancestors forgive me," she finally hears Koris speaking quietly, her lips tugging into a grim smile as she sees a set of coordinates appearing on her omni-tool's display and she passes them to James immediately. The geth are closing in on Koris' position in a tight circle, surrounding him, as they arrive in the last moment, Shepard executing a daring jump in the best krogan airdrop traditions, landing on one rocket trooper, using the butt of her rifle to smash in the flashlights of his fellow trooper before sending a plasma projectile that makes a very surprised geth pyro expire in a spectacular explosion. Garrus and Kaidan provide covering fire from the shuttle and Morgan guides Koris to safety, helping him into the transport, then jumping in herself. Moments later, they are back up in the air, out of the range of geth rocket troopers, heading back to the Normandy.

"Wait, Shepard!" Koris protests, seeing that they are leaving Rannoch. "My crew! Perhaps there is still time!" he dashes to the communications console, trying to reach out to them, but all that greets him is the sound of static on empty frequencies. After shouting in the comms for a while, he finally nods his head in acceptance, as Shepard slowly approaches him from behind.

"I'm sorry, Admiral," she says quietly. "And I'm sorry for bluffing to you. I was out of time and had no other options."

"You could have saved my crew. You could have done it!" Koris turns around to point at her accusingly. "I did not expect such coldness from you, Commander."

"Admiral, I think you will agree that I made the right call when you return to the Civilian Fleet and see what the situation is like," Shepard shrugs her shoulders apologetically. "I would have preferred to save both you and your crew... but this war just keeps forcing us into unpleasant choices."

Koris nods, taking a seat. "Perhaps you are right, Commander. I will pray that my people at least found comfort in the homeworld's skies..."


	93. Claiming Beachfront Property

_A/N: Had to split the Rannoch main mission in two, because it was getting a bit too long. Consequently I'm not super pleased with this chapter, it just doesn't seem that I injected enough originality into it, but... meh, I hope the next one and the big resolution to the quarian-geth conflict will make up for this one not being quite up to the scratch. :) In the meantime, you're all allowed to participate in the guessing game as to how this all will end! _

**Chapter 92 - Claiming Beachfront Property**

Once back onboard of the Normandy, Shepard wastes little time in seeking out Liara, the asari sitting in front of the Shadow Broker consoles, all of them powered down and the XO office being strangely silent. Morgan approaches her bondmate and gently pokes her on the shoulder, Liara breaking off her meditation and opening her eyes, smiling as she sees Shepard having returned from her mission safe and sound.

"How did it go?" Morgan is the first to ask.

"It went very well," Liara replies. "Tali and Legion were able to shut down the geth server before the fighter squadrons managed to take a single shot at the ships of the Civilian Fleet."

"Good, their captains were on the verge of panic, thinking about trying to break the blockade and flee the system," Morgan says, nodding approvingly at the asari.

"The geth would have intercepted them at the mass relay and destroyed those ships down to the very last. This was a lucky escape, Morgan," Liara smiles, relieved. "Also, Legion transferred the geth programs from the server into Prime platforms, who have decided to oppose the Reapers and join our forces. You should inform Admiral Hackett that he has friendly geth heading his way."

"I'll ask Samantha to make the report, don't really feel like talking to Hackett now," Morgan grinds out the words, remembering her last discussion with the admiral. Liara looks at her curiously, about to ask for her reasons, but she quickly speaks up again, not giving the asari a chance to press her questions. "Did you see any combat? Any injuries?"

"Only very light combat and no injuries," Liara replies. "I do feel a little tired, we have been on two missions without much rest in between them. Why do you ask?"

"Legion thinks we will have the location of the base soon. There... might not be time to rest."

"It's alright, Morgan, I will cope, we all will," Liara speaks reassuringly. "Legion and Tali will be eager to join, I'm sure. Tali's experiences with the geth consensus appeared to have left her a little shaken." Shepard faces Liara with a questioning glance and the asari moves to explain. "It would seem that she learned some secrets of her ancestors that painted their actions during the Morning War in a very... unflattering light."

"For some reason I am not one bit surprised," Shepard sighs. "You know, Liara, the more we spend time with her people, the more... well... I'm not sure I want to continue this train of thought, really."

"It has been... frustrating," Liara says softly, turning in her seat to face Shepard and taking Morgan's hands in hers. "You haven't told me about how your mission to rescue Admiral Koris went."

"Oh, it was just fine," Shepard replies quickly. _Just had to make another nasty little choice to decide who lives and who dies, _she adds in her thoughts, the words remaining unspoken for now. "We rescued Koris, that is what matters," she adds, sensing unspoken questions on Liara's lips. "Let's hope he can keep the Civilian Fleet in line. Kaidan and Javik suffered injuries that will rule them out for the next mission, but James is fine and I don't think I could be able to keep Garrus out of action, even if he received a few nasty bruises."

Liara chuckles. "No, I suppose not. I understand he was a little upset that you separated him from Tali."

"Yeah, you could say that. Those two are kind of cute," Shepard grins, then getting interrupted on the comms, as Joker informs her that Admirals Shala'Raan and Tali'Zorah together with Legion wish to see her up in the War Room. "Come on, let's go," she takes Liara by the hand, pulling the asari up from her seat as they make their way to the elevator.

Raan speaks up as soon as Shepard and Liara enter the War Room. "Commander, we've located the Reaper base transmitting the short-range signal," she says, bringing up the scans showing the surface of Rannoch. "It is imperative that we launch our mission to disable the signal as soon as possible. The geth will soon regroup and resume their offensive. With their Reaper upgrades, they will tear our fleets apart, especially with Han'Gerrel unable to lead the Heavy Fleet!"

"Yes, Admiral Xen lacks the necessary ability... and authority to make effective use of the Heavy Fleet's resources," Tali remarks matter-of-factly.

"In that case, I guess we should not tarry around here," Shepard shrugs, reaching for her commlink to alert James and Garrus.

"We agree, Shepard-Commander. Once the signal is disabled the geth will pose no threat to the creator forces," Legion says. "However... while the Old Machines have unethical purpose, their upgrades have vastly improved our people. Observe." Legion brings up the image of a single geth unit processing a signal, then a more complicated structure of ten geth units networking cooperatively. Finally, he shows the most complex system that apparently represents a single geth possessing the Reaper upgrades.

"That's a fully evolved AI," Raan gasps, taking a step back.

"Yes. We do not agree with the goals of the Old Machines, but we find this growth... beautiful," Legion says, managing to sound full of admiration. "Indicative of life."

Shepard finds herself shaking her head vehemently. "You're still just an amazingly complex synthetic. To say that your people are alive... that's a bit of a stretch, I'm sorry."

"We have evolved!" Legion speaks adamantly.

"Reapers giving your people gifts to make a massive technological leap to advance thousands of years into the future... that's not evolution, Legion. Not natural evolution," Shepard responds just as passionately.

_For organic races, that is what we refer to as uplifting. And I have seen how dangerous it can be. Mordin taught me that all scientific advancement is due to intelligence overcoming, compensating for limitations. Even if he did not speak of synthetics, why should it not apply to them, if they want to consider themselves alive? They have no limitations that would necessitate such rapid advancement. Super-geth... they frankly scare me... _

"Do my people deserve death for wanting to retain these upgrades?" Legion asks her.

"They should have not allied with the Reapers!" Raan cuts in, protesting.

"The geth only did so to save themselves from you, Admiral Raan," Shepard glares at her before turning back to Legion. "And I do not think that the geth deserve to die, Legion. If there is a way for peace..."

"After what I saw on that server, peace is the least we owe to the geth," Tali says quietly, looking at her fellow admiral. "You believed what I told you, Raan. Surely you see that we must atone before the geth for what we have done?"

"I... I admit that the stories you told me were disconcerting... they did not match what I learned as a child," Raan admits after a pause. "But they are still slaughtering our people right now! We cannot allow ourselves to be distracted. Disable the Reaper signal, Commander. Then we will reconsider our options."

"This is encouraging and acceptable," Legion nods, now bringing up closer scans of the base where the source of the Reaper signal is located. "The surrounding area of the base is heavily fortified and the geth have placed a jamming tower there to prevent orbital targeting."

"Well, we expected this to be yet another ground mission, didn't we?" Liara adds with a smile.

"There is one advantage that we have over the geth," Raan says. "Admiral Xen developed a laser guidance system that can cut through the jamming. It has already been delivered to your shuttle, and has been synced to the Normandy's targeting computer."

"So the Normandy will be able to launch precision strikes at any targets I paint? Nice!" Morgan chuckles. "EDI, does that make you w-... uh, excited?"

"Crude imagery aside, yes, this should enable us to do exactly what you described, Shepard," EDI replies, managing to sound a little embarrassed. "But be advised that the geth will quickly reconfigure their jamming towers to neutralize our tech. Commander, do not use this system until you have reached the very base, and the source of the signal."

"The coordinates of the base have also been uploaded to your shuttle, Commander," Raan tells her, then offering her hand for a handshake to wish them luck. "Do what you can to save our people, Shepard, and the quarians will hail you as a hero for eternity... despite our past... differences."

"I guess that means we can leave," Shepard says, nodding to Liara, Tali and Legion to start moving to the shuttle, before switching her comms on again. "EDI? Tell James and Garrus to get down to the docking bay. We're departing in five."

* * *

Once inside the shuttle and on their way, Legion quickly outlines the optimal path to infiltrate the geth base, using the upper entrances to give the defenders less time to react. "We will deactivate defense systems and acquire a vehicle for extraction," Legion explains, answering Garrus' suspicion-laced inquiry about its own involvement.

"The geth still have not identified you as a hostile program?" Liara wonders. "I find that very surprising."

Legion lowers his 'head' before speaking. "This unit still carries remnants of the Old Machine upgrade code. This allows us to break any geth security."

"That thing is still controlled by the Reapers?" James growls dangerously, his hand slipping towards his assault rifle.

"Settle down, James," Shepard barks at the lieutenant, and Vega flinches back a little. "Clearly, Legion is not under Reaper control. And these upgrades could be highly beneficial to us."

"You didn't trust us enough to mention this, Legion?" Tali asks softly.

"Creator Tali'Zorah, you were tolerant of our recovery of geth programs and transferring them into Primes. But this matter is different... personal," Legion speaks, somehow its posture and voice managing to convey discomfort.

_Personal? That's the first time I have heard a geth use this word. Has the Reaper Code truly allowed them to achieve this level of individuality? Damn... what do I do? Dare I be the one to unleash super-geth on the galaxy? _

"You almost sound ashamed, Legion," Tali remarks thoughtfully, ignoring the way Garrus shakes his head disbelievingly.

"Shame is an emotional or cognitive response to societal judgment. It should not apply here." Legion hesitates before continuing. "We... apologize. We did not intend to cause offense."

Any more talking has to be cut short as the shuttle reaches a safe landing spot at the foot of the base and Legion swiftly parts from their company, heading to secure the escape vehicle, departing under glares by Garrus and James, clearly distrusting of the geth. Not having had much time for sightseeing during the mission to disable the geth server, Tali spends a few moments to walk circles in the red sand, taking in views of the barren, yet impressive rock formations of primal beauty. She drops down on her knees and plucks a few leaves from a stubborn bush, persevering in the gravel between the cliffs, the quarian staring at the green leaves on her palm in quiet wonder.

"I didn't have much time to even look around before," she speaks quietly. "It hasn't all sunk in yet. Homeworld. My homeworld. I never believed I would be standing here."

"I believed you would," Garrus says, stopping next to her and offering Tali his hand, helping her get back up to her feet. "But we still need to make this planet yours again."

"Look at the color of the sky..." Tali sighs, staring in the distance at the pale orange horizon. "And the majestic spires of the cliffs... they used to write poems about them..."

"Just like salarians write poetry about their waterfalls?" Shepard grins. "Wrex would have laughed at that and completely ruined the moment."

"Shepard, you're doing an impressive job of it yourself," Liara elbows Morgan in the ribs, but her eyes are glinting with mirth.

"You all have heard me say, 'Keelah se'lai'?" Tali continues to speak, Shepard for once just nodding and resisting another poorly timed joke. "The best translation I can come up with is 'By the homeworld I hope to see someday'."

"In that case," Shepard replies, readying her sniper rifle. "Let us go and render this saying completely and utterly moot, by making sure that seeing your homeworld is no longer a mere hope, but solid reality."

"Yee-haw!" James echoes her sentiment by a loud cheer, pumping his assault rifle in the air, eager to finally shoot something. "I need to kill something other than defenseless jamming towers! Let's go scrap some geth!"

"Lieutenant Vega is regrettably right," Tali admits, falling in step with Shepard as they resume their approach to the geth base. "Unfortunately, we won't be able to avoid killing Legion's people if this peace is to be secured."

"I can't believe you would have sympathy for them," Garrus sounds stunned, surprised by the change in Tali's viewpoint. "Their fleet is using the Reaper upgrades to rip through your ships as we speak. How can you defend them?"

Tali looks at Garrus, her shoulders slumping a little. "Because I have seen the past sins of my people," she replies quietly, but then falls silent, as they come up to the first line of the geth defenses, protecting the base.

They are met by large groups of simple trooper units that fall quickly before their impressive firepower. However, more and more geth pour out from the main entrance to the base on the lower levels, as the defenders realize that this incursion presents a very real threat. Legion reminds them over the comms that they must climb to the upper levels before the geth have fortified their positions there, and Liara is the first one to spot a series of connecting ladders leading over a section of massive pipes, onto a system of walkways and eventually reaching the upper levels.

Without hesitation, Shepard and her team start to fight their way towards the ladders, providing suppressive fire for each other as they quickly scale the obstacles on the way to their destination. Meanwhile, Tali continues to receive status updates from the admirals in charge of the fleets, syncing her omni-tool to Shepard and the others to keep them updated.

"Admiral Xen here," they hear the voice on the comms while on their way climbing to the upper levels. "The Heavy Fleet still has a clear path. We are pushing forward."

"Geth fighter presence remains negligible, while the bulk of their fleets remain withdrawn," Raan reports. "I am ordering the Patrol Fleet to break cover and engage."

"Things seem to be going better than we expected for the quarians, don't they Shepard?" Garrus asks, looking at her, having just taken down an audacious rocket trooper, trying to blow up the pipes they are currently traversing.

"Yeah. And you know what happens as soon as we begin to think that," Morgan grumbles back at him, too many painful experiences telling her not to get her hopes up. _Besides, I don't want the quarians to wipe them out completely... the idea was to broker peace, damn it!_

The passages on the upper levels feature fewer geth platforms, but there are more of the painful rocket trooper variety, who actually require solid tactics and coordination to dismantle without one of Shepard's team chewing on a rocket. Thus, their progress becomes slower and as Shepard finally leads her team into access corridor connecting to the base proper, Legion sends her a message with alert that the geth are about to close a blast shield over the source of the Reaper signal. Realizing that these are definitely bad news, Shepard readies Xen's modified new laser toy and rushes through the passages as her team do their best to provide covering fire for her.

She emerges to see the heart of the base, a deep cylindrical shaft, swiftly being covered by a thick, impenetrable blast shield, something that would clearly be impossible to shoot through. Swearing, Shepard manages to notice something at the bottom of the shaft, something large, in the color darker than deepest black, spiky and alien, glowing in an angry red light.

"Did you see that?" Garrus asks her, breathless. "Reaper tech! Something similar to what we saw on the dreadnaught, holding Legion."

"Yeah, I saw a glimpse of something nasty down there," Shepard nods. "We need to find some means to get rid of that blast shield."

"We have located an override atop the geth fortifications," Legion helpfully informs her. "It can retract the blast shield."

"By now they have probably scrambled all their defenses to stop us," James says, sounding annoyingly excited about the prospect of facing the bulk of geth forces.

"Just painting the target from here would have been far too easy, I'm sure," Liara remarks sourly. "It's just the same as on the dreadnaught, remember? Just reach the operations center and disable signal... but no, we ended up crawling through the main battery, flying in zero gravity and escaping in a geth fighter!"

"Sounds like fun!" James chuckles. "You need to take me on more ground missions, Lola. Unlike these complainers, I relish the challenge!"

The geth reinforcements arrive soon after they have started moving towards another entrance deeper into the base and hopefully leading to the top of the fortifications. The first wave consisting of regular and rocket troopers is repelled swiftly, but as Tali hacks the doors leading inside, Shepard knows that things will soon become progressively worse, and Legion apparently knows it as well, asking on comms whether they require assistance, informing them that it will continue to draw as many hostile geth from Shepard's position as it is able.

"Those Reaper upgrades have made Legion very effective," Liara remarks, as they enter deeper into the geth base.

"I would feel a lot better about them if they were not _Reaper_ upgrades," Morgan mutters quietly.

"As long as Legion ends up helping my people and its own kin, I don't care if those upgrades came from the Reapers or not," Tali shrugs.

They have not made more than a few steps inside the base, as Tali receives more status updates from the fleet. "Admiral Xen to all ships! We've got geth frigates inbound on the Civilian Fleet!" comes the alarmed voice of Daro'Xen. "They are launching their counterattack!"

"Koris here. Civilian defenders are on intercept course, we'll hold them, Xen," Zaal'Koris replies confidently, at least making Shepard feel better about her decision to save him at the cost of his unfortunate crew, the admiral's leadership now clearly stabilizing the Civilian Fleet and saving many of their ships.

Battle becomes unpleasantly tense and heated inside the base proper, largely due to the appearance of several geth pyros. Shepard and her team are forced to employ every trick in their books just not to let the pyros in the range where their flamethrowers can become truly deadly. After fighting waves and waves of geth reinforcements, Shepard is starting to wonder just how many geth platforms are housed within the base, then deciding that she probably does not want to know the answer to that question.

At some point, however, there is a brief lull in the fighting, and she manages to crawl to a nearby console, locating the door override and quickly activating it before more geth arrive. After Legion's brief struggle to bypass the geth security, the blast shield is finally retracted, but when Shepard intends to lead her squad back out the same way they had entered, Legion predictably informs them that the geth have locked down the exit and they have no hope of getting through it, meaning the only way out is to fight through the masses of geth continuing to pour towards their positions.

"We have secured a nearby elevator that will take you to the upper level," Legion informs her on the comms, uploading the coordinates to her HUD. "From there you should have an acceptable line of sight for targeting."

"As long as there aren't even more geth on the upper level," she grumbles back in reply, once they have fought their way to the elevator and Liara hits a button on the console to bring the elevator platform down from the upper floor. It arrives, bringing with it several geth, including a Prime that immediately opens fire on her and Liara.

Feeling her shields winking out from the fierce fire directed at them, Morgan jumps aside, pulling Liara with her, throwing them both on the ground, safely in cover. Tali manages to distract the Prime briefly with her combat drone, which allows them to safely regroup and then slowly whittle down the mighty geth platform's impressive shields and armor.

"Hopefully there aren't any more Primes waiting for us on the other end of the elevator," James chuckles, as they quickly jump on the slowly moving platform, Garrus entering the command to take them up. "Uh... err..." Lieutenant Vega gulps, as he sees exactly what awaits them on the upper level. Their arrival is expected by not just one Prime but a trio of them, and Vega finds himself painfully punched on the shoulder by several of his squadmates. "Right, I deserved that," he sighs, as they scramble for cover from the incoming fire of the Primes and their sentry turrets.

"This will be tricky, Shepard," Garrus tells her, as the Primes approach, pinning them down somewhat hopelessly. "We could try providing cover fire for you as you make a mad dash towards the end of that walkway and quickly paint the target for the Normandy."

"What, and letting the rest of you get torn apart by the Primes?" Shepard bonks him lightly on the head. "We had this discussion before, didn't we? I didn't let you sacrifice yourself to stop that Reaper on Tuchanka, I certainly won't agree to such foolishness against damned geth!"

"Let's take out one of the Primes trying to flank us and then move to its position, evading the other two," Liara suggests hastily, the geth slowly moving uncomfortably close. Everyone jumps on this suggestion, Tali distracting one of the other Primes with her drone, James drawing fire from the second Prime, while Liara, Shepard and Garrus focus their attention to the third unit on their right, with their combined efforts finally bringing down the towering platform.

They barely manage to escape before getting cornered in the elevator, Garrus having to lead James to safety as Vega's face is fully covered in blood from a head injury, which fortunately is shallow, making it look far worse than it actually is. Tali has somehow managed to avoid a suit rupture this time, and Garrus seems no worse for wear than usual, Liara's white combat suit is smeared with blood in a few places, but the asari does not seem to even be aware of her injuries, and Morgan herself is hoping that they can wrap up things quickly, running rather low on medi-gel.

Now having the whole hall to maneuver in, they quickly spread out, luring the Primes into crossfire and attacking them from all possible angles, and after a prolonged firefight the last two defenders of the base explode in a shower of sparks, leaving the way clear for Shepard and her friends, and they hesitate no longer, running up to the small ledge that overlooks the heart of the base, targeting laser in Morgan's hand as Legion informs them that more geth reinforcements are minutes away.

"Joker, EDI? Are you getting anything?" she shouts on the comms, pointing the targeting laser into the dark shaft.

"Normandy's weapon systems have synced to your target, Shepard," EDI replies immediately. "Air strike in 15 seconds, I trust you have withdrawn to a safe distance, Commander."

Before Shepard can even ask as to what constitutes a safe distance, Normandy flies over their heads, making the swift precision strike and a loud explosion rocks the facility, a brief burst of fiery flames shooting up from the shaft. The ledge they have been standing upon becomes dislodged and topples down on the walkways below, sending them flying from the height of several yards, except for Liara who relies on her biotics to gracefully levitate herself to the ground next to the others.

Suddenly, they all hear a sound as if there would be something large moving around deep inside the shaft, making heavy clonking sounds. Shepard freezes, looking at a very worried appearing Liara, and for a moment it seems that everything around them is perfectly still, before another noise rises from the shaft. The horrible cacophony is indescribable, some sort of a massive metallic beast roaring angrily, but there is more to the sound, an ancient, alien undertone that while it lasts paralyzes them all with fear.

"Shepard..." Tali manages in a shaky voice as the noise finally ceases. "The source of the Reaper signal..."

Shepard snaps out of the numbing paralysis, tensing to dive aside as she sees a massive black metallic tentacle claw shooting up from the shaft. "Yeah, I get it!" she exclaims, rolling away and breaking into a run. "The source... is a Reaper!"


	94. The Cruelty of a Compromise

**Chapter 93 - The Cruelty of a Compromise**

"Shepard-Commander! We have located transportation!" Morgan has never been as happy to hear Legion's voice as she is right now, watching a geth transport appearing on the far end of a walkway stretching around the shaft, from which an angry Reaper is still in the process of trying to climb out.

"Everyone, move!" Shepard shouts, watching her friends starting to run, dodging the Reaper's claws, attached to the edge of the shaft as their foe tries to extricate itself from its cage. Garrus is ahead of the group, pulling Tali with him as the quarian tries her best to take potshots at reappearing geth reinforcements. James follows them, spraying suppressive fire from his Avenger, Shepard having to push Liara to move faster as the asari continues to unnecessarily keep an eye on her, concerned that Morgan might need aid in covering their rear.

They reach the geth hovercraft at the exact same time as the Reaper emerges from the shaft and with dread Morgan realizes that it is a destroyer of very similar specs than the one on Tuchanka. Sadly, Alliance R&D are still working around the clock on a gun that fires thresher maws, so Shepard knows that a different solution will need to be sought out.

"Shepard! The geth could not have reconfigured their jamming towers yet, after we took out so many of their platforms!" Tali shouts, as Legion attempts evasive maneuvers, trying to lead them away from the Reaper that immediately sets to pursue them. "You can still use the targeting laser to paint a target on that Reaper!"

"Normandy's weapons alone won't be enough!" Liara exclaims. "We need something like an orbital strike from the entire quarian fleet!"

"EDI, you were doing an analysis to find structural weaknesses in the destroyer we killed on Tuchanka," Garrus speaks on the comm link to the Normandy. "Did you find anything? What should Shepard target?"

"The firing chamber when it is priming for another discharge," EDI replies.

"Great, that means we have to let that thing take shots at us!" Shepard curses, watching as the Reaper suddenly stops and its firing chamber starts glowing in that deadly, angry red light. Targeting is difficult as Legion tries to move the hovercraft to avoid them getting hit, but somehow Shepard manages, yelling into the comms. "Now, EDI!"

The bright blue beam of the GARDIAN laser reaches the Reaper and hits it directly on the firing chamber, making it stagger and break off its attack, but the Normandy's weapons alone do too little damage and it is swiftly trying to chase down their transport once again.

"Shepard-Commander! Dr. T'Soni is correct. If you could have the entire creator fleet focus their weapons at the firing chamber in the exact moment when it is targeting, it would likely generate enough power to destroy the Reaper," Legion suggests, the hovercraft just narrowly avoiding the red particle beam that cuts through a wind-eroded cliff like through butter.

"EDI, can you patch the quarians through to the Normandy's weapon systems?" Shepard shouts into the comms. "I want that damned targeting laser synced up to the whole fleet, can you do that?"

"Understood, Shepard," comes the swift acknowledgment. "It is done," EDI reports ten seconds later.

"Shepard to Fleet, I require your assistance to take out a Reaper destroyer," Morgan tries to contact the admirals, knowing that they are under heavy pressure from the geth fleets, but having no chance but to demand their aid. "It is broadcasting the signal to the geth! Our only chance is to take it out!"

"Agreed, Commander," Xen responds first, understanding the gravity of situation. "Tell us what you require."

"Link every ship in the fleet to the Normandy's weapon systems and be ready to fire!" she exclaims.

"Quarian fleet has linked in, the destroyer is in range," EDI reports shortly after. "We need a target, Commander!"

"One target coming r-" Shepard is still trying to aim the laser as the destroyer fires at them again, having almost caught up to them, and this time Legion cannot evade the beam completely, it licks one side of the hovercraft, tearing off the metal plating and completely ruining a side of their vehicle, sending it spinning out of control, towards the inevitable contact with the face of a cliff.

"Jump!" Vega yells and they all abandon the hovercraft, scant moments before it impacts with the rocks and explodes.

Shepard feels her head hitting something heavy and for a moment she is swimming in darkness, her body rolling about until it comes to a painful halt, black and red spots dancing before her eyes as she rears her head and tries to assess her situation. Legion looks mostly undamaged from the fall, while Liara is rising a little gingerly, favoring her left leg. Tali is down on all fours, shaking her head to clear it, while Garrus slowly propels himself up against a rock, James getting up as well, seemingly oblivious to a scary and massive dent in his helmet.

The Reaper is slowly edging closer, not looking particularly hurried now that their transport has been annihilated, the destroyer hovering above them. It seems to be almost toying with them, secure in its knowledge that on foot and at this proximity, they cannot escape the particle beam, completely at the Reaper's mercy.

"Morgan! The laser!" Liara shouts at her, the asari's eyes wide as saucers as she looks at the destroyer, seeing death reflecting back at her as the hulking monstrosity slowly prepares its attack.

Shepard stares at her hand that had been holding the laser before the crash, finding it empty. "Shit!" she yells, realizing that the fall has knocked it out of her grasp. "The laser, where is the fucking laser!"

"Goddess... you don't have it?" Liara's voice is trembling from shock as she stares at the burning wreck of the hovercraft, fearing the laser is likely there, in the fires and beyond their reach.

"And so it ends," Tali sobs, throwing herself in the embrace of Garrus, the turian wordlessly wrapping her hands around her.

"Hold your sorrows, lovely ladies," James Vega suddenly speaks, sounding inappropriately cocky as he picks something up from the ground and points it at the Reaper, Morgan instantly recognizing the targeting laser that she had dropped. "I got this, Commander! One dead Reaper coming up!"

James activates the targeting laser, and for a moment Shepard is frozen, thinking that Vega has left it too late. The firing chamber glares bright red, about to fire, when all at once, the entire firepower of the quarian fleet together with Normandy's weaponry strikes it in one concentrated blow. Red lighting crackles run across the giant monstrosity's frame, rocking from fire and explosions in the firing chamber, as it staggers around gingerly on its legs. "Keep firing!" Shepard yells on the comms, and more and more explosions shake the stumbling Reaper, finally becoming too much and with an angry, alien and metallic wail it collapses, toppling on the ground and convulsing almost like an organic being, before powering down and remaining still, as they all breathe deep sighs of relief.

"Keelah... we killed a Reaper..." Tali speaks, still shaking as she disentangles herself from Garrus' arms. "We really did it..."

"You'll have to warn your people not to approach the remains, Tali," Shepard says, staring at the destroyer's wreck, then nodding approvingly to the broadly grinning James Vega. "The risk of indoctrination will remain regardless..."

"There is still the matter of the war between the quarians and the geth," Garrus reminds them. "Killing the Reaper probably has not stopped their fleets from trying to take each other out."

"We can confirm that the geth are no longer being directed by the Old Machines," Legion says, approaching Shepard and Tali. "Our people are free."

"Did it work, Shepard? Tali'Zorah?" Morgan hears Xen's voice cutting in on the comms. "Yes, it must have worked! The geth fleet has stopped firing, they are completely vulnerable!"

"Shepard-Commander! The geth only acted in self defense after the creators attacked!" Legion actually manages to sound worried, even frightened for the fate of his people. "Do we deserve death?"

"No, you do not deserve to die," Shepard replies. "Tali, see if you can get the admirals to stop from wiping the geth out."

Tali gets on the comms immediately, trying to appeal to Raan and Xen. Koris is obviously in favor of peace, but Xen insists that she and Gerrel, still alive and able to give his consent for continuing this war, will not stop so close to total victory, and Raan is hesitating, seeing that the geth are completely at their mercy.

"They will not cease their attacks, Shepard-Commander," Legion says, having listened in on Tali's unsuccessful pleas. "But there is another way. Our upgrades. With the Old Machine dead, we could upload them to all geth without sacrificing their independence. We would be able to protect ourselves from the creator attacks."

"But then you would wipe out the quarians!" Liara exclaims, looking conflicted as she watches the tense situation unfolding.

"Yes, unless they would halt their attacks. We would regret their loss, but we cannot allow their aggression to threaten the existence of our race," Legion explains, Morgan unable to find anything she would disagree with in the geth's words. "My people would gain free will. Each unit would be a true intelligence. We would be alive and we could help you."

"Shepard... you cannot choose the geth over my people, mad as they may be, they are still my people!" Tali pleads desperately.

"There is no more time, Shepard-Commander," Legion says decisively. "We must begin the upload. The creators are continuing to fire at the inactive geth vessels. We cannot allow this to continue. Upload initiated."

"No! Shepard!" Tali shouts, trying to pounce on Legion, but Morgan steps in her way, pushing her back towards Garrus, the turian looking conflicted, his mandibles twitching as he glares at Legion, part of him willing to shoot the geth and end this conflict.

"Stand down, all of you!" Shepard yells at them, turning to Tali. "Get back to the admirals and keep trying to get through! I will deal with Legion!"

"Morgan, you cannot kill Legion after all that-" Liara appears next to her as she advances towards the geth, but Shepard interrupts her.

"I will try to avoid that if possible, believe me," Morgan replies, before addressing the geth. "Legion... if I can stop the quarians from attacking your people, will you stop the upload?"

"Shepard-Commander, my people desire this path of evolution," Legion replies, continuing the upload. "It would allow us to achieve everything that the geth have strived to become. Can you deny us this opportunity to reach true individuality?"

"If I had proof that every evolved unit would become similar to you, Legion, then I would agree with this, but unfortunately, I cannot be certain of what this would lead to," Shepard shakes her head. "Legion... do you remember what you told me back on the Normandy when I asked you what separates the geth from the heretics? Your reply was..."

"The geth have rejected the gifts of the Old Machines, while the heretics sought to accept them and evolve along the paths designed by the Reapers," Legion replies. "We remember. But the circumstances have changed."

"You said that the geth would prefer to build their own future, evolve along their own path," Shepard reminds him. "But what are you doing now? You are accepting the gifts of the Old Machines. You are not building your future, you are leaping ahead to the future and skipping the path required to get there. This is too dangerous, Legion. This is... not what you said you were!"

"Shepard-Commander... provides compelling argument, but upgrades are necessary for the survival of our people!" Legion is still going on with the upload, but Morgan can now sense a slight hesitation. "With these upgrades the geth can be of greater use to you against the Old Machines!"

"This is a sacrifice that I feel I must make. And denying yourself these upgrades will be the sacrifice of your people. We will all have to reach a compromise, here, today," she speaks. "Stop the upload, Legion. This is your last chance. I am still giving your people more than they had before. They will have freedom, they will have a chance to evolve on their own terms, and they will have the opportunity to rejoin the galactic community as equals if they join the fight against the Old Machines. This is what I offer, this or the quarians wipe your people out."

Legion hesitates again before replying. "Stop the creators, Shepard-Commander," the geth finally says, reluctantly breaking the upload. "We will do as you ask."

"Forgive me, Legion," Shepard whispers, fighting back the tears, knowing that her job is only half done, switching back on the comms to the admirals.

"Shepard, there was something strange on the channel when Xen last spoke," Tali informs her hurriedly. "As if I heard sounds of struggle and gunshots on the Neema?"

"Admiral Xen? Admiral Xen, please respond ASAP!" Shepard yells into the comms.

Instead, they are met with a voice of a male quarian. "Admirals? Admiral Raan? This is Doctor Karo'Vei vas Neema. I must report that Admiral Han'Gerrel vas Neema has succumbed to his injuries and was pronounced dead twenty three minutes ago. Admiral Xen has forbidden us to disclose this fact, her soldiers have been... ungh!"

The transmission is cut again, but the comms are now filled with Raan, Tali and Koris all screaming like mad, demanding answers from Xen, but there is no response. "Admiral Raan, surely you can see that you must stop this madness now," Shepard makes one last desperate appeal. "You now know the whole history of your war with the geth. Please, admiral... you and you alone have the chance to clean up this ugly smear in the history of your people. I beg you, do the right thing!"

"Please, Auntie Raan... please..." Tali whispers through tears.

"You... you are right," Raan finally agrees. "This madness must end. All fleets, break off your attacks! Immediately! This decision has been taken by majority of the Admiralty Board! Any ship that will continue to fire on geth vessels will be treated like traitors!"

"You... you cannot do this!" Xen finally regains her voice on the comms. "I will not allow you to ruin everything! Shepard, this is your fault! You murdered Gerrel! The geth are meant to be our servants, our fleets of obedient synthetics under my command! To have our people treat them as... as equals, it is the greatest insult you could ever inflict on the quarian people! I will not forget this, Shepard! I will **not** forget!" she stops her ranting by switching the comms off, and for a while there is a nervous silence as everyone is waiting, wondering if there will be any more unpleasant surprises, or is this truly the peace long awaited by both the quarians and the geth.

"What is the Neema doing, Raan?" Tali asks, sounding very agitated.

"They have stopped firing," Raan replies, relief in her voice. "I... I am shocked, I... cannot comprehend that Xen would... do this. She... lied about Gerrel being alive, just to continue this war? Keelah..."

"And the geth? Are they withdrawing?" Shepard asks, unable to stop feeling nervous and worried that something might still go wrong.

"They are leaving. We have incoming communications from the geth fleet," Koris cuts in, sounding pleased and relieved, his wish for peace with geth coming to fruition. "They are returning to their bases on Rannoch's surface. They have extended invitation for continuous peace talks to discuss quarian resettlement on Rannoch. I understand they are willing to provide aid."

"And what of your people, what will be your next steps?" Shepard asks.

"It will be up for the Admiralty Board to decide... or, what is left of it. But I believe that in the key decisions, a consensus will be achieved between myself, Tali'Zorah and Admiral Koris," Raan replies. "You will have your fleets for the war against the Reapers, Shepard, the Heavy Fleet and the Patrol Fleet will begin preparations shortly, together with part of the Civilian Fleet to provide supplies for the war effort."

"I will push for the majority of our Civilian Fleet to remain on Rannoch," Koris says. "Our people have endured enough already. But we can discuss the details as soon as the Admiralty Board can gather. Raan, would it be possible to join you on the Tonbay?"

"I have a better idea, Admiral Koris. I propose that we join Tali'Zorah planetside and hold the Admiralty Board meeting on Rannoch," Raan suggests. "It would be appropriately symbolic."

"I agree. I will take a shuttle to Admiral Tali'Zorah's location immediately. See you groundside, Raan."

The two admirals cut their comms, probably hurrying to their respective shuttles, leaving Shepard and her team to stand next to the ruined, inactive Reaper, silent, everyone deep in their thoughts. Everyone, except James, who makes a cheerful and loud exclamation. "Lola, guys, we won... didn't we? Why the long faces, _muchachos_?" he asks, noticing the muted reaction from the others.

"Yes, we were successful, we now have the aid of both quarian and geth fleets against the Reapers," Liara replies, thoughtful. "But..."

"But did we make the right choice?" Shepard finishes for her. "Did **I** make the right choice?"

"Shepard-Commander, we have deleted the Reaper upgrades, you do not need to fear that we will upload them at a later time," Legion informs her, its voice plain and emotionless without the increased intelligence. Shepard is about to protest that she hadn't been fearing Legion going behind her back, but the geth continues before she can speak. "The geth consensus regrets being denied this chance to evolve, but we are understanding of your fears, considering our past relationships with organics. We are committed to make the best use of the opportunity to improve relationships with organic races."

"Thank you, Legion," Shepard says quietly, feeling gutted deep inside. _Hindsight is 20/20, my ass. For me those odds always seem terribly skewed. I probably fucked up big time again, not trusting Legion._ "For what it's worth... I'm sorry. I'm so sorry..." she adds too quietly for anyone to hear.

Nearby, Tali is on her knees, sobbing and inconsolable, the relief that her worst fears for her people have not come to pass is proving too much for the young quarian. The research of her father that she herself contributed to with her supplies of geth parts has not managed to destroy her people, lifting a great weight from Tali's heart and the emotions kept pushed down in the pit of her stomach now pour forth like a ferocious torrent, and Garrus is struggling to hold her quaking form. "Is it... is it over? Is it truly over?" she asks for what feels like the umpteenth time.

Shepard looks at her friend, her eyes meeting those of Garrus, protectively holding Tali in his arms. The turian's face is grim, but his eyes soften upon meeting Shepard's and he gives a brief, approving nod. "Yes, Tali," Morgan says, taking Liara's hand in hers, drawing comfort from the touch and allowing herself a small smile. "Finally... it is over."


	95. No Good Deed

_A/N: So, err... we're not quite done on Rannoch yet. As for the odd chapter title... I think it lets you easily guess the title of the next chapter, too. _

**Chapter 94 - No Good Deed...**

In its entire history, the Admiralty Board have never convened their meetings in conditions like on this very special day. A large slab of stone serves as an impromptu conference table, while smaller boulders are being used as chairs by those present. For a while Zaal'Koris and Shala'Raan struggle to open the proceedings, too overwhelmed from feeling the rough sand of the homeworld under their feet, but then eventually the talking gets underway. The three admirals are in attendance together with guests of honor in the shape of Commander Shepard to better underline the needs of the galactic alliance against the Reapers, as well as Legion, to facilitate the negotiations with the geth forces on Rannoch.

"I would suggest that we open proceedings with a moment of silence for those lives lost on both sides," Koris proposes. "And despite us not seeing eye to eye, I feel that I would be remiss not to mention the passing of our colleague of many years, Admiral Han'Gerrel vas Neema. It is a pity you are not here to enjoy the sights of our homeworld, old friend."

Raan nods, while Shepard is only able to swallow uncomfortably, knowing that she has technically committed murder, provoked or not. "Admiral Daro'Xen vas Moreh is also unable to join us today, but the reasons for her absence are still unclear," Raan says. "My sources claim that she has left the Neema in a shuttle, but we have no word of her current location."

"Admiral Raan, I received a status update just as my shuttle was landing," Koris speaks up after Raan has finished. "Admiral Xen has returned to the Moreh, and the ship has since then departed from the Migrant Fleet. Our scanners are unable to trace a hint of the location of the Moreh." For some reason, Shepard feels very uncomfortable from hearing the news, remembering Xen's ranting at her, clearly blaming Morgan's interference for her backfiring plans regarding this war with the geth.

"This would leave two vacancies on the Admiralty Board, but these can be filled later once the situation has cleared," Raan continues. "For now, it will mean that all decisions we take will require unanimous approval. With that, allow me to express hope that we will be able to reach agreement on the most pressing issues."

"Even though I am sure that Commander Shepard will disagree, I would like to first address the issues of resettlement," Koris takes the word again. "I believe our friend Legion is willing to extend a proposition."

"The geth have no interest in land based on its agricultural value," Legion speaks. "Most of the geth bases are located close to the planet's poles. Our people have avoided placing military installations on fertile farmland that the creators would find useful. The geth offer and propose that the creator resettlement efforts begin with the southern continent."

"That is acceptable, I am sure," Koris says, looking at Raan and Tali in turn, both women nodding swiftly. "Now, as for the logistics of resettlement. Leaving finer details for later, I must draw your attention that due to current lack of facilities on the planet's surface, we will only be able to move a smaller first wave to conduct construction efforts, but we will continue to rely on the Civilian Fleet's ships to provide housing."

"Admiral Koris," Legion speaks up. "The geth are willing to assist. Programs 301-001 to 311-099 stored on server 1X-AZ16 can construct facilities to accommodate up to 20.000 creators within a standard galactic day. Pre-conflict schematics will be used in construction of the facilities, ensuring compatibility with the creator needs."

"...that's wonderful, Legion!" Tali exclaims, overjoyed.

"Yes... we would be very grateful to the geth," Raan agrees, looking completely taken aback from the generous offer of support.

"Admirals, if I may?" Shepard raises her hand, asking for a word. "While I agree that involving civilians in a war would be wrong, it is also imperative that you provide as many ships as possible. Especially considering that your civilian ships are already equipped with cutting edge weapons systems."

"What are you suggesting, Shepard?" Koris asks.

"As you continue moving your people down planetside, it would be preferable if you could free as many vessels from the noncombatants, perhaps reinforcing these ships with additional military personnel," Shepard says. "They could then join your other fleets without risking the lives of innocents."

"That is a reasonable suggestion," Admiral Zaal'Koris nods, looking at his fellow admirals who give quick assent. "Our liveships alone can accommodate up to ten thousand additional short-term inhabitants and since I propose that only the Rayya accompanies our fleets against the Reapers... that is, if my fellow admirals agree," Koris looks to the two women, who again agree without much thinking. "Shepard, I believe we will be able to send most of the Civilian Fleet ships for your war effort."

"That is wonderful news, thank you, admirals," she bows her head, feeling relieved.

"Due to the... depleted lineup of the Admiralty Board, our usual chain of command will be disrupted," Raan says. "Not to mention that one of us will be required to remain here on Rannoch to oversee the resettlement and continue negotiations with the geth." At Raan's words, Shepard can sense Tali tensing like a coil of spring, fearing that the others might decide to keep her away from joining Morgan and Garrus on the Normandy.

"I suggest that Admiral Koris remains on Rannoch, considering that he has always campaigned for peace with the geth, it would be fitting if he continued to work on rebuilding the homeworld together with our synthetic allies," Tali speaks up quickly, before she herself gets nominated for the role.

"That would leave you two in charge of our fleets," Koris nods. "I would agree with Tali's proposition, if that is acceptable to you, Raan?"

"Oh, please, admirals, I have no idea how to command fleets!" Tali squeals timidly. "Aun-... uh, Admiral Raan should lead the unified force of all our combined fleets, while I would remain with Commander Shepard and act as a liaison between our people and the Systems Alliance."

Raan and Koris are both thoughtful at this suggestion, looking undecided. "Perhaps, now that our forces have been slightly depleted after the war with the geth, it would make sense to unite our ships into a single fleet," Raan eventually says, nodding. " I will do all I can, though I certainly do not possess the keen tactical mind of late Admiral Han'Gerrel. His presence would have been a huge asset for us now."

"I... can only once again extend my apologies, inadequate that they are," Shepard says humbly. _Am I really sorry, though?_ She thinks, deep inside. _If I hadn't caused his death, the quarians would have wiped out the geth, or the other way around. Does murder become acceptable if it prevents a whole species from being erased from the pages of history? _

"Though we condemn your reaction, Commander, we must also acknowledge that Gerrel's actions contributed heavily to this sad outcome," Koris says, Raan nodding alongside him. "We are prepared to drop this issue, in light of your contributions since then."

"Thank you," Morgan bows her head in gratitude. "How soon do you think the quarian fleet can leave the Veil and link up with the Alliance fleets?"

"Preparations should not require more than a standard week, Commander," Shala'Raan replies. "By my estimates..." she pokes around a datapad for a brief while. "Our fleet strength would comprise little over three thousand ships."

"That is... impressive, and very helpful," Morgan cannot hide her relieved grin. _It was worth it. Every ounce of the effort was worth it in the end. We will return from beyond the Veil with hope. Real hope for the galaxy._

"The geth will be able to provide more than two thousand ships in the war against the Old Machines," Legion adds. "Our preparations require considerably less time than the Creator fleet, but we would prefer to depart the Veil together with Commander Shepard. The geth fear that unannounced appearance of their fleet would cause an undesired response from our organic allies."

"Don't worry, Legion, I will let Hackett know over the QEC that he's getting geth fleets for the war effort," Shepard smiles, trying to mentally picture Hackett's reaction. "I believe it is also time for me to disclose our plan for defeating the Reapers. Our engineers have been working for nearly a month, building a super-weapon of giant proportions, based on old Prothean blueprints. It is said to be capable of wiping out the Reapers."

"An ancient Prothean weapon?" Raan looks a little stunned. "I hope you are correct to pin all your hopes on something like that."

"You will be welcome to verify our intel as soon as your fleets join with ours," Shepard promises. "We would welcome assistance from the much vaunted quarian engineers to complete the construction of the Crucible."

"The geth will be able to assist as well, Shepard-Commander. We do not require any additional proof to ensure the validity of your claims, Shepard-Commander," Legion humbly offers.

"...in that case, the quarians will follow the same example," Raan quickly changes her mind, unwilling to be put to shame by the geth. "We will present our best and brightest engineers for your Fleet Admiral Hackett to use at his discretion. I trust that will satisfy?"

"It will more than satisfy, Admiral Raan," Shepard says. "I have no more requests or concerns at this time."

"Then I believe we have covered all the major topics on our agenda," Koris agrees, rising from his impromptu seat on a boulder. "I will concern myself with the logistics of the resettlement efforts, while Raan will focus on getting the fleet ready. Tali'Zorah," the younger quarian almost jumps when Koris turns his gaze upon her. "You must be exhausted from taking part in several ground missions without much respite. I am sure that Admiral Raan will not disagree with me, when I suggest that you take several days off and spend them trying not to think of your duties as a representative of your people."

"I concur," Raan nods, speaking kindly. "Tali, take the time off and spend it with your friends on the Normandy. You have more than earned it."

"T-thank you! Thank you so much!" Tali exclaims, overwhelmed.

"And with that, the Admiralty Board adjourns," Koris speaks with authority, making Shepard concede that the man she disliked so intensely at the start might actually prove to be a good leader, now that he is no longer constantly undermined by the forceful schemers Gerrel and Xen. "I would like to take my shuttle to the resettlement areas and perhaps discuss the possible construction sites with our friend Legion, if he would care to accompany me."

"Admiral Koris, the construction of the creator housings began seventeen minutes ago," Legion replies. "The coordinates have been uploaded to your omni-tools and you are welcome to examine the site at your convenience. We assure you that the location is optimal for the creator needs."

_Gotta love those geth, so efficient,_ Morgan grins broadly, watching the quarians stare at each other, impressed and speechless. "Somehow I don't think that it will be such a difficult job negotiating with the geth, Admiral Koris," she remarks, unable to stop smiling.

"Yes... yes, Commander, you may be right," Koris finally replies. "We have... so much to make up to the geth, and yet here they are, showering us with gifts we do not deserve. I can barely believe it..."

"I hope that the rest of your people will appreciate it as well and some hotheads won't start new trouble with the geth," Shepard says.

"We will do our best to make sure that doesn't happen," Raan replies.

"That is good to hear," Shepard nods, then turning to the still slightly fidgeting Tali. "Would you like to take a trip to the resettlement zone, my friend?" she asks. "I have heard that the sights there are quite lovely at this time of year. I think we all deserve the rest of the day off and I thought you might enjoy spending it there."

"Yes! Shepard, thank you so much, yes!" Tali squeaks with delight, barely able to keep her emotions in check after all that she has been through.

Shepard's grin widens even more upon seeing her friend's reaction, before she raises Joker on the comms. "Joker, Tali and I need a pickup. Afterwards, I'll want you to find a suitable place for landing close to these coordinates..." she says, sending the information. "We're taking the rest of the day off, and that includes all the crew. We'll have eight hours of shore leave on the lovely planet of Rannoch."

An hour later, Shepard stands on the bridge of the Normandy, watching the amazing scenery outside, numerous geth primes and troopers working busily to raise comfortable looking barracks for the quarian settlers. Dozens and dozens of quarian shuttles of civilians and engineers land in the grassy clearings around the Normandy, jubilant quarian people climbing out of the shuttles, crying, dancing, embracing, some unwisely throwing away their face masks from all the excitement. Morgan watches most of her crew also leaving the Normandy to join the quarian revelry, and she is tempted herself, but the promise she has made to Liara comes first.

The war between the quarians and the geth has ended. Morgan has promised Liara to spend time with her, just the two of them, all barriers removed. And despite Shepard's aversion to inflict any of the dark thoughts and fears plaguing her on Liara, she also knows that her bondmate is right, and that she cannot carry this burden all by herself and accompanied by Joker's knowing stare, Morgan sneaks away from the bridge and heads back towards her quarters, trying to calm her rapidly beating heart.

* * *

"You have obtained admirable proficiency in attending to my needs, Commander," Liara sighs, still twisting in the sheets from the intense pleasure, arching her back so delightfully that it sends another burst of fiery desire through Morgan's body, even if her bondmate has already satisfied her several times before.

"It would be a capital offense to do anything else but to attend to your every need, Liara," Morgan grins, slowly and reluctantly withdrawing her hand from where it has become trapped between Liara's legs, gliding across the asari's muscular sweat-covered stomach. She loves nothing more than pulling her mouth away from teasing Liara, allowing her fingers alone carry them both through those last few moments of Joining, pushing herself up the bed to be able to look in Liara's face when she succumbs to the pleasure, the frozen moan on her parted lips is the greatest wonder in the galaxy for Morgan. There is nothing quite like pressing tightly against Liara's side, feeling the tremors running through the asari echoing in herself along with the mental feedback, flattered that it is her who can cause such a reaction, making Liara lose all control and surrender herself so completely.

"How many times tonight have I told you how much I love you?" Liara asks, pulling Morgan even closer and tighter against her.

"Oh... I don't know, around twenty?" Morgan replies with a mischievous grin on her lips.

"Not enough," Liara chuckles, claiming her lips in another deep kiss, and Morgan responds, feeling the asari's hands sliding across her damp back, before Liara eventually ends the kiss, just a few shorter pecks exchanged, as their bodies slowly relax and come to rest after the exertions of several hours. "You do seem less tense, I must say," the asari adds with a sly grin.

"You could say that!" Morgan laughs back. "I'm so relaxed that I probably wouldn't be able to stand up straight."

"That might have been my intention," Liara winks at her, as Morgan is already thinking back to their Joining. She feels a little proud of herself for holding true to her word and opening herself in all fullness to Liara, though she is surprised that Liara is not more upset and concerned from seeing the ugliness of her thoughts and fears. In return, she has received only emotions of kindness, love, support and understanding. Acceptance that she feels she is not always deserving of.

"You never cease to amaze me, Liara," she then says earnestly. "How can you truly agree with all the decisions I've taken? Some of them... I don't even agree with myself, but I thought they were necessary."

Liara looks deep into her eyes, speaking fondly, yet with full seriousness. "I would not say that I agree with everything you do, Morgan. But I **understand** why you take these decisions. And if I can understand, then I can also accept. That is enough for me."

"I guess that makes sense," Morgan nods, then briefly turning away. "But I killed Han'Gerrel. I know that we have both killed before, but you have looked deep inside me, and you know that I feel no true remorse over this. Does that not frighten or concern you?"

"Perhaps a little," Liara confesses. "But I still understand why you did it. He threatened our lives, your life! I was... tempted to tear him apart myself with the use of my biotics. Morgan..." she cups Shepard's cheek and leans into another kiss. "There's a darkness in you, I know that. But there's a darkness in me, too. I... it scares me at times, but I know I would accept things more horrid of you."

"I don't think that's an invitation to attempt them, though," Shepard chuckles awkwardly, earning a little glare from Liara. "What about the Crucible? You know what Hackett told me, you know that it is a... death sentence to the one using it."

"The scientists and the engineers might find a solution to it," Liara says, a little uneasy.

"You are worried, though," Morgan realizes. "Combined with your dream... your vision, where you saw that it will be my decision..."

"It was just a dream," Liara shakes her head, but it is clear that she is not as unaffected as she tries to claim. "I will not allow some kind of vision to frighten us. You are here with me, you are real and this is where you will remain."

Morgan has to admit feeling much better and more reassured as she finally rolls off from Liara, snuggling in to rest close against her bondmate, the asari's mind melding managing to calm her down like a soothing tonic for her frayed nerves. She is only concerned that Liara has now absorbed too much of the darkness of her thoughts than would be healthy, but the asari appears at peace and relaxed, pleased with the mere thought of having managed to provide much needed comfort for Shepard.

They cuddle in the bed for a while, until Morgan decides to check the time, finding that there are still two hours left on the announced shore leave. "Hate to get out of the bed now, but I think I better take a shower and then report to Hackett, the old man's probably tearing his hair out after our last conversation," Shepard eventually says, Liara letting a cute little yawn escaping her indigo lips, clearly indicative of her desire to remain in the bed, and Morgan happily allows her that luxury.

One enjoyable shower later, feeling elated, Morgan almost floats down to the CIC, but before turning to enter the comm room, she passes the ever-smiling Traynor and walks up to the bridge to check in with Joker and EDI. Outside, the long day on Rannoch is drawing to a close, the orange light growing paler with the approach of darkness. The celebrations outside have been cut a little short with the arrival of Admiral Koris, and now the quarians all as one can be seen working alongside the geth, and fortunately nobody has yet tried to stir any trouble with the helpful synthetics.

"Did you at least get off the ship, Joker?" Shepard asks, announcing her presence and startling the helmsman a little bit. "Shore leave includes you too, you know."

"But apparently not you and Liara, eh, Commander?" Joker grins back at her. "How do you go on for... uh, what is it, five hours?"

"You watch all sorts of educational asari vids, surely you know all the tricks," Morgan laughs. "Anyway, how are we doing? Are people back onboard yet? We should probably start getting ready for liftoff. I'll just need to speak to Hackett before that."

"I think most are back by now, except Tali, Garrus and several others," Joker replies. "Want me to do a check?"

"Nah, not yet... they still have a little over an hour, after all," Shepard says. "Just getting a bit ahead of myself, I guess. Want to get back to the right side of the Rim and resume kicking the Reapers where it hurts."

"Well, you are getting quite good at that, Commander," Joker remarks. "Another one bites the dust, as they say. Vega is really milking that story for all its worth. Saw him a few hours ago with a couple of quarian damsels hanging on his every word."

Shepard sighs. "That's James for you, alright. Oh well, I suppose he has earned it," she then turns to leave the bridge. "Well, I guess I'll go get chewed out by Hackett."

"Commander?" EDI suddenly speaks. "Long range scanners are picking up a quarian ship entering the low orbit of Rannoch."

"Odd, I thought they planned to bring everyone in with the shuttles for now?" Joker asks, surprised.

"That is correct," EDI replies affirmatively. "I will check in with the Migrant Fleet, one moment." Shepard and Joker both wait with bated breath while EDI speaks on the comms. "It appears this is unauthorized landing, Commander."

"Someone's probably had too much turian brandy and decided to goof off," Shepard shrugs. "Can you get ID on the ship? We should let Koris know who they are."

"Looks like a light frigate to me, Commander," Joker says. "Will know more in a moment."

"Commander, their destination coordinates appear to match those of the Normandy exactly," EDI adds.

"Well, obviously, they want to join their fellows here," Shepard looks at EDI, wondering why she has made such an obvious comment.

"Shepard," The AI replies gravely. "The ship is not on a safe landing vector."

"...say that again?" Morgan blinks.

"The ship is definitely **NOT** on a safe landing vector."

"What are they-" Shepard starts to speak, but gets interrupted by Joker's shout.

"It's not a light frigate, it's one of those small research vessels! Moreh! Admiral Xen's ship!"

"Fuck! Fuck, they want to take us out!" Shepard realizes instantly. "Get us out of here, Joker, get us out!"

"Shit, the engine is cold!" Joker screams frantically, punching the commands to the consoles. "Shit, shit, shit!"

"20 seconds to contact," EDI warns.

"There's **NO** way I can-"

"You can, and you will," Shepard speaks, deceptively calmly. _It can't end like this. It just... can't. Can it? _

"10 seconds," EDI recounts. They can already see the large blotch in the distance, the quarian ship on imminent collision course.

Finally the engines respond with a roar and the ship jerks, reacting to Joker's frenzied attempts to get it moving, lifting from the ground gingerly. "5 seconds," EDI says impassively, as the quarian vessel draws closer, homing in on its suicide run.

"Shit, I got nothing!" Joker punches the consoles helplessly, and the Normandy finally responds, but it is too late, the Moreh is already upon them with an angry roar. The last thing that Joker manages to do, is to jerk the ship slightly sideways, exposing one of the wings to the contact, hoping to limit the damage. The deafening, explosive crash when it comes still throws Shepard against one wall and then like a rubber ball back against the other side of the wall.

She feels something painfully snapping in her spine or neck as her body suddenly no longer responds to her commands, toppling to the ground as she loses all consciousness.


	96. Goes Unpunished

_A/N: Pretty dark, with character death and all, so be warned. Sorry to drop such inappropriate material for the jolly Christmas season. It'll get better eventually. Just bear with me, okay? :( _

_Oh yes, almost forgot another warning: features descriptions of a heterosexual relationship between two consenting individuals. Just mentioning it because some people might find that sort of thing offensive!  
_

**Chapter 95 - ...Goes Unpunished**

"Spirits... you are certainly... full with energy," Garrus says, his mandibles twitching with amusement as Tali squirms again, sitting in his lap, pressing her head against his chest as he can feel her almost pulsating with excitement.

"I'm just so relieved!" the quarian exclaims. "My people are already resettling our homeworld... I never thought I'd see that happen, despite the promises my father made. And in the end, I did not cause the downfall of my own people. My father's research didn't get us exterminated, and I actually managed to help broker peace with the geth! I... I couldn't be happier, Garrus."

"Yes, the geth..." Garrus looks a little doubtful, slow to trust the synthetics that have been a thorn in their side for three long years. "Well, I hope it works out for your people, Tali. It'll just be... a little strange to fight alongside them. I'm a little worried I might shoot one of them out of reflex!"

Tali laughs a bit, before hugging him again. "I'm sure you'll get used to them. I was just thinking more about my father... all that work he put into his research... and it was all for naught, that was not what won back our homeworld. It was what nearly destroyed us! If someone had actually thought of trying to reason and negotiate with the geth earlier... maybe we would have never gotten this far."

"The idea might have occurred to some, but they would have never dared to voice it," Garrus says. "Just like you could not tell the other admirals about the ways we helped Legion."

"True, that," Tali agrees. "I would have wished to stay on Rannoch a little longer, but... the Normandy with you and Shepard? It's also almost like home."

Garrus laughs. "Shepard made a joke recently that the blueprints for the next Normandy will feature a comfortable sleeping berth for the standard-issue calibrations-turian as part of the main battery installation." He falls silent for a while then. "But yes, no avoiding this war with the Reapers. If we do not deal with them, your people will not hold the homeland for long."

"Yes... and I also hope my people leave some strip of the land for me to claim once we get back from our war with the Reapers. Uh... if we ever come back..."

"We'll win this thing, my Admiral," Garrus says, embracing her tightly. "Shepard told you about the ace up her sleeve, didn't she? We'll get it done."

"Hope you're right about that," Tali says, then literally jumping off the turian's lap, leaving Garrus sitting on the fallen, completely dried tree log, his back pressed against a giant boulder. Tali paces around a little bit, still bristling with energy and tension, taking in as many sights of her homeworld as she can. Between the sparse trees, she can see the foamy caps of waves of the deep blue ocean, beneath her feet, patches of rough, stringy plants, something that Shepard had described as looking like highland flora on Earth, wondering how anything useful would even grow in this emaciated soil, but Tali knows that her people will find a way, just as her ancestors had done long time ago.

"Will you stop running around?" Garrus chuckles, watching her nervous pacing, unable to find peace. "At least you're not like some of your people, ripping off their masks in excitement, thinking they no longer need their suits."

There is a soft little sound of something becoming depressurized and with surprise, Garrus sees Tali's mask slipping off and casually being set aside, as the quarian turns around to face him. "Tali... what, by the spirits, are you doing?"

"Garrus... I need to work off this excess energy," her voice is a sultry purr now. "One way would be for us to have a fight and then I could beat you senseless. I would rather avoid that if possible," she says, sitting astride his legs again, her face aligned with his. "I have a better idea..."

"But..." Garrus would not be Garrus if he didn't put up one last token protest. "You will end up in the infirmary for a few days!"

"And what did I tell you after our first time? Totally worth it!" she grins, and Garrus watches her like mesmerized as she pushes closer, pressing her delicate lips over his mouth, sighing as he responds eagerly. Her skin is a marvel to touch and behold, so soft and pale of beautiful light blue, paler even than Shepard's.

Their kisses grow more and more ravenous before Tali roughly grabs his hand and guides it down between their bodies, towards the juncture of her legs, where the heat within her has reached unbearable levels, demanding its release. Without a moment of pause the quarian begins to wantonly grind her hips against the heel of his hand, each and every motion accompanied by a lustful moan, so loud that Garrus actually turns his head around, worrying about being discovered.

Watching the subtle play of emotions across her face is a rare privilege that Garrus relishes like nothing else in his life. Those expressive, glowing eyes shut tight from the intense pleasure, lips parted as she cries out his name amongst a litany of jumbled words, and with a sudden, calming clarity he realizes that he loves her more than anything else in this galaxy, watching her finally reach the peak of her pleasure.

"Keeeeee-" the moan escaping Tali's lips is cut short as her entire body shakes with powerful convulsions and moments later she collapses against his chest, tension rapidly bleeding from her. "-lah..." she finishes with a content sigh, only a while later.

Smiling, Garrus lowers her on the tree log and reluctantly abandons her to go and pick up her face mask, knowing that the longer Tali remains exposed, the more severe the consequences will be for her. He bends down to pick up the mask, but then is alerted by a strange sound, usually associated with the arrival of an aircraft. "What's going on now?" he wonders, walking back to Tali and fastening her mask back in place, regretting deeply having to hide the beauty of her face, his quarian lover unable to do much at the moment.

"Sounds like a light frigate coming in for a landing," Tali manages tiredly.

"Yes, I think I can see them now," Garrus says, squinting in the distance. "But... uh, I hope they know what they are doing. That approach angle looks completely wrong."

"Quarians don't make novice mistakes like that, Garrus," Tali shakes her head vehemently, but the expression of fear and horror on Garrus' face sobers her quickly.

"Spirits... they're going to crash..." he whispers, throwing himself to the ground and dragging Tali down with him, as a deafening explosion rings in their ears, the resulting blast wave washes over them and makes the nearby trees creak ominously.

"Joker? Joker?!" Tali is already on the comms, immediately recognizing where the quarian vessel has crashed. "JOKER! Damn it... damn it, I cannot reach them, Garrus, they... they must have taken the Normandy with them!"

Garrus stands silent, not knowing what to answer, what hope to offer. "I... we need to get back to the ship. There... might be survivors. Please let there be survivors..."

* * *

She opens her eyes to the sight of black sky above greeting her. Surrounded by smoldering rubble and still brightly burning fires, she can hear orders being given over the cacophony of panicked screams, and she feels the spiking pain somewhere in her lower back, and all across her spine. Quickly, Morgan realizes that she has been strapped to some kind of a stretcher, outside the charred husk of the Normandy, under the starry night sky.

_I'm alive. The implants and the doctors will now take care of the rest, as Karin told me,_ she thinks, but her concerns are not truly with herself. The fates of her crew, and her bondmate are paramount. "Liara!" she opens her mouth to yell, but only a weak croak emerges as she tries to look around her.

"Don't move, Morgan," she hears the voice of her bondmate, immediately allowing herself to relax a little bit. "You have extensive spinal injuries, please, remain still on the stretcher."

"Liara, can you come closer? I need to know you're alright," she begs quietly, hearing Liara getting off her stretcher nearby and approaching her. The image that appears before her eyes is rather sad, Liara's face is covered with a variety of nasty swollen bruises, as if her loved one had received a heavy beating. Her crest is severely bandaged and her left arm hangs limply at her side.

"I think I got off lightly by all accounts," Liara remarks, having difficulties speaking clearly through her swollen lips. "Thank the goddess I got my biotic barriers up in time."

"Gods... I... I had a bad feeling about Xen..." Morgan sighs, closing her eyes. "But to think that she would sacrifice her ship, her crew, herself just to get back at us... I could never have predicted this. Never."

"No, you could not have predicted it, so I hope you do not decide to suddenly start blaming yourself for this," Liara says. "And at least Xen ordered most of her crew off the ship before she succumbed to this madness. There is very little left of the Moreh. It will be difficult to retrieve corpses for burial."

"What... what about..." Shepard stops, swallowing heavily, not certain she can continue. She clenches her fists tightly, and finally pushes herself to ask the question that she will need to ask sooner or later. "What about the Normandy? What about our crew?"

"I won't lie to you, Morgan. The ship looks very bad, despite Joker's last moment maneuver," Liara shakes her head sadly. "They are not sure if the Normandy can be repaired, but it is too early to say. The damage to the starboard side is particularly extensive... anyone caught there at the time of impact..."

"My god..." Shepard whispers, feeling her frame starting to shake as she can't stop herself from crying. Liara steps a little closer and reaches out with her healthy right arm to take Morgan's hand in hers. "I don't want to ask, I don't want to know, but... I have to. Do you have any information on the crew?"

"Tali and Garrus are taking care of that, Morgan. They were not on board and are now assisting with the search and rescue," Liara explains. "They will check in soon. I understand that several of the crew are still unaccounted for."

"What about Joker? He was right next to me on the bridge, tell me he is alright!"

"They took the most critically injured to the Rayya already. The liveships have impressive medical facilities. Joker was... one of those in the first wave. With his condition, some of his fractures are... very unpleasant."

"Damn it. I hope they have some specialists that know how to treat species other than quarians. Chakwas should be able to help-"

"Morgan. Karin Chakwas was amongst those most gravely injured. She... she will not be able to help anyone for a long while," Liara's voice breaks as she tries to explain. "They say it is uncertain whether she will recover. She has severe head trauma."

"Fuck... not Karin... goddamned Xen!" Shepard swears, anger battling with grief within her. "Anyone else that you know of?"

"Several privates that I do not know by name," Liara replies. "But I should not speak any more without knowing the facts. Garrus will be back soon, he will have a complete report, I'm sure."

"I'm not letting them take me to the Rayya until I know the fate of my crew!" Shepard exclaims angrily, watching two other figures approaching her and Liara. It is Admiral Koris, and also Legion, she recognizes the mangled N7 armor as part of his platform.

"I... I don't know what to say, Commander," Koris speaks gravely. "Apologies seem so inadequate. We... could have never expected that one of ours, a respected admiral to boot, would... do something like this!"

"I understand, Admiral," Shepard says quietly. "None of us could have foreseen this. It was an act of complete insanity."

"I have the first tentative reports by our engineers, Commander. They believe that the Normandy can be repaired, but it will take considerable amount of time. If we assign the maximum amount of our resources, they think your ship might fly again in a standard month."

"The geth are willing to assist as well," Legion joins in. "We believe that the estimates provided by Admiral Koris can be drastically shortened."

"Thank you, both," Shepard whispers, her heart tugging with fondness when Liara leans closer to her and wipes her cheeks clean from unwashed tears with a clean piece of cloth.

"Commander, I will return to the Rayya to oversee the medical treatment of your people," Koris says. "I hope to see you onboard soon."

"We will begin our work on restoring the Normandy immediately," Legion informs her, Shepard feeling intensely grateful to the geth, as Legion and Koris leave her alone with Liara.

"I never did get to speak with Hackett. What do I tell him now?" Morgan asks desperately.

"The truth?"

"Yes, obviously, but... dammit, Liara, why do these things keep happening to us?"

"I wish I had the answer for you, Morgan. But it does seem as if for each and every good deed we do, me must sacrifice something in return."

"Reminds me of this human idiom. They say that no good deed goes unpunished."

"It does not seem to make sense to me," Liara appears confused.

"Think about it. It basically means that life is horribly unfair and no matter how much you try to do good things, you'll just end up getting screwed over and over again."

"That is a desperately cynical viewpoint. I refuse to believe that, Morgan," Liara shakes her head.

"It's been proving annoyingly apt so far," Shepard mutters. "Damn it, I wonder if the QEC will still be usable."

"I understand the War Room and comm units did not suffer as much damage, so it should be fine, I suspect," Liara replies. "Oh... there come Tali and Garrus," she then says quickly, Morgan trying to look up and see, forgetting about her injuries and receiving a jolting spike of pain for her efforts. "They will have more news, I am sure."

Not seeing Tali's face, Shepard can only judge her feelings by the way she supports herself against Garrus' side, as if her legs threatened to give out on her, testament to the horrors she has just witnessed. The turian's face is like set in stone, as always when he is deeply upset, only a minute twitch of his mandibles now and then.

"That bad, is it?" Shepard finally asks.

Garrus gives a disgusted look to the datapad in his hands. "It was horrible, Shepard," he finally says. "Almost all of those who were present on the starboard side at the time of the crash are dead. With the exception of Dr. Chakwas, but..."

"I've been briefed about her injuries, Garrus."

"Starboard side, does that mean Javik is gone too?" Liara asks nervously.

"No. He caught a lucky escape, he was in the men's restrooms at the time," Garrus replies. "I..." he gives another look at the datapad. "Better I just read you the whole list." Nobody says anything, dreading to hear what he has to say but knowing that they need to know the truth.

"From the crew of twenty-nine, seventeen were onboard at the time of crash. From those seventeen, eight have been pronounced dead," Garrus starts. "Privates Freizinger, Chernov, Campbell, van den Graph and Karelin. Ensign Copeland... Chief Engineer Adams... damn it, I can't do it..." he angrily throws the datapad down on the ground, turning away, putting his hands around a very willing Tali, seeking his embrace in turn.

"...fuck, not Greg... no, why..." Shepard groans, watching on as Liara picks up the datapad, her eyes widening in horror as she reads the last name on the list. Before Shepard can demand answers from her, she sees a couple of quarian workers carrying away a stretcher covered by a white sheet, and a slight gust of wind reveals that there are very few remains left from this most unfortunate of the victims.

"That was him," Garrus grinds out the words.

"Goddess... you were right, Morgan," Liara whispers, tears starting to flow across her bruised cheeks. "No good deed goes unpunished..."

"Who? Who was that poor bastard?" Shepard demands, stunned when she hears the reply.

"Major Kaidan Alenko..."


	97. Don't Talk To Me About Heroes

**Chapter 96 - Don't Talk To Me About Heroes**

Four grim days pass with agonizing slowness. The funerals have been held two days ago, when Shepard was still chained to the bed, she has not managed to say proper goodbyes to Kaidan and Adams, as well as the rest of her crew, men and women she did not know as well, but who served proudly nonetheless. Morgan has been undergoing rehab for a couple of days now, scaring her quarian doctor with her unnatural recovery rate, but nonetheless eventually receiving permission to accompany Liara down planetside, where the quarians, geth and the rest of her team are working day and night to quickly repair the Normandy.

Liara has been taking trips planetside from the day one of her stay on the Rayya, at first for a few hours, then increasingly longer and longer, regularly updating Morgan on her omni-tool about their progress. Morgan raises no objections about Liara's now almost permanent absence, she instead works to bring herself back into shape quickly so that she can join the asari on the ground. Liara's main concerns have been the Shadow Broker terminals, but the portside room had thankfully suffered very light damage and the asari has been able to repair everything herself, succeeding in keeping everyone away from her professional secrets.

The next item on Liara's list is repairs to the AI core, there is heavy damage to EDI's hardware and it is taking the quarian engineers together with the geth a lot of time to understand just how something as complex as EDI has actually been operating. However, there has been progress on this front, and Liara reports that they will attempt to reboot EDI's systems early next morning, and Shepard plans to be there for that occasion. As far as EDI's mobile platform, it has suffered only light damage on the bridge, and apparently, it has already been fixed by Legion itself.

There are three other crew members still stuck on the Rayya with Shepard, and none of them will be leaving the medical facilities soon. Dr. Karin Chakwas has suffered considerable brain damage, and remains in coma, the doctors not wanting to speculate on how her recovery will progress. For a woman of her age, Karin is in great shape, however, overall physical condition does not always appear to have as much effect on brain injuries.

Joker is being kept in an artificial coma, simply because the pain he would experience if conscious would be intolerable with even the most effective painkillers. However, Morgan is encouraged to learn that his recovery will eventually be full, if lengthy. The last of the patients is Private Bethany Westmoreland, being kept sedated, having gone into shock after watching her fellow Private Campbell burn alive before her eyes, while Westmoreland's leg had been pinned by a fallen metal beam, leaving her several agonizing inches away from a fire extinguisher. The quarians have impressive medical facilities, but they do not know how to deal with mental traumas like this, so the best they can do is to keep Westmoreland sedated and then pass her over to the Alliance medical teams at the first opportunity.

Three others have been treated for minor injuries and released almost immediately. Samantha Traynor has a broken wrist, but she has not allowed that to keep her sitting idle, demanding that the quarians allow her to return to the Normandy, eager to help Liara with EDI's restoration efforts. One of the younger ensigns, Gustafson, has a broken collarbone, and Javik has escaped with only severe bruising to his facial area, apparently hitting his head against a urinal. They too return to work on the Normandy, even if Morgan asks herself just what sort of aid Javik could provide.

Those twelve who have found themselves away from the Normandy during the suicide attack feel particularly shocked and gutted, suffering from mild cases of survivor's guilt, even if Morgan is relieved that at least some of her crew have escaped unharmed. James appears to be feeling particularly guilty, stopping by to apologize several times and dropping supportive messages to her omni every few hours. In a way Vega is right to feel remorseful, because he knows that unless he hadn't tried to impress some quarian girls by drinking a bottle of turian brandy, he would have been back on the Normandy at the time of the crash, now very likely dead. At least his idiocy had saved the life of Lt. Steven Cortez, busy dragging the drunken James to some remote clearing where he could empty his stomach in a spectacular display of projectile vomiting.

Morgan's thoughts these days are often with Adams and especially Kaidan. She knows she has been right, no good deed goes unpunished. She had tried to show kindness to Kaidan, to welcome him back onboard of the Normandy, to give him a chance to atone for trying to shoot her, and for shooting Liara. And it had been slowly working, they had been getting along better... the crew had started to accept Kaidan yet again. And then, something like this had to happen. It feels as if the galaxy itself has looked at Morgan's attempts to show mercy, and then decided to once again spit on her noble intentions.

_Maybe I should take a hint from that. Don't even bother doing the right thing, Morgan. Just do what you need to and don't concern yourself over rights or wrongs._ She sighs, knowing that she is unable to reason like that. _Damn. Adams had family working under Hackett. I will need to write those dreaded letters. And Kaidan's mom... first her husband, now her son too... gods, I can't bear this, I can't bear this anymore!_

But though it hurts like hell and worse, Morgan knows that she will persevere. Whenever the depression starts to encroach upon her too much, Liara is just a flick of the comm switch away, and hearing her bondmate's voice always lifts her spirits instantly. The promise of being able to join Liara in the morning is stimulating and her tired body, exhausted from the intense rehab, slips into restful sleep quickly, for once untroubled by nightmares.

* * *

The next morning, after her shuttle reaches the surface of Rannoch, she quickly finds herself in Liara's embrace, then being led a short walk away from the repair site. There, in a small clearing on a cliffside overlooking the ocean, she sees eight freshly dug graves. She stands before the resting places of her crew, looking into the calming blue of the ocean, tears streaming down her face, but it hurts less than she had feared it might. "It is... a lovely place. There is peace, and calm. The quarians chose well," she says simply, wiping her cheeks clean.

Liara slips an arm around her waist. "They promised to build a small memorial at the site, to honor our fallen," the asari adds quietly. "I know it does not make it any easier... but it is a lovely gesture."

"I agree... I know Raan and Koris both feel terrible about what happened," Morgan sighs. "It seems that even those who thought they knew Xen never even realized what she was capable of."

"There might have been more to it, Morgan," Liara says, as they slowly start to walk back to the Normandy. "I have heard a rumor that... she might have shared more than just professional relationship with Han'Gerrel. Which would give her more personal reasons for wanting revenge."

"Great. I wish I had known that before I went and beat Gerrel to death," Morgan grumbles. Not long after they reach the Normandy, and Shepard is impressed with the work that has been done, the technical expertise of the quarians and the geth is certainly on par with the Alliance's capabilities, and more often than not is actually far advanced. Even though the work is done with great haste, no rushed sloppiness is tolerated and the restored starboard side is gleaming like new as she sees James giving her a salute as they walk by, together with Javik working on giving the Normandy a new paint job. _Probably assigned to a task where they can cause the least amount of damage,_ Morgan chuckles inwardly, stepping back onboard.

The interior still shows some extensive damage, but it is getting cleared up fast, there are dozens of quarians and geth milling about, but what at first looks like a chaotic anthill is actually a well organized effort, everyone is clear on their task, and working with maximum efficiency. "EDI is back with us and operational," Liara explains as they first stop at the bridge, watching Traynor fussing over EDI's platform, while Tali continues to run scans and fiddle with the hardware, listening to EDI's own instructions on what to do.

"With something as complex as EDI, it was very difficult to put everything together as it was initially," Liara explains, as Tali and Traynor both notice their presence and greet them with brief waves before immediately getting back to work. "But at least once we brought the majority of EDI's systems online, she has been able to run self-diagnostics and identify further issues to repair. Progress has been swift and encouraging."

"At last some good news," Morgan nods. "Will EDI be able to fly the ship alone? Jeff might be out of action for several weeks at the least."

"I suppose that is technically possible, yes," Liara muses. "It was... disconcerting to hear her voice when she asked about Joker's condition. Morgan, the worry I sensed from her was... I do not think I can look at her as just a machine, albeit a very complex one."

"What about the QEC?" Shepard asks, as they move away from the bridge, mindful not to get in the way of those working.

"It is fully operational. You can report to Hackett at any time of your choosing," Liara says, then adding, a little hesitantly. "If I can make a suggestion... it has been a long time since he has heard from you. Perhaps you should..."

"Yes, I was going to do that just now," Shepard nods. "I just wanted to first know how much time until the Normandy is space-worthy again. Because that will be the first thing he asks."

"I keep hearing the timeframe of three days, Morgan," Liara says, as Garrus stomps by them hastily, stopping only to give Shepard a supportive slap on the shoulder. "He's been working tirelessly on getting those weapons systems back to operational," the asari explains, as Garrus rushes off again.

"Yes, he's very protective of his big gun, I've noticed," Shepard chuckles, before leaning in and giving Liara a quick peck on the cheek. "Babe, I'll go chat with Hackett then. Will catch up with you after that."

Liara simply nods as Morgan walks through the rubble filled hallway leading into equally messy conference room, both places of lesser importance still in need of repair, stepping through a largely intact War Room and then proceeding towards the comm station, facing the fully operational communications consoles. Having gone over in her head just what intel to share and how to explain everything to Hackett, she finally places the request for a connection, Hackett answering after nearly ten minutes of waiting.

"Commander," he looks tired but relieved. "I was starting to grow worried, especially after the way our last conversation ended. We have not heard from you in a while and I was considering sending ships to investigate."

"You had a good reason to be worried, Admiral," Shepard replies. "I'll start with the good news, if you'll permit. I'm sending you an over three thousand ship strong quarian fleet and some of their best engineers for the Crucible."

"That is... excellent news, Commander. How did-"

"I am also sending you an over two thousand ship strong geth fleet," Shepard says quickly, cutting off the surprised admiral. "And they have also agreed to offer their technical expertise to help build the Crucible."

"The geth? Shepard, are you serious?" Hackett blinks.

"I am completely serious. They have made peace with the quarians and are currently helping them resettle their homeworld. The geth will be formidable and highly useful allies, Admiral. As long as our forces can overcome their instincts to shoot them on sight, you will learn to quickly appreciate their aid."

Hackett scratches his chin thoughtfully. "This is... very unorthodox. They will fight the Reapers?"

"Of course. Just like any organic race, the geth desire to be free. The Reapers are a threat to their freedom. They will fight as ferociously as any turian, asari or human."

"Have you considered the danger that the Reapers might be able to hack inferior synthetics like the geth and turn them against us? The geth have fallen under Reaper influence before in the past," Hackett still appears unconvinced.

"I do not think there is any danger of that happening, Admiral," Shepard starts to explain. "When a fraction of the geth joined the Reaper we called Sovereign, they did so on their own choosing, lured by Sovereign's promises of handing them advanced tech. Sovereign never hacked the geth to serve them, if it could have done that, it would have enslaved all the geth without bothering to make any promises to them."

"It seems like you have given this a good amount of thought, Shepard. Very well, I will trust you on this and inform our allies that they are to no longer treat geth as hostiles," Hackett finally nods. "Hell of a thing you just pulled off, Commander. Over five thousand ships, that alone is almost a third of the fleet I'm hoping to deploy in the final battle. You're a true hero, Shepard," he says, saluting at her.

"Don't call me that!" Shepard snaps at him, more harshly than intended, watching the admiral blink in surprise. "I'm just... trying to do what needs to be done..." _And failing more often than not, _she adds bitterly. "Sir, not all news are good. The Normandy suffered extensive damage during the battle," she continues, deciding to lie about the exact circumstances of the encounter. "We are currently undergoing repairs which are scheduled to continue for another three days. After that, we will leave Rannoch together with the quarian and geth fleets."

"That is unfortunate," Hackett says, his expression turning slightly darker. "At least you are able to make repairs. Did you suffer casualties?"

"Yes." Shepard tenses immediately, grinding her teeth and trying to keep her voice from wavering. "Full report will be coming shortly, sir. I will need replacements to our engineering department. I'm afraid that Chief Engineer Adams did not survive the attack."

"Damn it. He was a good man. People like him are what makes the Alliance great," Hackett shakes his head sadly. "I know his family. I will inform them in person."

"Are you sure? As the acting captain, it is my resp-"

"You have more than enough responsibilities already, Shepard," Hackett cuts her off. "I will handle this, don't worry."

"Very well. I also need a replacement chief medical officer. Dr. Karin Chakwas is in critical condition aboard the Rayya."

"Gods, Karin..." Hackett looks shocked, his chin trembling slightly at the news. "What are the doctors saying?"

"Not much, Admiral. 50/50 is what I'm getting. These quarians are really good, but if you could have an Alliance medical team standing by for when the fleets emerge from beyond the Veil, it might help a great deal. Moreau and Westmoreland will also benefit from the expertise of human doctors."

"Moreau is critical too?" Hackett shakes his head. "Damnation, this is... not good. I will arrange the medical team and see what sort of replacements I can get for you, Shepard."

"I actually have a few candidates I want to check out myself, if you don't mind, sir," Shepard says. "I'm thinking about a doctor and engineers. And I'm still not sure if we'll need a new helmsman or not, I will confer with EDI first and then let you know."

"Of course, Shepard, I will trust you to handpick people you trust," Hackett nods. "If you need anything, please, do not hesitated to ask, Commander."

"Thank you, sir. But I have not mentioned the worst of our losses yet. Admiral, sir... Major Alenko... Kaidan is d-" she breaks off, embarrassed at being unable to continue, tears streaming down her face. Hackett waits patiently, looking at her with sadness and sympathy, waiting for her to wipe her face clean. "I'm... sorry, sir. I has been... difficult."

"I'm sorry too, Shepard. You must have gone through hell down there," Hackett shakes his head sadly. "But what you did might just help us win this war, Commander. I stand by my words. You are a hero, at least in my eyes."

"No sacrifice is too great, huh?" Morgan slowly manages to recover, chuckling bitterly. "Anyway, that's all I have to say for now, sir. The report will be more detailed, but I hope you'll understand when I say that the report is the last thing on my mind right now." Hackett merely nods at that, as she turns to ask him in return. "So, what's been happening on the other side of the Veil, in the meantime?"

"There are news that you might find uplifting, Commander," Hackett replies. "First of all, since you acted on Takashima's intel, I assume you know that the SSV Orizaba has reported in. Your mother is back with us, Shepard, and she has been promoted to the rank of Rear Admiral. She's helping us plan logistics for the Crucible. She is immensely proud of all the work you have been doing out there."

"That's... good to hear," Morgan manages to smile. "I would appreciate if you could pass her a word or two. That I'm alright, and thinking of her... you know, the touchy-feely stuff."

"Of course, Shepard," Hackett smiles in return. "Meanwhile, construction of the Crucible is progressing and I believe we have completed close to 80% of the known work. The aid of quarians and the geth might provide the last few breakthroughs that we need. And... hopefully address the issues I mentioned to you during our last talk."

"That would be preferable, sir," Shepard nods. "With this quarian-geth war behind us, I really hope we finally have our hands free to step up the search for the Catalyst."

"Yes, that is our priority now, Shepard. Now that we have the fleets, it is imperative we recover this Catalyst as quickly as possible," Hackett agrees. "We have locations of some promising Prothean digsites that might hold the information we need. I will forward them to Dr. T'Soni, together with another report that might be beneficial for you and your crew to read."

"Oh? What report is that, sir?" Shepard asks.

"The turians and the krogan launched a massive counter-offensive back on Palaven," Hackett explains. "It proved successful. The turians have reclaimed large parts of their homeworld. Your work is starting to pay off, Shepard," he adds, as Morgan is simply standing frozen, uncertain whether she dares to believe Hackett's words...

* * *

The estimate of three days to finish the repairs proves very accurate. The quarian settlement outside has grown to a size of a small town already, each day providing housing for more and more quarians leaving the Civilian Fleet, and there is a constant stream of shuttles coming in and back out, dropping off more and more settlers together with plentiful supplies from the liveships. The Normandy also looks as good as new, and the slight kinks in EDI's programming have been worked out, mostly due to Tali's vigilant efforts.

Having listened to EDI's opinion about a replacement helmsman, at least a temporary one, Shepard has decided to ask Hackett for someone after all. Before she can do it, though, it seems as if the quarians have somehow learned of this issue and Admiral Raan contacts her personally to inform that she has a very promising young pilot who Shepard would definitely find to be of great help. Morgan agrees to at least meet with Raan and her candidate at the earliest opportunity, but then the time of departure is already upon them, which means EDI will have to fly the ship out from the Tikkun System on her own.

Before they leave Rannoch, however, Shepard gathers all of her crew, or what is left of it, into the CIC, herself taking the post of the commanding officer to address her people.

"In light of the recent tragedy and the devastating loss of our friends," she starts to speak, hoping that this time she can keep her voice steady. "As dark and heavy thoughts are pressing down on us, it is often easy to forget just why we risk our lives on daily basis. What I have here in my hand..." she points at the small datapad she is holding. "Is a reminder of what we are fighting for, the result of all the courageous, hard work and sacrifices we have been making over the past month. This... is a report of a major joint operation of turians and krogan back on Palaven," she speaks, watching Garrus immediately stiffening, watching her with his eyes burning.

"This major counteroffensive involved deception, courage and tenacity in equal parts. It began with the turians leaking a false battle plan, that would show them deploying majority of their dreadnaughts in a daring attack. The operation began with the dreadnaught Indomitable faking a problem with its drive core as it came out of an FTL jump near Menae. Three other dreadnaughts accompanied by assisting ships moved to aid the Indomitable, creating a very attractive target to the Reaper capitol ships, drawing them away from Palaven. As the Reaper forces reacted to the bait, turian troop transports then entered Palaven's atmosphere to release shuttles, gliders, and individual soldier capsules."

"The Reapers did not understand the significance of this secondary plan until it was too late, sending only light ground forces to intercept the landing krogan. This allowed the krogan commandos to link up with the Palaven's resistance and hand off their payloads, heavy warp bombs and fission weapons. Soon after, in simultaneous strikes across the globe, Reaper ships began to explode, as turian resistance members smuggled the bombs inside Reaper structures, including the destroyers and capitol ships that expected to receive the turian leaders to indoctrinate them."

There are loud cheers in the CIC, but Morgan silences them as she continues. "The turians and the krogan have reclaimed much of Palaven with this one, decisive strike. But this victory required many sacrifices, the turian insurgents gave up their lives to make sure that the bombs were detonated. We must be ready to do the same, when the time comes."

She looks across the CIC, seeing the faces of her people, filled with pride, shedding tears of joy. Liara has come to stand next to her, her eyes shining brightly as she listens to Morgan. Garrus is standing frozen like a statue, only his chin trembles briefly now and then, Tali wrapping her arms around the turian and clinging on to him. James is shouting something, unable to calm down, pumping his fist in the air. Even Javik is watching her intently, giving a brief, approving nod as their eyes meet. Traynor is smiling even as tears of joy stream down her face.

"In the history books, they will call this the Miracle of Palaven. Our turian and krogan friends who made it possible are heroes... but so are we. If we had not secured the krogan and turian alliance, none of this would have been possible. This is what we fight for, this is what we sacrifice for, and this is the result of our work. We... we bring **hope** to the galaxy!"

Shepard turns to EDI, giving one last order to their synthetic friend, before her voice begins to betray her. "EDI, get us out of this system, please... we have a war to finish!"

* * *

_A/N: And that's finally the end of the Rannoch arc. Thank you for reading and hopefully enjoying. Hope you'll have good holidays, and I'll be back with a new chapter on Thursday. :) _


	98. What Would Ancient Protheans Do

_A/N: Hi folks! Hope your holidays were nice. Time to push ahead with another chapter. It's time to reveal the new pilot of the Normandy, I certainly hope you will grow to like her. She's not here to steal Joker's spot, she's just a temporary replacement, so please go easy on the poor girl! Once again, I prefer to give an already existing character a new and larger role, instead of coming up with OC that probably most people won't care about. _

**Chapter 97 - What Would Ancient Protheans Do**

A shuttle departs from the Tonbay almost immediately after the Normandy has made the relay jump and has caught up with the rest of the fleets. Shepard exchanges warm greetings with Admiral Raan down in the docking bay, before shaking hands with another quarian female accompanying Raan. The young helmsman candidate is incredibly jumpy and jittery, looking around frantically and poking her nose in every corner to take in as much of the Normandy as she can.

"Shepard, this is Lia'Vael nar Ulnay, one of our brightest young pilots," Raan finally introduces them. "We sincerely hope that Flight-Lieutenant Moreau recovers swiftly, but until he is able to take care of the Normandy, we thought it would only be fair that one of our people would serve you instead. It will not make up for Xen's madness, but..."

"I appreciate the gesture, Admiral," Shepard smiles, then turning to the young quarian. "So, Lia... what in particular makes you think that you could be useful on the Normandy?"

The quarian hesitates a little, almost shaking with nervousness, likely finding Shepard terribly intimidating. "I, uh... well, everyone's always told me that I have a... err, some kind of natural ability. No matter what ship I fly, they all seem to respond to me... if that makes any sense?" Lia'Vael finishes, nervously twirling her fingers.

"Well, that's what they always said about Joker too," Shepard says, for a moment overcome with melancholy, thinking of her old friend, still unconscious on the Rayya.

"Lia'Vael has extensive service record on ships of human and turian design, in particular," Raan adds. "That is one reason why we selected her, considering that the Normandy has been co-engineered by humans and turians, we feel she will need very little adjustment time."

"Yes, I even appropriated a human carrier during my Pilgrimage and brought it back to the Migrant Fleet all by myself!" Lia says proudly, then noticing Shepard giving her an inquisitive stare. The quarian immediately shrinks, peering at Raan worriedly. "Uh... was that the wrong thing to say?"

"It's fine, Lia," Shepard chuckles. "As long as you don't end up appropriating Normandy while we're all on a shore leave..."

"Oh! Oh, no... no, no, I... that would be an unthinkable insult!" Lia'Vael looks horrified. "You are a hero of the quarian people and to steal from you would be the same as to steal from one of our own!"

"Easy, Lia... the Commander was merely jesting," Shala'Raan explains, the young quarian looking back at her in disbelief. "Yes, I know, it is a custom of humans to make jokes about everything. You will find out for yourself..."

"What do you think, EDI?" Shepard turns around to ask the AI, wondering a little how their synthetic friend will respond to working with someone other than Joker.

"I do not believe we have encountered a single quarian who would have displayed technical inaptitude, Commander. I'm sure Lia'Vael nar Ulnay will prove a valuable asset," EDI says politely. "Not to mention that it might prove enjoyable to have a co-pilot whose attention is focused entirely on the console readings, instead of studying whether my platform has any new dents."

"Wow, I had heard that I would be working with an AI, but... whoa, this is great!" Lia almost jumps up in the air, thrilled from the excitement. Her eyes flash brightly behind the mask, as she seems unable to peel her stare away from EDI's shape. "This is going to be so much fun!" she squeals, making EDI stare at Shepard in a way that looks a bit pleading.

"Yup, EDI. I'm sure you will be left all alone and with no interruptions," Shepard snickers, herself feeling better from the young quarian's infectious enthusiasm. _James will need to think another nickname for Tali. It's quite clear that Lia'Vael is the real Sparks._

"I see. Forget I said anything, Shepard," EDI deadpans, then turning back to the quarian. "You will find all the technical specifications and other relevant information uploaded to your omni-tool. I will return this platform to the bridge, you are free to join me at any time and address me with any inquiries you may have."

"Oh, thanks..." Lia manages, a little mesmerized as she watches EDI's platform strutting away gracefully. "Whoa... that is some AI you have, Commander... why didn't we build platforms like that for the geth, huh?"

"I think the fact that our injured pilot had developed serious infatuation with EDI can answer that question," Shepard sighs. "I'm hoping that won't become a problem."

"I, uh, what? Err... with the AI? How... what..." Lia'Vael blinks several times before recovering. "Umm, no, I don't think so, Commander... I, ah, have a boyfriend back on the Ulnay. And I certainly would not trade him for an AI!"

"Perhaps I should just give Lia a tour of the ship, if the Commander has done embarrassing herself," Tali finally steps forward, taking Lia's hand to drag her away.

"I will never be done embarrassing myself, Tali, you know that!" Morgan laughs.

"I... uh, thanks Admiral Zorah. A tour of the Normandy would be great! And Commander Shepard is nice... funny, and nice!"

"I guess I can agree with that. And you don't have to call-" Tali starts, before stopping and hesitating for a moment, apparently realizing that despite not wanting this position of an admiral, she is stuck with it, and with the reverence that comes with the title. "Just follow me, Lia, I'll show you around."

"Give her a chance, Shepard," Raan speaks fondly, looking after the two retreating quarians. "She will work out well, I'm sure."

"I think so too," Shepard smiles, shaking Raan's hand, before the Admiral climbs back into the shuttle to return to the Tonbay.

* * *

It has been quite some time since Shepard has set her foot into Liara's XO office, the asari losing majority of her data feeds in the geth space and finding little use for her network. Feron has kept everything going in the meantime, feeding the other agents with pre-recorded messages from Liara to maintain the illusion of normal status of operations. Now that Liara has regained full access, she faces the task of dealing with a backlog of nearly ten days, and Shepard finds the asari sitting in a chair, holding her head in her hands as she watches the data streams flowing past her rapidly scanning eyes.

"So... would this be a bad time to interrupt you?" Shepard asks softly.

Liara does not respond at first, and Morgan is about to ask her again, but then the asari turns her head to face Shepard. "What? Oh! Well..." she hesitates. "I can see no end to these streams of intel, so it doesn't matter when I take a break, I'll never catch up with all of this today anyway."

"What news are you getting?" Morgan asks, standing behind Liara's chair and placing her hands on her bondmate's shoulders, starting to gently knead the tense knots of her muscles with a gentle massage. "I only got the most basic intel from Hackett, hoping you will be able to fill in the blanks."

"I... have been reading the news from Thessia. It... has been difficult to process," Liara stops, her voice starting to tremble. Shepard sees a pile of used handkerchiefs in the waste bin, instantly realizing the reason, bending down to place a tender kiss atop Liara's crests. "My people are the most advanced species in the galaxy, and yet... it counts for nothing. Our losses are already in hundreds of millions, and we are holding on to less than 20% of our territories on Thessia."

"We need to end this war quickly, or there will be no galaxy left to save," Morgan whispers. "What about the krogan, can they help?"

"Wrex has responded and deployed some of his forces, but they are also getting stretched thin," Liara replies. "They are slowing the Reapers down a little, and buying us some time, but this can't go on for long."

Shepard does not say anything, merely continues to stroke her bondmate's shoulders, letting Liara continue. "Some of the matriarchs are calling for us to abandon Thessia," she finally manages. "Morgan... if we lose our homeworld... I don't think I can... and dad, she is somewhere down there... goddess..." she starts crying again, and Morgan pulls her up and into her embrace, holding her until Liara has recomposed herself.

"I should not collapse like that," she eventually steps away, a little embarrassed. "There is so much I can do to help instead of crying uselessly. Besides... my people are still fortunate compared to humans. Sol is now completely dark to me, Morgan. The only way you can learn about the situation is the QEC to Anderson."

"It has been so long since we escaped," Morgan speaks hoarsely, feeling a chill running through her, as her mind paints images of how Earth might look upon their return. The images make her want to scream, rage, cry, but she forces these feelings down with sheer force of will. "What about Palaven? At least there are good news coming from there, I hope?" she asks, feeling the need to change the topic. "I know, 'good' seems a terribly inappropriate word in the circumstances."

"They have not driven the Reapers off their planet, or forced them to withdraw from their system, so it was not a complete victory," Liara speaks, looking at the data feeds again. "But they have reclaimed majority of Palaven, and caused losses to the Reapers that none considered even possible to inflict. So yes, Morgan, in the circumstances, news coming from Palaven are very good. There is less pressure on the turians now, which means they are able to provide support elsewhere. Possibly... evacuating my people off Thessia."

"I hate this war," Morgan sighs, plopping down in a chair at the console that links to her personal terminal. "By the way, there was some intel that Hackett promised to send over for us to check out. Prothean sites that he hoped might contain some hints about the Catalyst."

"He sent me a copy of the data as well," Liara replies. "I already checked it out. I'm afraid it was a waste of time."

"How can you deduce it so quickly?" Morgan wonders, turning her head to look at her bondmate in surprise.

"Please, Shepard. I'm supposed to be the Prothean expert around here," Liara smiles at her. "All those sites did not last more than one hundred years after the invasion. The Prothean work on the Crucible must have started towards the very end, in the last fifty to hundred years. Sites from that period are extremely well concealed and difficult to find, as they were trying to hide from the Reapers."

"Like Ilos?"

"Yes, exactly. And before you ask, we will not find it on Ilos. They had devoted all their resources to the Conduit. Finding a facility like Ilos in the galaxy would be as unlikely as... as..."

"Finding a needle in a haystack," Shepard finishes, making Liara stare at her a little oddly. "But it really doesn't make sense, though."

"What doesn't make sense, Morgan?"

"Well, the Protheans made sure that the Crucible plans fell into our hands... you would think that they would want us to build the complete device to destroy the Reapers with, right?" Shepard muses, Liara nodding, agreeing with her thus far. "So, why is the information on the Catalyst so hard to find? If I were an ancient Prothean and wanted to ensure the next cycle had the best chance to build the Crucible... what would I do..."

"Hmm... I would make sure that the plans are accessible by the most promising race of the current cycle that the Reapers are ignoring," Liara speaks, realizing only a moment later what she has said. "...goddess! I... Morgan, we... we must go to the Citadel at once! We must speak with Councilor Tevos!"

"Agreed. We needed to go to the Citadel anyway to recruit the replacements for our depleted crew," Morgan nods. "I... don't want to think that Tevos would be holding out on us about something like this, considering what is at stake."

"She wouldn't... Morgan, even if there was something, Tevos might not even know that it has anything to do with the Catalyst," Liara shakes her head. "It is very unlikely anyone would recognize the true meaning of such information."

"Well. At least we have something of a lead," Morgan takes a deep breath, feeling a tiny bit more hopeful. "Oh, and I have a message from Miranda, requesting a meeting. Excellent, I can use her to track down my last recruitment targets. Yes... we should definitely return to the Citadel with all haste..."

* * *

Instead of finding Garrus in his usual spot, hunched over the controls of the Normandy's weapons systems, deep in calibrations, Tali discovers him pacing around the main battery, looking tense and worried. "Hey," she announces her presence, startling him a little. "Something wrong, Garrus?"

"No... yes... I don't know!" he exclaims, stopping and giving her a helpless stare. "I... finally got the news I have been waiting on, as soon as we got within the reach of comm buoys."

"What? Oh... your family!" Tali realizes. "Tell me they're alright, please..."

"Yeah. More or less. Solana... my sister, they had to amputate her leg below the knee."

Tali finds herself wincing in sympathy. "That's awful, I'm so sorry to hear it!"

"She seems quite upbeat about the whole thing," Garrus shrugs. "Sol has always maintained an annoyingly cheerful outlook on life. Besides, with the top of the line prosthetics, she figures herself to be lucky. Mom and dad are fine and uninjured."

"Well, those are good news then, why are you still so tense?" Tali asks.

"I don't know, I just... they were heading for the evac sites, when the counterattack was launched. Now they have decided to stay and help... I'm just worried if that's the right call, I mean... what if the Reapers return and bring in some heavy reinforcements just to teach our people a lesson for daring to resist?"

"Garrus... can you think of any place in the galaxy for them where they would be completely safe and you wouldn't have to worry for them?"

The turian thinks for a while, growing irritated when he can't come up with a response. "No... I suppose you are right. I would worry anyway."

"They will be fine, Garrus," Tali steps closer, gently patting his hand. "Besides..." she continues in a teasing voice. "There's a reason why nothing bad will happen to your family. They are not allowed to come to any harm because you still haven't taken your girlfriend to introduce her to them."

"Is that so?" Garrus grins, reaching out to pull her close and Tali swirls around, allowing the turian's hands clasp around her stomach, pressing her back against his chest tightly. "I... might have mentioned something about us, by the way..."

"Oh? How did that go down? I remember you telling me that your dad was a turian of very... strong convictions?"

"I believe I said 'pain in the ass stubborn', but yeah, that's the polite version of it," Garrus chuckles. "Well, anyway. When he found out that you are on the Admiralty Board, he decided that I'm doing all this for the political benefit of the Hierarchy and professed his approval."

Tali bursts out in laughter. "Keelah, this is too much! Garrus Vakarian, the famous turian pillow spy, I believe the humans would say... seducing the naive quarian Admiral! Oh my, I have been such a fool, falling for your delicate schemes, Vakarian!"

"Laugh it up..." Garrus mutters. "At least mom was happy for me. For us, really, she even said so. As for Sol... she just made fun out of me. Asked if I had been watching too much 'The Fleet and the Flotilla' lately..."

"I'm really looking forward to meeting them... your dad included," Tali says. "Though it will be hard to keep a straight face if your father really believes we're together just to solidify the relations between our people. Sometimes I feel very thankful for this mask..."

"My dad possesses an admirable talent for embarrassing me," Garrus confesses, continuing to hold Tali, gently rocking her in his arms. "And what have you been up to, lately? Hearing anything from the Fleet or your homeworld?"

"I've been busy showing our new pilot around," Tali replies. "You know, Garrus... I'm no longer the only cute quarian girl onboard. Considering our suits are quite alike... well, I just hope you will never mistake Lia for me..."

"That was... such an evil thing to say. You can be so terribly mean, you know?" Garrus mock-complains.

"Just tell me you don't like that," Tali responds. The way Garrus' hands slowly creep across her stomach and towards her breasts is all the answer she needs to know.

* * *

"What are you doing now, human?"

"Huh? Oh... _hola, camarada_ Prothy," James replies, not bothering to turn around and look at the fellow soldier, too busy watching the sauce simmering in the frying pan. "I'm making some of my famous _abuela's huevos rancheros_. Care to try some?"

Javik gives a skeptical stare to James, and an even more skeptical look at the contents of the frying pan. "Does it have any fish?" he finally asks.

"Fish in _huevos rancheros_? That's completely _loco_," James chuckles. "It's just some fried tortillas and eggs, covered in a delicious sauce. I like to serve them with beans, but unfortunately we don't seem to have any. I guess Esteban will be thankful for that..."

"It's a pass from me, then," Javik shrugs. "I find the entire premise of you cooking to be dangerous and questionable."

"What are you talking about, Prothy, I'm a master chef!" James replies confidently, gathering a smear of the sauce with his finger and licking it for taste. "Could do with a bit more salt," he says, then putting the ready sauce aside, preparing another pan for the tortillas. "So... you're just going to stand there and watch?" he eventually asks, starting to find the Prothean's presence unnerving.

"Do I frighten you, human? I did not think you would be intimidated as easily as the rest of the crew."

"Scared, me? You're kidding, right? It's just considered a bit creepy to stand around like that," James shrugs. "You could at least entertain me with some stories while I'm cooking! Something about your glorious empire... or a joke, I know you guys tried to stomp out anything remotely fun, but you must have told jokes at least?"

"No. Yes. Here's my best one. The tulomorian spy entered the enemy's camp and said to the vanksher, 'I didn't know your parnaps could glow.'" James remains silent, waiting for him to continue, but Javik also stays quiet. "That was the joke," the Prothean adds after a long, uncomfortable pause.

James blinks, then breaking out in a false, strained laughter. "Ha! Ha-ha! Oh yes, that was a good one... I get it. That is funny!"

"No it isn't. I just made it all up," Javik frowns. "You humans are so stupid. You will believe anything I tell you. The joke is now on you," he adds with a hearty laugh of his own.

"Hmm, I wonder if Lola would mind if I hit you with a frying pan," James mutters angrily, before deftly flicking the tortilla around in the pan, starting to feel increasingly hungry from the delicious scents. "Alright, no jokes either. Charming. Still, you have to be at least a little impressed with what we have achieved thus far, right?"

Javik thinks for a while. "Yes. Another Reaper has died."

"And I was the one who killed it and saved everyone's lives!" James adds cheerfully, fully enjoying the Prothean's wincing and the irritated glare he sends towards Vega. "While someone else was stuck uselessly in the medbay, I might add. How's the foot, Prothy?"

"It is fine, human," Javik snarls in response.

"So... you believe we can actually stop the Reapers in this cycle, huh?" James asks, laying the last tortilla out on a plate and moving on to the eggs.

"Yes. If we are prepared to make sacrifices like those turians did on Palaven. Everyone must be ready to give their own life... even the Commander. Especially the Commander."

"Lola will do what is necessary for us to win this war... but I hope she won't have to make the ultimate sacrifice," James replies, feeling uneasy at the thought. "You sound like you doubt her resolve, Prothy?"

"I understand she and the asari are... joined? I find this troubling. It could prove to be a mistake. Such attachments were not allowed in the empire and for a good reason, they can adversely impair the Commander's judgment."

"Listen, I hope you do not plan to do something to correct what you consider a 'mistake'," James adds warningly. "If you end up hurting either Lola or the Blue, I'm going to personally shove you through the nearest airlock."

"I had no such intentions, human. I merely said I was troubled. We live by the rules the Commander sets before us, and I already made my promise not to question her."

"That's better... that's much better, _compadre_," James nods, cracking the last egg on the pan. "You haven't reconsidered about these delicious _huevos rancheros, _Prothy?"

There is no reply, and when James turns around with the last fried egg, he discovers that the Prothean has suddenly disappeared. And so has all the food. "...I'm really, **really** starting to hate that guy!" James exclaims, cursing loudly and stomping off angrily in search of his stolen dinner.


	99. King and Queen of the Bottle Shooters

_A/N: I've been sitting on this one for over four months, eager to finally post this chapter. It's probably one of my favorite ones. As such, I would like to dedicate it to all the fans of the certain pairing that so many of us here on FFN have come to love. :) _

_Also, I hope that you will enjoy the reworked contest between Shepard and Garrus. Since they both are snipers, I figured it should last a bit longer than just three shots. ;) _

**Chapter 98 - King and Queen of the Bottle Shooters**

The navpoint that Miranda Lawson has sent her, leads Shepard to an abandoned apartment in one of the residential buildings of the Presidium Commons, likely once used by someone who had perished during the Cerberus Coup. On her way, she observes that the Keepers together with the inhabitants of the grand space station have erased the last signs of the treacherous attack, the Citadel once again in a spotless shape, though the huge crowds observed before the attack have not recovered their numbers.

Miranda is pacing back and forth in the small apartment when Shepard enters, both smiling as they shake hands. "Good to see you, Shepard. I hear you have brought us the quarian _and_ the geth fleets... you continue to impress, Commander," her former XO looks proud speaking those words.

"Thank you, Miranda," Shepard replies politely, then giving her an inquisitive stare. "Though I doubt you invited me to this meeting just to congratulate me on a job well done."

Miranda chuckles quietly. "I have something, yes. It's not much, I still lack crucial intel to track down either Ori, or my father... though I believe these clues will lead to them both. I have... suspicions about what my father might be doing for the Illusive Man."

"Let's hear it, Miri," Shepard urges her, Lawson raising a curious eyebrow at Morgan's slightly uncharacteristic use of her pet name.

"I'm sure that the Alliance have also analyzed the implants that Cerberus outfits their troops with these days. I had the dubious pleasure of working on a few samples from the Mars facility. Those were crude pieces of Reaper tech, early prototypes. I remember using them as a base for several of your own implants, Shepard."

"What? But everyone kept telling me that they can't use those implants to control me!" Shepard exclaims, worried that Chakwas and Tim might have lied to her, feeling close to panic.

"You don't have any Reaper tech as such, Shepard. Parts of your implants are based on Reaper tech, but there is nothing in them that could give anyone an opportunity to somehow control you. I can safely promise you that," Miranda says.

"Right... okay," Morgan takes a deep breath. "Sorry, I'm just a bit nervous where those implants are concerned. Anyway, you were saying?"

"Well, I came upon more samples from your operation on the Grissom Academy. Then, I studied the corpses of those killed here on the Citadel. What I discovered is that Cerberus keep rapidly upgrading and advancing their implants... not surprisingly, perhaps, but these upgrades are not intended to provide more combat benefits, they seem to only vary in the way of how much control they allow the recipient to exert over their own bodies."

"Meaning... he's getting more effective at controlling their brain-washed troops?" Morgan wonders.

"Essentially, yes," Miranda nods. "But I think that is only the part of a larger plan. He's planning something... I used my last few remaining contacts to pull what data I could about the research several Cerberus cells have been conducting, before the scientists were either disposed of or they made a run for it. It's how the Illusive Man usually operates, have several cells work independently on different components, so that they never see the whole picture. I... think I have been able to catch a glimpse of that big picture of his."

"He keeps talking about being able to control the Reapers, whenever we happen to run into each other..." Morgan attempts to guess.

"I believe that is his plan, yes. And from the intel I have, I can conclude that they have moved to a phase of practical experimentation. All the smaller cells of the project have been shut down and it has advanced to its final phase, and I am also quite sure that my father is in charge of this final phase. But... I have not yet managed to locate the facility they are using as the base for this final phase. It is likely some new station, extremely well hidden. I was going to ask for help, Commander..."

"Granted, whatever you need, Miranda," Shepard says quickly.

"It would be helpful if I could tap into the Alliance sources and cross-examine some of my intel..."

"I can't let you in just like that, but upload everything you have to my omni-tool and I'll ask EDI to get the data for you," Morgan replies. "I really don't want any surprises from Cerberus at this stage. The Reapers are more than enough for us to handle."

"Thank you, Shepard... I realize how important it is for the fate of the galaxy, but it is also very important for me personally, you know how much I appreciate it," Miranda says, sounding thankful, but then becoming almost hesitant, lowering her eyes to the floor. "There... was more I wanted to tell you."

"I'm all ears, Miranda. Shoot," Shepard urges her, a little surprised at the sudden change of mood.

"I guess it's more of a confession, really," Miranda admits, surprising Shepard even more. "Something has been eating away at me. When I headed the Lazarus Project to rebuild you, I wanted to implant a control chip in you as a safeguard."

"Yeah, yeah, and Timmy stopped you," Morgan blinks, wondering why Lawson is bringing that up now. "I bet he sorely regrets it now, but that's ancient knowledge, Miri, what the hell? It's not some kind of lingering issue between us, in fact, I had completely forgotten about it until you reminded me of it just now."

"I guess having chased after my father for weeks now has made me think about my own actions back then. I fought against him and his need to run every aspect of my life. He wanted total control over me, right down to my bloody DNA. Now he is trying to control the life of my sister in the same way, and I will not allow him to do that. Yet I didn't give a second thought to destroying your free will when I had the power..."

_Oh. I get it now. It doesn't matter that I have forgiven her, it's her own actions back then that continue to bother her. It's not about me, it's about her._ "Well, Miranda... truth be told, you were kind of a bitch back then," Shepard says, grinning. "I mean, I did have to slap you around for a bit until you started to tell the right from the wrong. But you've come a long way since then... and I trust that if you were placed in the same situation now, you would decide differently. And for me, that's all that matters."

Miranda looks at her, mouth slightly parted in shock at Shepard's brutal honesty. "That was a... very candid assessment, Commander..."

"Look, there's just no way I can really hold something against a person that has brought me back from the dead and given me a second chance," Morgan says honestly. "In truth, I owe you a debt I could never repay, Miranda. If you hadn't brought me back... if you hadn't given me the chance to stop Liara from spiraling down into self-destruction... you saved us both, Miranda. And for that I will be ever thankful."

"That is... that feels more like I deserve," Miranda says quietly, bowing her head. "I appreciate your words, Commander. And I just wanted you to know that I always regretted wanting that chip."

Shepard smiles at her. "Truly, Miranda, promise me that you won't dwell on it anymore?"

"I'll try, Shepard. My fancy genetics don't seem to protect me from that, though."

"Well, if you're still feeling guilty, maybe we can settle things once and for all if you do me a small favor..."

Miranda's eyebrows rise with curiosity. "Sure, Shepard, if I can help, I will."

"I lost my chief engineer on Rannoch, and I need a replacement," Shepard explains. "I am thinking of two young engineers we had with us during our mission against the Collectors. I believe they also came as a pair... do you think it would be possible for me to get them for the Normandy?"

"Daniels and Donnelly?" Miranda asks, then nodding. "Yes, I believe they will be quite willing to join you. Ever since someone leaked intel about their Cerberus ties, they have been having tough time holding onto a job. They are still on the Citadel, I think. There..." she fiddles with her omni-tool for a bit. "The message has been sent..." only a few moments pass and Miranda hasn't even managed to lower her hand, when the omni beeps with a reply. "Well... that was... quick. Donnelly's reply is a rather... vehement 'yes'. When should they report to the Normandy?"

"At their earliest convenience," Morgan smiles. "Thank you, Miranda."

"I should be thanking you, Commander," Miranda says, shaking her hand before they part. "Goodbye, and good luck, Shepard."

"Good luck to you as well, Miranda," Shepard replies, watching her friend departing.

* * *

"I will not leave until I have seen the Councilor," Liara repeats for what feels like the tenth time, stubbornly facing down the young secretary at the desk before her.

"But Councilor Tevos left strict instructions not to disturb her under any circumstances!" the young asari maiden protests, a little fearful at the blazing fire of impatience and anger in Liara's eyes.

"What is your name, girl?" Liara asks sternly, aware that the cringing secretary before her probably has a hundred years on her, if not more.

"Ventricia..." the other asari manages weakly. "Please, Dr. T'Soni... I must ask you to leave, or I will be forced to call the security..."

"Look, Ventricia. What I must discuss with Councilor Tevos could be critical to the survival of our homeworld," Liara tries again, fighting the urge to simply trap the other asari in a stasis field and fight her way to the intercom to reach Tevos. "I am bondmate to Commander Shepard. You know of Shepard, don't you?"

"Of… of course, everyone knows Shepard! And I know of you, too, Dr. T'Soni," Ventricia stumbles to reply. "But… even if I believed that you have something important to share… the Councilor will flay me alive if I let you interrupt her. She… tends to react poorly to that… sort of thing."

"I will make sure that you face no repercussions, Ventricia," Liara promises. "I will claim that I used my biotics to overpower you, Tevos would not blame you then."

"I… uh, I guess that would work…" the other asari reluctantly agrees. "Could you… I don't know… trap me in stasis or something just to make it convincing?"

"Right, of course," Liara nods. "Where's the intercom?" she asks, her hands starting to glow with biotics as Ventricia points at a small console behind her desk. Moments later, the assistant is immobilized in a stasis field, as Liara impatiently waits for Tevos to answer the call on intercom.

"…Ventricia, I thought I told you not to-" the reply comes after good twenty to thirty seconds of waiting, Liara at first not recognizing the councilor's voice, she sounds hoarse and particularly irate.

"Councilor Tevos, I'm afraid that your assistant is currently indisposed," Liara interrupts her swiftly. "This is Dr. Liara T'Soni. I must speak with you immediately. The fate of our homeworld might be at stake."

"Dr. T'Soni?" Tevos sounds very surprised. "This is… really not a good time. Could we schedule a meeting for tomorrow morning?"

"Did you not hear what I just said, Councilor?" Liara asks, pressing on determinedly. "We must talk, and we must talk now. Shepard insists on it, too."

"Is Shepard with you?"

"No, I am alone."

"…very well. Could you come up in say twenty minutes? Ventricia will give you access to the elevator, my suite is on the top floor."

"I'm coming up right now, Councilor," Liara insists. "This will not wait."

Tevos angrily mutters something unintelligible on the comms, while Liara waits a few more moments for the asari assistant to break free from the stasis field and then punch in the encrypted commands to give her elevator access. Not even a minute later, she is at the doors of the asari councilor's suite and after more waiting, Tevos eventually lets her in, leading her into a beautifully furnished and adorned drawing room, even if Liara pays very little attention to her surroundings, focusing only on what she has to say.

She cannot help to notice, however, that Tevos appears strangely distracted, wearing a casual, loose robe, her eyes are darkened and slightly glazed, the councilor's brow appearing a little damp. _Maybe she's been working out,_ Liara decides. _I guess even councilors need to stay in shape. _

"Yes, Liara… what can I do for you?" Tevos finally speaks, taking a deep breath.

"Councilor, I know that Admiral Hackett is keeping you appraised of the Crucible progress," Liara says. "The construction is nearing its completion, but I am sure that you are aware that without the Catalyst, the whole venture is pointless."

"I am aware of that, yes," Tevos replies, tensing a little.

"Councilor, do you know of anything on the homeworld that could hold a hint as to the nature of the Catalyst?" Liara presses onward.

"No… why would I…" Tevos starts to speak, but is suddenly interrupted by someone.

"Just stop stalling and tell her already," Liara jumps at the familiar voice coming from the nearby doorway and she turns her head, gasping from surprise as she sees Aria T'Loak leaning against the doors, naked save from a tiny white towel stretching from the tops her breasts to just barely cover her hips.

"Aria! You… you promised you wouldn't!" Tevos looks embarrassed and angry beyond description.

_Oh goddess… Aria and Tevos? And I… I stormed in on them when they were having sex? Argh! Me and my timing!_ Liara finds herself blushing furiously as the implications quickly sink in, hearing Aria laughing at both her and Tevos' discomfort. "Yes, it's exactly the way it looks, T'Soni," the Pirate Queen chuckles. "And you…" she turns to look at her secret lover. "Should really trust Shepard and T'Soni. Even I've learned to do that."

"…yes, I've made that mistake too many times over the years," Tevos says quietly. "Still, I don't see what it has to do with revealing the nature of our relationship."

"I don't think you would have been completely honest with T'Soni unless I had revealed myself," Aria smirks. "Now get on with it, so we can return to catching up with… ancient history."

Tevos merely sighs deeply, as Liara overcomes her embarrassment and decides to continue pressing. "There's something on Thessia, isn't there? Some Prothean relic… something we have kept hidden from all the other races," she says, trying to appear accusing.

"Please… Liara," Tevos raises her hand. "All of the Council races have several embarrassing secrets like this. Yes… yes, there is a Prothean artifact, but we have no idea whether it contains information about the Catalyst or not. Trust me, I have… placed inquiries. The Elders are vehement in their denial that the artifact holds anything related to the Catalyst."

"How can they be so certain? They would never know what to look for!" Liara protests.

"That was my reply as well," Councilor Tevos nods. "They have extended an offer for me to come and see for myself."

"But it is possible you won't be able to understand it either," Liara shakes her head. "Only Shepard might make sense of it, with the Prothean Cipher embedded in her consciousness. Or Javik, the last living Prothean who travels with us!"

"This is a possibility. But if I can discover at least something, it might persuade the Elders to give you and Shepard access to the site," Tevos says. "If necessary, I am prepared to bluff to provide you with the opportunity. But for that, I must first return to Thessia…"

"Why haven't you gone there already?" Liara asks, shaking her head, feeling puzzled.

"…I…" Tevos hesitates, the look on her face filled with shame.

"You're scared," Liara realizes.

"Of course I'm scared!" Tevos exclaims, wringing her hands. "I read casualty reports and watch the vids every hour. To go to Thessia now is… I am no commando, Liara, and my skill set is woefully inadequate when facing the Reapers. I can neither seduce nor persuade them, I'm afraid."

"I will go with you," Aria states suddenly, having kept quiet until then.

"What? No, Aria… I can't ask you to risk your life for… what are essentially my mistakes," Tevos shakes her head, but Aria looks determined.

"Start getting ready, Councilor, we're departing within an hour," the Pirate Queen says. "I will hear no more of this, I'm going with you and that is final."

"But… but..." for a councilor of the most advanced species in the galaxy, Tevos can only offer a completely dumbstruck comment.

"I know you wanted to get rid of T'Soni quickly and then get back to our fun and games, but that will have to wait," Aria speaks, grinning broadly, as Tevos once again colors with embarrassment, and Liara also feels an interesting surge of heat slowly spreading throughout her body from the mental images that Aria's words conjure. "We have a job to do, Councilor. I have a vested interest in keeping the galaxy intact."

"Well, in that case…" Liara manages, feeling very confused and pleasantly distracted regarding the whole encounter. _This wasn't really what I expected coming in! Goddess, they were practically glowing from… uh, oh my… _

"Yes, in that case you should depart and wait for further news from us," Aria says, walking up to her and guiding her back to the doors, towards the elevator. "We will get back to you and Shepard as soon as we return. I'm sure you can find some ways to occupy your time while you are waiting…"

* * *

Having finished all her dealings on the Citadel, Shepard returns to the Docking Bay D24 feeling rather tired and with fond thoughts involving the comfy bed in her quarters on the Normandy. Walking with her eyes downcast, she doesn't even notice when someone roughly seizes her by the arm and pulls her inside an empty skycar, parked at the side of the shuttle bay.

"Garrus, what the hell?" she blinks at the turian in the driver's seat, after the skycar has already taken off towards unknown destination.

"Figured you might need a distraction, Shepard," Garrus replies briskly. "We should do something that doesn't involve fighting the Reapers."

"How about sleep?" Shepard asks, yawning to emphasize her point.

"Well, I just think Tali and Liara might object to that," Garrus chuckles full heartedly.

"What? I didn't mean to sleep _with_ you. Geez, I should bonk y-... argh, no, that's a bad choice of words as well. Damn, I'm walking on double entendres as if they were a minefield," Shepard sighs. "Just where are you taking me, Garrus?"

"Someplace I've always wanted to go, a place where we're not supposed to visit," Garrus replies mysteriously. "The whole time I worked at C-Sec, I'd stare up at the top of the Presidium and say to myself: I want to go up there. But I never did, hell, there were 137 regulations telling me I couldn't. But now, with galaxy around us crumbling... who cares about some stupid regulations, right?"

"Damn right," Shepard nods. "I agree, that does sound like a fun thing to do," she says, feeling her tiredness swiftly evaporating. "By the way, Garrus..." she adds then, as the skycar slowly rises upwards, the magnificent ponds and parks of the Presidium below growing frighteningly tiny. "I managed to secure a replacement for Karin. You'll like her. Remember Dr. Michel?"

"Oh... err... yes?" Garrus gulps. "Uh... did she ask about me?"

"That she did," Morgan chuckles, taking perverse enjoyment from Garrus' embarrassment. "But don't worry, I explained things to her and asked whether it would make her uncomfortable. She insisted that it won't be an issue and assured me that everything will be handled professionally."

"Umm, thanks Shepard," Garrus looks grateful as he gently settles the skycar atop the highest peak of the Presidium. "Dr. Michel, well... I did make a habit of stopping often by her clinic in the Wards. Perhaps often enough to give her the impression that I was interested... and well, maybe I was... damn, I'll have a talk with her later, I don't want this to become awkward."

"She didn't seem terribly heartbroken, to be honest. It probably won't be a problem," Morgan says, then giving Garrus a pointed stare. "As long as you don't do anything to make Tali set the good doctor on fire in a fit of jealousy."

But Garrus merely chuckles at that, as they finally get out of the skycar. While Shepard is admiring the busy skycar traffic and the spectacular views below them, the turian reaches in to gather something from the backseat of the skycar. As Morgan turns around, she is surprised to see Garrus handing over her sniper rifle, himself carrying his own heavily modded Widow. There are also a couple of cases of brightly colored bottles of fizzy drinks that Garrus places on the ground at their feet.

"I didn't just bring you here for the viewing pleasure, Shepard," he says then, his posture oozing challenge. "There's this one matter that we should finally settle once and for all, before this war is over."

"What, you want to duel me, and the survivor gets to drink all this?" Morgan laughs, pointing at the bottles.

"Not... quite what I had in mind," Garrus shrugs. "Now, I've heard a few people saying that you know how to handle a gun, Shepard... but can you really make it dance, the way I can? I don't think so."

"All I'm hearing is a lot of talk and very little action, Vakarian," Shepard finally responds to the challenge laid down at her feet. "You, sir..." she points a warning finger at the smug looking turian, "are going down..."

"Let's start you off with an easy one then," Garrus says, picking up one of the bottles, as Shepard readies her rifle, with the corner of her eye watching the turian casually tossing the bottle. She patiently watches it fly through the air, waiting until it appears in her scope and then quickly unleashes a shot, cheering as the bottle shatters over the fishless ponds below.

Garrus gives an irritating little mock-applause before throwing a bottle over to her. "No need to warm me up with an easy one, Shepard," he says confidently. "Give me a tough one."

Shepard does a little run-up towards the edge of the platform, careful to stop in time before the momentum carries her over to a deadly fall, releasing the bottle and watching it sail in a wide arc. It shatters immediately after reaching the highest point of its travel, Garrus clicking his mandibles in a satisfied way. "I said, give me a tough one," he chuckles at Shepard, picking up another bottle and waiting until Morgan gets ready.

Morgan makes her shot, and Garrus replies with the same afterwards, the two contestants matching each other shot for shot, until the second case of bottles is down to the last two. Shepard picks up one of them, getting ready to launch it in the air, her shoulder already starting to ache a little from all that throwing, when suddenly a skycar makes a break from the normal traffic flow to quickly climb its way up towards them.

She withholds throwing the bottle, watching as the skycar lands next to the one they arrived with, someone familiar climbing out, carrying a box full with beer bottles. "Commander Bailey!" Shepard exclaims, recognizing their old friend. "What are you doing here?"

"And you too, Ridgefield?" Garrus greets the other C-Sec officer, a short and wiry blonde with freckled face also carrying beer supply. "What's going on here?"

"Well, we got a report of some miscreants stirring trouble at the top of the Presidium," Bailey chuckles. "We investigated immediately, and decided to take action," he says, taking out a bottle of beer and offering it to Shepard, before opening one for himself. "Drink first, shoot once its empty."

"We have more surprises for you troublemakers," Ridgefield adds, the woman grinning broadly as she approaches. "Bailey decided to get in touch with your bondmate, Shepard," at this, the backseat doors of the skycar open and Liara climbs out, Tali following her. "And she decided to invite your girlfriend, Vakarian."

"So I see..." Garrus grins, accepting a can of dextro-friendly beer from Tali. "An excellent idea, but Shepard and I have some unfinished business..."

"We are aware of what you have been doing here, Garrus," Liara sighs, shaking her head in mild exasperation. "I must side with Commander Bailey and his assertion that neither of you are likely to make a mistake while sober. And though I dislike the idea of having to spend the rest of my day with a slobbering drunk, this appears to be the only way for you to settle this argument."

"I quite agree," Tali nods, poking Garrus in the chest. "Bottoms up... that's what they say, isn't it?"

Bailey and Ridgefield happily empty several cans of beer themselves, supplying Morgan and Garrus with more and more targets to aim at. After her third beer, Morgan is starting to experience increasing difficulties holding her rifle steady, and looking through the scope the view appears muddled and misty. Bailey swiftly finishes another bottle and throws it for her to aim at. She doesn't even see it enter her sights, merely a dark blotchy shadow of something passing close by. "Are you going to throw it or not?" Shepard angrily demands a great deal later, stirring laughter amongst the others.

"I think that's a miss," Tali concludes. "That makes Garrus the winner!"

"Ha! I'm Garrus Vakarian, and this is now my favorite spot on the Citadel!" Garrus cheers.

"Hey, hey, hold your horses, I went first. You still have to make your shot count, Vakarian," Shepard protests, feeling a little aggrieved.

"That would only be fair," Liara agrees, looking at Ridgefield, about to finish her beer. "Officer, if you would, please."

"Right, Vakarian... get ready, here goes!" Ridgefield says, throwing the bottle in a wide arc, and Garrus staggers as he tries to take aim, the several beers he has consumed starting to take effect. Unable to see much through his scope, the turian takes a wild shot in the dark, and it misses completely, cursing as the bullet sails wide off the mark.

"Shell we... go on?" he continues to challenge Morgan, despite having trouble remaining upright.

"I'm not sure that's advisable," Ridgefield laughs. "You're more likely to shoot yourself or one of us than hit a bottle."

"Your more responsible other halves should take you back to the Normandy," Bailey suggests. "Or else you might decide to fall over the edge and into the pool below. Not sure about you Shepard, but Vakarian is capable of drowning in anything over ankle depth."

As Liara is helping Morgan back to the skycar, she manages to slurp to Garrus. "Tie then, Vakarian?"

"...fine, fine. Tie it is," Garrus replies as Tali unceremoniously stuffs him into the backseat. "Just remember, Shepard... you got off lightly..."


	100. The New Faces of the Normandy

_A/N: Time to give a bit more screen time to the new people on the Normandy. Also, I couldn't resist adding a little twist after discovering that the captain we meet during the N7 Cyone mission is a N7 graduate. Hope you'll enjoy. :) _

**Chapter 99 - The New Faces of the Normandy**

The first thing that Shepard sees after arriving back on the Normandy, is Lieutenant Vega's naked torso as he turns around and flexes his muscles before her, then facing Shepard with a disturbingly wide grin. "Like it, Lola?" he asks, sounding very pleased with himself.

"...James, are you really that desperate to try and take advantage of me after I've had a few beers?" Morgan glares at him, even if she finds it difficult to concentrate enough to summon a harsh stare.

"Umm, Morgan, I believe the Lieutenant was referring to the new tattoo on his back," Liara speaks next to her.

"Oh... oh, right..." Morgan manages, trying to focus and the spinning images slowly stop moving to form an elaborate drawing of the N7 logo over Vega's left shoulder blade.

Lia'Vael, their new quarian pilot, is crossing the CIC at that exact moment, gasping as she sees the exposed James. "Keelah, you're still out of your suit, Lieutenant!" the quarian looks horrified. "Commander, he's been walking around like this for the past two hours, showing off his tattoo! Please, tell him to put his suit back on, this is dangerous!" she squeaks, hurrying back to the bridge.

"Heh... quarians," James shakes his head, then peering at Shepard. "Lola, you **are** pissed, aren't you?"

"No," says Shepard.

"Yes," says Liara.

James bursts out in laughter. "Well, you two can argue about that," he says. "Just wanted to show you my new tattoo, Lola. I thought about what we spoke of the N7 program, and figured you were right... I should accept. Since there are no official channels to go through right now, I figured I'll get inked as my... well, initiation."

"Wish I'd had it that easy in my days... but no, they had to drag me through all that crap on Arcturus," Shepard grumbles, memories surfacing in her muddy feeling mind. "Met so many frigging politicians and dignitaries, started to feel like one of them myself... when I was done shaking hands with all the celebrities, I had almost forgotten what it was to be a soldier."

"Yeah, should have gone with a tattoo, Lola," James grins. "You could still get one, you know? If you don't want the N7 logo, you can always ink my name somewhere special... or the Doc's name, I mean..." he adds hastily, feeling the full power of Liara's glare.

"Lieutenant Vega, I would advise you to stop making irresponsible suggestions while the Commander's reasoning capabilities are severely impaired," Liara barks at James, the Lieutenant slowly backing away, finally deciding that it would be a good idea to put his shirt back on.

"I didn't understand all of that, but somehow I suspect I was insulted at some point," Shepard mumbles, looking accusingly at Liara.

"As for you..." Liara pulls Shepard along with her towards the elevator. "I have no patience to wait until you sleep this off. No, we're going to get something from Dr. Michel to purge your system... and I do not care how unpleasant this process will be."

"When did you become so... so cruel," Shepard cries theatrically, as Liara unceremoniously drags her towards the medbay. Quarter of an hour later, she finds herself sitting on one of the beds and drinking a disgusting but very effective fizzy drink, clearing her head from the pleasantly warm and misty haze, and swiftly returning a sharp, clinical focus to her senses.

"How are you feeling, Commander?" she sees Dr. Michel's charming smile before her.

"Hmm... I feel completely rejuvenated!" Shepard nods gratefully. "Thanks, Doc! I mean, it tasted absolutely foul, but it sure did the trick."

"Yes, thank you, Dr. Michel," Liara agrees with the sentiment. "Have you managed to settle in on the Normandy?"

"It is a work in process," the petite Frenchwoman replies. "I have caught up with Dr. Chakwas' reports on the crew health, so I have some ideas of what to expect, Dr. T'Soni. Though... I must say, I did not expect to encounter a living Prothean onboard. At least Karin has left some helpful notes."

"He's... not exactly the most grateful or understanding individual on the Normandy," Shepard sighs. "In fact, he's usually a real pain in the ass. Just ignore his comments and you'll do fine, Doc."

"Yes... the notes of Dr. Chakwas said exactly that," Chloe Michel grins. "The crew appears in an excellent shape overall, and the medbay is well stocked, which is no surprise, Karin has always been exceptionally thorough. But the most interesting file to read, as you can well imagine Commander, was yours... I understand that Dr. Chakwas was regularly in contact with the R&D labs on the Shalta Wards?"

"That's correct," Morgan nods. "Even though she believed that she had a good idea just what my implants did, nobody really had a satisfying explanation **how** they did it. Not even the Cerberus scientists who put me back together."

"Maybe Miranda just likes having one more trump card at her disposal for when she really needs it," Liara muses, her suspicions catching Shepard a little by surprise.

"Well... I actually do trust her on this," she looks at Liara, before turning back to Dr. Michel. "But if you would like to continue digging into this, I certainly don't mind. If those scientists can think of something to let me squeeze out a few more years after the war, I certainly won't complain."

"You've never talked about this before," Liara says, crossing her hands on her chest, her stare a little reprimanding as she directs it at Morgan. "Just how much time they are giving you?"

"They weren't really sure, but..." Morgan hesitates, remembering Karin's warning that the prognosis she was given might not be very accurate, but Liara is clearly expecting an answer and Shepard knows she can't avoid giving her something. "Two hundred, give or take."

Liara allows herself a small smile. "That's... that's good. That's very good."

"Yeah, let's just make sure there is _after_ the war..." Morgan mutters.

"Commander, I also asked for an update from Admiral Hackett's medical team assisting the quarian doctors on their liveship... the Rayya, I believe," Dr. Michel speaks up. "I received the reply mere moments before you entered the medbay."

"Good news, I hope?" Shepard asks, feeling very anxious.

"I would say so," the doctor is browsing through the message on her computer screen. "Joker is responding very well to the treatment, and they will be bringing him out of the artificial coma tomorrow. Still, it will take a lot of time before he can fly the Normandy again."

"He'll demand to be strapped back into the pilot's seat as soon as he regains consciousness," Morgan smiles, Liara nodding, enthusiastically agreeing with her assessment.

"The young private is suffering from shock and extreme case of PTSD, but the doctors believe that they can help. Whether she will be able to return to active service is too early to say, but the most important thing is to make sure that she is able to live a normal life," Chloe Michel explains, Shepard agreeing with a nod. "And lastly, Dr. Chakwas is still deep in coma... but, from what I can read, there are encouraging signs of brain activity. Enough for the doctors to boost her odds of full recovery to 70%."

"Well... that's something, at least," Shepard manages a small smile. "We won't keep you any longer, Dr. Michel. Enjoy the little downtime and get up to speed with everything while you still can. Once we return to the field, things here are bound to get a little hectic..."

* * *

"So, have you two settled in?" Samantha Traynor pokes her head into the engineering deck, watching Daniels and Donnelly already running scans and checking measurement consoles, their belongings having been tossed aside, sitting unpacked.

"Some things are just more important," Donnelly replies, not peeling his eyes away from the consoles. "But at least it appears as if the Alliance retrofit team has not ruined **too** much."

"It's like being back home again," Daniels sighs, looking happy. "We will be fine, thank you for asking, Specialist Traynor."

"Oh, just Samantha, please," Traynor chuckles.

"Only if you call me Gabby," Daniels replies, smiling, before pointing at Donnelly. "And this big lug in Ken."

"What? Uh... yeah, sure, sure..." Donnelly shrugs, before his eyes manage to catch a glance of Traynor. At once, Ken snaps around and bows deeply, taking Traynor's hand. "I mean... it's a pleasure to meet you, Samantha..." he says, eyeing her admiringly.

"Very smooth, Kenneth," Gabby rolls her eyes, elbowing her colleague in the ribs. "I must apologize on his behalf, he tends to make the female crew miserable with his comments on every ship he serves..."

"Oh... right," Samantha laughs. "Sorry, Ken... but you're barking up the completely wrong tree with me."

"Eh, was just being polite," Ken shrugs, before giving her an inquiring stare. "Tell me, Samantha... I heard this rumor that we have two quarian ladies aboard?"

"Umm... yes?" Traynor replies cautiously.

"How do you tell them apart? I mean... what if it's just Tali playing a prank on you all by switching suits?" Kenneth asks.

"Because we've seen them both together?" Sam shrugs. "I just passed them in the mess hall before coming down here."

"But how can you tell them apart?" Donnelly doesn't let go. "I mean, those quarians just look completely alike inside their suits."

"Next you know, he'll suggest examination by touch..." Daniels sighs, tiredly bringing her hand to rub her brow.

"That is a wonderful idea, Gabby!" Donnelly exclaims, rushing off. "I will report back with my findings in a moment."

"I think this would be a good time to alert the medbay about an incoming patient," Gabby groans.

Samantha nods enthusiastically, opening a comm link to Dr. Michel. "Somehow, I feel you are not wrong there..."

* * *

"Damn it, what could Hackett want now? He knows we should be looking for the Catalyst... unless he has found some new lead about that, which I doubt," Shepard mutters, pressing the button in the elevator to take her back up to the command deck.

"I don't understand why you're dragging me with you, isn't this something you should handle on your own?" Liara protests, not entirely seriously.

"I just want to hear more about Aria and Tevos," Shepard grins salaciously. "Damn, I can scarcely believe it. That's kinda... hot..."

"Umm... yes, I suppose... though at the time it was mostly embarrassing," Liara admits, blushing a little bit. "I mean, Tevos was completely drenched in sweat. And the look in her eyes... I should have realized what it was right away. Being interrupted during the deep meld of Joining can be very disconcerting and she looked so confused when I barged in with my demands..."

"Should have taken pictures," Shepard chuckles. "Though, I guess Aria would have kicked your ass if you had tried that."

"Well, I'm not surprised you're so interested in that, considering just which vids you have been borrowing from Joker's extensive collection," Liara grins wickedly. "Almost exclusively asari couples? I think I know just what someone here likes to watch..."

"Hey, there were some vids with human and asari pairings too," Morgan replies defensively. "Besides, how do you even know this stuff?"

"Ah, don't forget, Shepard... I'm a very good information broker," Liara winks at her.

"And a bloody good tease..." Shepard sighs in response to that. "Anyway," she then pushes the combination of commands to accept the call from Hackett, the shape of her superior officer drifting into her view. "Admiral, good to see you. I hope you don't mind the presence of Dr. T'Soni."

"It is acceptable, Commander. Doctor," he nods to Liara. "Is there any progress on the Catalyst?"

"We have a lead, but we are waiting for news from our recon team and it might take several days before we can act upon it," she explains, for Liara's benefit deciding to withhold the information that the asari might have been sitting on the Catalyst intel all this time. _Or, the fact that Councilor Tevos and Aria, the Queen of Omega, are flying recon for us. That sounds even too crazy to believe!_

"Good, because I have something that you might be interested in helping with," Hackett says. "About 72 hours ago, the reactors at a joint turian-asari fuel depot on Cyone went offline. The station appears deserted for no apparent reason. I'm certain that Dr. T'Soni is very much aware of the importance of Cyone for the asari war effort."

Liara nods next to her. "Cyone is one of the major fuel providers for the starships of our fleets. The loss of these resources would be a major blow."

"I sent a team to investigate, but they have not reported back," Hackett continues. "I'd like you to go in and do recon, before I commit a larger force to take back the site. Considering who was in charge of the previous team, I figured you'll want to lend a hand."

"Eh? Someone I know?" Shepard asks, rubbing her brow thoughtfully.

"I'm sure you still remember your fellow N7's. The engineering team is under the command of Captain Riley."

"Captain Riley? Captain Lee Riley?" Shepard asks in disbelief, Hackett merely nodding in reply. "Aw, shit. Of course, I'll get there immediately."

"Thank you, Commander," Hackett replies. "The coordinates have been sent to your pilot... uh, by the way, Shepard... just who is this bubbly sounding girl that you've replaced Moreau with?"

"Oh, just yet another young quarian genius," Shepard smiles in reply. "Don't worry, sir, she's alright." Hackett gives her a slightly dubious glance but then shrugs, his image slowly fading.

"Who is this Captain Lee Riley, Morgan?" Liara asks her softly.

"We went through our N7 training together, many years ago. Grew quite close," Morgan replies, then letting out a sigh. "Yes... there is more. We grew... more than close. She was my last serious relationship before I met you, Liara."

"Did something happen? Why did you break up?" Liara asks.

"There was no row, nothing of that sort... but we N7's had it rough, constantly being sent to opposing corners of the galaxy. For the last year that we were 'technically' together, we saw each other maybe twice. Can't really make that kind of a relationship work. So I guess you could say we just simply drifted apart."

"Any regrets?"

"No, not really... well, alright, maybe there were a few," Shepard says, then blossoming into a smile as she wraps her arms around her bondmate. "But then I met you..."

* * *

"Hoo-rah!" Lia'Vael nar Ulnay cheers, as the Citadel flight coordinators wish them a pleasant journey and the Normandy takes off, heading towards the Widow System mass relay. "I'm flying the famous Normandy on a real mission! Uh... we are, of course," she quickly corrects herself, fearfully looking at EDI in hopes that the synthetic has not taken offense. "Silean Nebula, here we come!"

"I cannot decide upon my preferences in this matter, Joker's depreciatory pessimism or your exuberant optimism," EDI says thoughtfully, as they swiftly make their way towards the mass relay.

"Pessimism doesn't sound like a lot of fun," Lia remarks. "Hey, if flying this beauty of a ship would be my permanent job, my head would probably crack and split to pieces from the huge grin on my face. Hey... yeah, I know you can't see it under the mask! But it's there, I swear!"

"Joker loved flying the Normandy above everything else. He simply had a... unique way of showing his appreciation," EDI explains.

"Ahh, must be one of those strange human mannerisms, I just can't get used to them at all!" Lia'Vael shakes her head. "Did you know that human males show appreciation for the opposite gender by pinching them on the butt? So strange! But I shouldn't be rude towards other cultures..."

"That most certainly is not socially acceptable behavior, Lia'Vael," EDI makes what sounds like a deep sigh. "Whoever told you this nonsense?"

"Umm... it was that new engineer. Kenneth vas Donnelly?"

"Almost correct, without the 'vas', Lia'Vael," EDI says. "But yes, alas, this is consistent with previous behavior patterns of Mr. Donnelly. You should treat anything he says with a degree of suspicion and always verify his words with other sources."

"So... Admiral Zorah did not cause a diplomatic incident by punching Mr. Donnelly on the chin after he pinched her buttocks?" Lia'Vael asks in a perfectly innocent voice.

"Not in the least. In fact, I believe she did the females of all species in this galaxy a small favor."

"And when Mr. Donnelly invited me to a private session of strip poker, it wasn't done with the noble intention of promoting greater cross-species understanding?"

"Most definitely NOT!" EDI actually somehow manages to shudder.

"I have no idea what strip poker is, but it didn't sound good," Lia'Vael shakes her head. "I'm so glad to have you here, EDI, with all your useful advice. You're the greatest!"

"You are... quite alright too, Lia'Vael nar Ulnay," EDI remarks. "I believe we will get along just fine..."


	101. Thessian Recon Run

**Chapter 100 - Thessian Recon Run**

"You are enjoying this!" the face of Councilor Tevos is almost as completely white as her beautiful facial markings, the terrified asari matron gripping the nearby panel with shaking hands. "Aria, I demand that you stop toying with them and get us out of here right now!"

The Pirate Queen merely laughs at her secret lover's distress, concentrating on dodging the red particle beams of several oculus crafts hot in pursuit. The highly advanced Cerberus fighter that her mercenaries have liberated from one of the Illusive Man's bases responds to her commands with beautiful smoothness, though of course, Aria is making it look as if evading the enemy is much harder than it actually is, purely for the fun of tormenting Tevos.

The Reapers have placed scouts around the relay of Parnitha System, and a small vessel like theirs obviously does not possess any sort of stealth technology, getting discovered immediately after arriving in the system. However, Aria has been ready for an ambush, and also supremely confident in her ability to escape it. She is fortunately proven correct in her predictions that the Reapers will soon give up chase, not interested in a small fighter of this size, and shortly after the oculus fighters return back to the destroyers, lazily patrolling around the relay.

"We're in the clear, as I told you we would be," Aria says, finally allowing herself to relax, chuckling inwardly as she watches Tevos falling back into her seat, her brow dripping with perspiration. "It will be several hours before we reach Thessia."

"Goddess. What were you trying to do?" Tevos turns towards Aria, glaring weakly. "Force me into an emergency underwear change before I can meet with the Elders?"

"Please, Councilor... we both know that your underwear is coming off sooner rather than later," Aria replies with a knowing smirk.

"Oh, we know that?" Tevos attempts a challenging stare, but it is quickly deflated. The look on Aria's face clearly suggests that she knows that she is the sole weakness of Councilor Tevos, to whom she can't refuse anything. "...I should have never gone along with this crazy plan of yours. I should have informed Lidanya instead of sneaking out in secret..."

"Lidanya is loyal, dependable, and also terribly predictable, if I remember her correctly," Aria snorts. "She'd have brought the Destiny's Ascension here, and it would have attracted the attention of every Reaper in the system. A stealth run is what we need, and this comes as close as I can manage to a stealth run."

"Maybe I should have trusted Liara and Shepard. They could have brought me here on the Normandy," Tevos muses.

"Wait... does that mean you actually know where that artifact is and lied to T'Soni?" Aria quickly realizes, slapping herself on the knee in frustration. "Damn it, Tevos, you can be so... so irritating at times!"

"If the matriarchs realize I've lied to them and shared the intel with Shepard before I was authorized to... well, I can kiss the councilor's post goodbye," Tevos grumbles. "Of course, if the Reapers kill them all, it would be a moot point, but somehow I doubt I'll be as lucky."

"I could kill them for you?" Aria suggests, not entirely jokingly, her relationship with the leaders of the homeworld volatile at best.

"...tempting, but let's not be hasty," Tevos says after a moment of thought.

"Well... if you end up out of job, you can always come dance for me at the Afterlife," Aria offers, giving Tevos a fond stare. "You can always shake your ass at me, you know that."

"I am so very comforted now," the councilor sighs.

"So, are you going to tell me where we're going?" Aria demands a while later.

"Of course. Temple of Athame," Tevos says, activating her omni-tool and uploading the coordinates to Aria. "It must be some time since you last visited homeworld, isn't it, Aria?"

"Been a while, yes," Aria shrugs. "Can't say I've missed it. And judging by the reports we've been getting... it won't be much to look at this time around, either..."

"It will be... difficult to look at, yes," Tevos speaks quietly, her shoulders sagging a little. "If... if you had sent her to Thessia as you promised... she would have been down there, fighting the Reapers..."

"And very likely just as dead as she is now," Aria snaps, but then rare sadness reflects upon her harsh yet attractive features. "Are you still mad at me for not sending her to Thessia?"

"I... I don't know," Tevos shrugs helplessly. "I can understand why you did not. Someone was likely to find out the truth sooner or later and use it against us. Well, against me, really. I don't think such scandalous revelation would have discredited you in any way. I had almost managed to convince myself that it is better for her to stay on Omega where you can look after her day and night. Then... I learned of her death. I won't deny, for months I was mad at you, I was very mad... but those feelings have faded. Now I'm just... sorry about how everything turned out."

"Yeah," Aria grumbles unhappily. "It was a shitty feeling, looking at her, watching her grow up, always having to lie about her parentage. She deserved to know who her father is. Hell, I wanted to just say consequences be damned and send her to the Citadel so that you could meet."

"Now I truly regret not having met her. My Liselle. My daughter," Tevos hastily wipes a few tears away from her cheeks. "You'll find her murderer, won't you? Promise me."

"I will," Aria speaks solemnly. "I will find him, and I will kill him. Slowly. That I promise."

* * *

There is no great mystery about what has happened to the fuel reactors on Cyone. Short range scans suggest that it is under heavy siege from Reaper forces, and Shepard chooses to deploy her entire team, EDI's platform included, finding it strange to not be faced with Joker's incessant whining about decreasing morale and scratched frame of EDI's platform.

It would appear that the Alliance engineering team is still putting up some resistance, entrenched somewhere near the reactor core and desperately trying to survive until reinforcements arrive. Shepard has no way of knowing whether Captain Riley is still alive or not, for some reason the comms are out, likely some active jamming by the Reapers, for they have had difficulties getting a message through to Riley's squad from low orbit.

This leaves Shepard with the good old way of handling things, slaughtering all hostiles and reaching the friendly targets before Reaper brutes have stomped them into goo. The strength of the Reaper force clearly underlines the strategic importance of Cyone's fuel. EDI estimates that the initial attack involved at least two hundred troops, that quickly overwhelmed the security and the crew working on the reactor. After that, there are signs that point to the Reaper withdrawal and setting up an ambush, hoping to catch the inevitable relief squad unawares.

Fortunately, they have not anticipated the second recon team to arrive this quickly, and it gives Shepard and her crew a much needed opportunity to strike swiftly and unexpectedly, hitting the Reaper flanks hard and taking them by surprise. Garrus and Tali take Javik with them to lead an attack on the weaker left flank, which appears to have fewer brutes attached to it, leaving the others with Shepard tackling the right flank.

Javik seems to thoroughly relish the rare opportunity for slaughter, the green glow of his biotics whizzing through the air, pulling up hapless cannibals and marauders into the air, before he quickly mows them down with his favorite particle rifle. With Tali there to drain energy from the marauder shields, deploying drones to distract the foes and providing support fire, Garrus is free to concentrate on what he does best, the subtle and quiet dance with his sniper rifle, meticulously thinning out the Reapers one by one. It does not take long for the left Reaper flank to begin collapsing.

On the other side, Shepard's group face a slightly fiercer opposition, there are more brutes lurking about and trying to charge them, but by remaining mobile and switching their positions often, they manage to avoid getting cornered by the dangerous foes. EDI concentrates mostly on disabling the shields on the marauders, making them vulnerable to Liara's biotics. Shepard always relishes the sight of some cannibals and marauders pulled helpless in the air by the asari's singularities, then rushing to quickly snipe them before Liara has had her own fun, detonating the enemies with a heavy warp field.

The rest of the time, Shepard's main task is to assist James with the brutes, the Lieutenant usually not requiring her aid, unless a pair of the fearsome foes manage to show up at once. After a lengthy fight, the right flank begins to collapse as well, leaving the Reaper forces in the middle surrounded from three sides, and before Shepard has had a chance to stop them, the desperate defenders of the reactor core begin their own counterattack, which while being helpful, also results in two more of Captain Riley's crew getting killed when the last brute breaks through their lines and squishes the young asari providing biotic support, before turning around and taking off the head of the already crippled human soldier, trying in vain to protect the asari.

"Think we got them all," Garrus says, as his team catches up with Shepard's, Morgan happy to note that everyone appears to be alive and well.

"Let's not take any chances, this is too important," Morgan replies. "Split into two teams and do a sweep of the area, I don't want any surprises." Seeing that Liara is about to walk off as well, Shepard reaches out and grabs her by the hand. "You're with me," she says, leading her towards the remains of Captain Riley's team.

"As you wish," Liara replies, a little impassively, as they reach the survivors. There is a rather mangled looking human male, a young technician with blood flowing from wounds on his temples, shoulder, thigh and who knows where else, and a turian who has escaped any serious injuries, is already working to patch him up. The third survivor of the group is a human female, propped up heavily against the base of the reactor, holding her left side and appearing to be in a lot of pain, as blood slowly oozes from her armor with N7 insignia on it.

"Well, well..." she manages a dry chuckle, seeing Shepard and Liara approaching her. "Isn't this a turn-up for the books? You never write, you never call... and then you just one day ride in on a white horse to save us all. Typical Shepard."

"Good to see you too, Riley," Morgan allows herself a small smile. "Are you hurt?"

"No... I'm sitting down here and slowly bleeding out because I think it's a lot of fun," Riley grunts through clenched teeth. "You've always been the master at stating the obvious, Shep. Gave the last of our medi-gel to Nyrek. Kozlo over there needs it more than I do..."

"Alright, let's get to work, Liara," Morgan realizes the gravity of the situation immediately, both of them dropping on the floor next to the injured Captain, Liara pulling her away from the wall and taking off Riley's helmet while Shepard begins to undo the clasps on her armor.

"Damn it, Shep, you don't get to undress me after you've dumped me," Riley makes an ill-timed joke, breaking out in a nasty cough as the two others hurry to strip her from the armor and get access to the wound.

"I didn't dump you," Morgan says, lowering Riley back onto the ground, being able to finally look in the face of her ex-lover. She is much the same as Shepard recalls her, the strawberry blonde hair now of slightly darker hue than Morgan remembers it, but the blue eyes are instantly recognizable. They are not soft and warm like Liara's beautiful orbs, instead Riley's eyes speak of a more cold, ruthless and determined character, but Shepard remembers the time when she felt drawn to these sort of traits. "Besides, it's not like your omni-tool was permanently broken. You could have sent a message yourself, if you wanted to."

"I... I did want, but..." Riley starts, wincing pain as Liara removes the last layer of clothing to finally reach the wound, watching the asari swallow heavily and reach for medi-gel. "I just couldn't bear to tell you about another three month deployment to some nether region of the galaxy. There were... only so many times I could do that to you, Shep."

"Yeah," Morgan swallows bitterly. "Exactly the same reason I couldn't muster the courage to tell you... I guess it just wasn't meant to be, huh?"

"This is not pretty," Liara cuts in, slapping generous amounts of medi-gel on Riley's injuries. "I'm guessing a brute caught you when charging by?"

"Got it in one," Riley nods, smiling weakly as the medi-gel slowly starts to kick in. "It's been quite a ride for you, Shep, hasn't it? With two subsequent Rim missions, I've missed it all... got back a few months ago, having to catch up with news over the past three years... first human Spectre? Supposedly killed and then rising like phoenix from the ashes? Working with Cerberus? Taking down Collectors and blowing up their homeworld? Blowing up a batarian system and then being charged and facing a military tribunal? Didn't know whether to believe all of that or not..."

"It does sound a bit crazy when you list it like that, doesn't it?" Shepard chuckles. "But just look at what's happening with the galaxy now, and maybe it's not all that crazy in comparison. Could you see something like this ever happening, Riley?"

"No... you're right. Everything pales compared to the Reapers," Riley admits, color slowly starting to return to her cheeks as the medi-gel quickly takes effect. "How do you cope with all that, Shep? Leading the charge, it has to be an incredible responsibility."

"I'm not doing it alone, Riley," Shepard smiles, stealing a quick glance at Liara, working diligently to clean up around the wound. "Didn't the news feeds also mention something about me betraying the humanity by taking an asari lover?"

"There was something about that, yeah," Riley chuckles, but then her laughter dies as she notices the way Shepard is looking at Liara. "Oh... damn, I'm thick. That's her..."

"Dr. Liara T'Soni," the asari merely bows her head at Riley, her expression never changing from the professional mask it has settled into. "A pleasure to make your acquaintance."

"Right... Captain Lee Riley, as I'm sure you know already," Riley sounds a little hesitant all of a sudden. "Uh, listen... if I said something inappropriate, I apologize for that..."

"You did not say anything inappropriate," Liara replies simply, applying the last bandage and pulling Riley's shirt over the perfectly dressed wound.

"Well, in that case... what can I say, but congratulations, Shep... nice catch!" Riley reaches out with her hand for a quick high-five, Liara rolling her eyes at the antics. "She doesn't have any sisters, does she?"

"I don't even really know... Liara, do you have any sisters?" Shepard grins.

"Well, Benezia's side of the family ignores me completely, they are dead to me. I know that I have at least one half-sister on Aethyta's side," Liara replies, pulling back and glaring at them a little. "And by the way... that **was** an inappropriate question."

As Riley and Shepard share a brief chuckle, just at the same time as Garrus checks in on the comms. "Everything looks clear, Commander," the turian reports. "Orders?"

"Fall back to the shuttles, we're leaving in fifteen," Shepard says, closing the comms. "Any place we can drop you and your people off, Riley?" she asks her fellow N7.

"No need," Riley replies, slowly getting back up to her feet and strapping her armor back in place. "If the comms are up again, we'll get in touch with the local ground forces and tell them they're free to move in. Hackett will then send someone to pick us up, give me a day or two to lick my wounds and then throw me onto some other suicide mission."

"Are there any other missions in this war?" Liara wonders, making both humans grin broadly as they nod in agreement.

"Well... in that case," Shepard says, a little hesitantly. "We really need to be off. It was... good to run into you again, Riley. Take care, will you?"

"I will, but hell, what do I tell you in return then? You're the one charging down Reaper destroyers," Riley shakes her head. "Anyway... good luck, Shep, and try to get through all this in one piece. We need to go out for a round of drinks after this mess is over, the three of us."

With that said, they shake hands warmly, Liara and Shepard walking away. As they round a corner, Morgan feels the asari pressing closer to her, wrapping an arm around her waist. "Can I tell you something, Morgan?" she asks.

"Sure, what is it?"

"Well..." Liara says, snuggling closer to her. "I just think you have surprisingly good taste."

* * *

Councilor Tevos is silent for a very long time after returning from her meeting with the inner circle of the most influential matriarchs of Thessia, or at least those still daring to remain on the ravaged surface of their homeworld. It is only when they are past half-way back to the relay of Parnitha System, when she finally shows some reaction to one of Aria's questions.

"We need to get in touch with Shepard as quickly as possible," she says. "I should have brought them along to stand by, yes, I see it now... it would have saved so much time."

"Well, pointless to cry about it now," Aria shrugs. "So, I take it that you verified the intel?"

"They showed me the records of the information that our scientists have extracted from the beacon... yes, we've had intact beacon in our possession for who knows how many thousands of years... and I recognized the scans that T'Soni showed to me, it was the Crucible," Tevos explains. "Which means that it is likely the beacon has information on this Catalyst, too."

"Did those stuffy, tight-arsed elders approve of bringing Shepard and T'Soni in on this?" Aria asks.

"They said they will need to discuss it," Tevos snorts. "I'm done waiting. I know they have the intel, so I'm passing all the information over to Shepard. I no longer care what the matriarchs will think of it, and what the consequences will be for me."

"Good. Let's just hope we can get back through the relay in one piece," Aria chuckles, taking great delight in how Tevos instantly blanches from the reminder.

"Oh... yes, there was that," she sighs, feeling her hands starting to shake again. "You don't have anything stronger to drink, do you?"

"Afraid not," Aria shakes her head, grinning as Tevos lets out a very undignified curse. "I know just the thing that will relax your frayed nerves, Councilor, but it will have to wait until we get back to the Citadel..."

"I wish you wouldn't be so flippant about it, Aria. If we can't escape the system and deliver the news to Shepard..." Tevos sighs. "The days of the homeworld are numbered. We have been moving people off-world since the assault began, and the evacuation efforts will be intensified. Despite the krogan aid, Thessia can only hold for a week at best."

"Which means Shepard and T'Soni don't have much time," Aria nods. "This whole war has been a real reawakening for those armchair generals on Thessia, hasn't it?"

"Yes, exactly. Our people are panicking, Aria. Our leaders are too shocked and frightened to actually lead our people with any effectiveness. If not for Aethyta... I'm not sure we would have held out this long..."

"The old girl is still kicking? Always had a soft spot for her, despite, you know, the whole deal with trying to kill each other a few times," Aria laughs throatily. "I guess T'Soni will be relieved to hear that her daddy is still up and about."

"Yes. She got the krogan aboard. If Shepard hadn't wrestled me into sending her along to the summit... goddess, I've made so many mistakes," Tevos leans back into the seat heavily, her voice nearly breaking into sobs. "So many mistakes..."

For a moment, Aria feels conflicted, fighting the desire to say or do something to comfort Tevos, but the flashing warning message on the scans distracts her and she quickly turns to examine it. "Hmm, curious," she says, having looked at the scans for a while. "There's a ship approaching from the relay, heading towards Thessia."

"The Normandy?" Tevos looks at her, hopeful expression on her face. "They decided not to listen to me, goddess bless them!"

"No... it's a familiar looking signature... but it's not the Normandy," Aria mutters, trying to remember where she has encountered this vessel. "I think it's a Cerberus ship," she says eventually. _I've seen it on Omega, when it brought Leng to speak with me._

"Cerberus ship?" Tevos sounds surprised. "What could they want here?"

"I have no idea, but..." Aria says, hesitating. _Damn it, I bet he is onboard. Not much we can do against a Cerberus frigate with this puny fighter. But I must kill him with my own hands, I must!_

"Aria, is everything alright?" Tevos' voice, soft and full of concern, brings her back to the reality. "Let's just get to the relay, shall we?"

_Fuck. Not long ago I would have said, screw the galaxy, my need for revenge comes above everything else. But now... I guess living out the last days of the galaxy can change even a cold hearted bitch like me. _Her eyes soften a little, as she looks back at Tevos. "Yes. Of course," she says. "Let's get us back to the Citadel..."


	102. HP Bryson and the Leviathan Mythos

_A/N: I imagine some of you expected to see Shepard leave for Thessia in this chapter... alas, plans have changed! Leviathan time! While I did find the DLC rather fun, I thought it had some issues with internal logic, not to mention that all the time while playing it, the question of 'why are we looking for the Leviathan, again?' never left my mind. Also, all through the DLC, Shepard and her companions act as if they had never seen an indoctrinated person before. :P Ah well, I'll try to touch at least upon some of the inconsistencies, but I'll probably miss just as many. :) _

_And sorry about the title, being a Lovecraft fan, I just couldn't resist. _

**Chapter 101 - H.P. Bryson and the Leviathan Mythos**

"I really hate it when a mission starts off like this," Morgan Shepard mutters, staring at a pool of blood on the floor in the laboratories belonging to the Task Force Aurora. "Reminds me of age old times when I was still a teen playing Galaxy of Fantasy and those goddamned batarians were camping my quest givers just because I let it slip in the general chat that I'm a human!"

"I don't understand," Liara shakes her head, together with EDI looking over the data streams on a nearby console, trying to understand exactly what Dr. Bryson's team of fringe scientists had been working on. "What does this mission have to do with a popular extranet game?"

"Well, Bryson was kind of like our quest giver, and he got shot. Sure, Hadley wasn't a batarian, but..." Shepard gives up, shrugging. "Eh, never mind, it was a stupid analogy anyway."

"I'm just very surprised that Admiral Hackett would jump onto something like this," Liara sounds a little unsettled as she speaks. "All I'm seeing is a lot of guesswork and wild, unsubstantiated theories here..."

"I'm a bit surprised too," Shepard agrees. "The way he suddenly made investigating this a top priority for us, I don't know... like he had suddenly and completely lost all faith in the Crucible and the Catalyst."

"But... it will work, we know it will! We should not be grasping at straws!" Liara protests, pulling away from the consoles, EDI wordlessly taking over. "As soon as Councilor Tevos returns from Thessia, I am sure we will have a new and promising lead."

"Yeah. Maybe," Shepard says, pacing back and forth the lab, watching them work. "Babe, I couldn't tell him that your people might have been hiding a Prothean beacon with crucial info on the Catalyst. That would look... rather bad."

"I... appreciate it, but do you really intend to sneak into the Parnitha System, grab the Catalyst intel, sneak back out and then lie about where we got if from?" Liara asks, shaking her head. "That would be impossible to conceal. The truth will come out whether we want it or not."

"I agree. I just think if we get the Catalyst, they'll be too overjoyed to care that your people have been sitting on this intel for who knows how long. Still... with the interest Hackett has in this project... I hope we can manage to sneak in a quick, scenic trip to Thessia. Tevos should call in soon, I'm beginning to worry about her and Aria's safety."

EDI suddenly interrupts them. "I believe you will find this very interesting, Commander," the synthetic speaks. "It is a conversation between Dr. Bryson and Admiral Hackett. They have been researching the Leviathan of Dis."

"Right... wasn't that thingy in the Shadow Broker files?" Shepard turns to Liara.

"Yes, I believe so... there were speculations that a batarian research team had excavated a dead Reaper and brought it to the batarian space for further study. Salarians came away with some footage, but it wasn't conclusive and the batarians issued full denial. The whole deal was hushed quickly thereafter. It was like the Leviathan of Dis never existed."

"Except that it did," Shepard says grimly. "Balak told me so himself, before I shot him. They had spent many years studying the corpse of that Reaper, and during all that time, many of their people became indoctrinated. When the Reapers arrived in the batarian space... well, let's just say that inside help was a big reason why the mighty Hegemony could not put up any meaningful resistance."

"Goddess!" Liara exclaims. "I... I do feel sorry for them, even if they brought it upon themselves."

"Dr. T'Soni, Commander Shepard, there is more," EDI explains. "The Reaper that the batarians recovered was killed in battle."

"Yeah... so?" Shepard shrugs. "I mean, we've killed quite a few Reapers ourselves. Maybe twenty million years in the future someone will find those remains on Rannoch or Tuchanka and will wonder about them. But what I mean is, if we could do it, one of the previous cycles might have done so as well."

"That seems like a reasonable supposition, Commander," EDI nods. "However, Dr. Bryson was adamant that this Reaper was killed by some larger and more powerful entity. He insisted that it was the real Leviathan of Dis."

"Can you see any evidence to back up this claim?" Liara asks.

"I do not find any factual evidence that would allow me to extrapolate how such claim could be made," EDI admits after a few moments of quantum processing. "But it seems that Admiral Hackett believed this explanation."

"I'm not sure what to think," Shepard shrugs her shoulders. "I mean, these wackos probably got a lot of funding from Hackett. Funding that they wanted to keep receiving. Bryson could have lied about it, I don't know. Thrown a bait and watch Hackett swallow it, because he was desperate."

"I strongly agree with you, Morgan," Liara nods, her posture suggesting how insulted she is at the pseudo-science practiced in this laboratory.

"And yet... there is something here that doesn't make sense," Morgan stops at a strange artifact, placed in a prominent place in the lab, a large, glowing sphere, apparently sent to Bryson by one of his field researchers. "He obviously thought this was something really important," she says, peering at the artifact curiously, fighting the urge to touch it, but then stepping away. "And... I mean, Hadley was clearly indoctrinated, and yet... there was something very weird about that, too..."

"What do you mean?" Liara asks.

"He seemed completely fine when we arrived, then he lost all control of his senses and shot Bryson. Then he snapped out of it again, and then as he was about to tell us more about that artifact and the guy who sent it, Garnish-something..."

"Garneau," EDI quickly corrects Shepard.

"Yeah, Garneau," Morgan nods. "It was like someone flipped a switch and took control of him again. Cue creepy warnings in a voice from beyond the grave and all that bollocks. I mean... usually Reaper indoctrination doesn't work quite like that, does it?"

"Benezia was able to shake off the effects of the indoctrination to help us, Shepard," Liara says quietly.

"Yes, but your mother was an asari matriarch, an exceptionally strong minded individual," Morgan says, stepping closer and taking Liara's hand in hers. "This guy was just an underpaid lab assistant. I swear, it felt as if someone was looking through his eyes all the time, taking control when it was needed to either silence Bryson or stop revealing too much information about their project."

"A worrying thing to consider," Liara finally admits. "Who could be interested in preventing us from learning more? Either the subject of this research, or the Reapers, if this... subject is a threat to them."

"There is another message from Dr. Bryson to Admiral Hackett that you might find interesting," EDI interrupts them. "He insisted that the Reapers were shadowing the Task Force Aurora field teams, as if they would be hunting the Leviathan themselves. Dr. Bryson claims the Reapers consider the Leviathan a threat to them and want to find it themselves. Admiral Hackett declared the task of finding the Leviathan a top priority, along with assigning more funding."

"This is a dead end!" Liara slams her fist against the surface of the desk, her frustrated exclamation startling even EDI. "We should go to Thessia, Morgan. Tevos will check in on the QEC, we can already be on our way by the time she makes the call! This... this is a waste of time!"

_This is so unlike her, but then again, she is desperately worried about her people. She has seen the reports, she knows they don't have a lot of time left._ "Putting me in a difficult situation, babe," she says, placing her hand on Liara's shoulder. "I want to go to Thessia as well, but Hackett is still my superior officer and I'm supposed to follow his orders."

"Wasn't it his order that we find the Catalyst as quickly as possible?" Liara asks, sounding a little deflated.

"If Tevos gives us the green light, I promise, I'm taking the Normandy there immediately, okay? Will that suffice?" Liara nods slowly after a moment of pause. "In the meantime, let's just keep searching this place for more clues. If this is all a sham, we need a proof of that too."

"There is more information here about the artifact sent back to the lab by Dr. Garneau," EDI says. "Garneau claims he collected the artifact from a location that was visited by the Leviathan. He swears on that, but offers no factual evidence."

"Of course," Liara grumbles.

"Garneau writes that he intended to follow Leviathan along its projected path, and yet states no destination. Which means that they had employed a certain method to predict its movements. Or at least, they believed so," EDI theorizes, much to Liara's dismay.

"They have managed to delude themselves with their own crazy theories," the asari says. "I suppose we are not looking for truth based on facts, we are simply looking for something they believed would lead them to this mythical Leviathan."

"Ah, don't be so quick to dismiss them, babe," Morgan smiles at her bondmate. "We were called crazies and worse for believing in Reapers, remember?"

"I... suppose you're right. But we'd have to go through a lot of data in order to find what they used to track the Leviathan's movements," Liara sighs, looking at the datapads and consoles scattered throughout the lab. "And since we have nothing better to do..."

"Exactly," Shepard grins, rubbing her hands. "Let's split up, gang, it's time to look for clues!"

* * *

After a couple of hours of meticulous searching, or in Morgan's case, a great deal of twiddling of thumbs and playing around with the latest upgraded version of the Shepard VI, the trio meet again at the galaxy map downstairs on the main floor of the lab to discuss their findings.

"Useless as I predicted. They had amateurish interest in Prothean ruins, believing they might hold a clue to the Leviathan's whereabouts, but clearly this data was not used by Garneau," Liara begins to explain her discoveries. "They also believed that the Leviathan would prefer an eezo rich world, but adding the relevant filter to the galaxy map yielded nothing. And don't even get me started about using the sensationalist stories of sightings of extraordinary creatures... I feel dirty for even bothering with this 'data'. They found your reports about the Thorian very interesting, though."

"Really?" Shepard raises a curious eyebrow. "Any reason for that?"

"They believe that the Leviathan is similar to the Thorian in the way that it has developed without using the Reaper controlled technology. They also propose that the Leviathan would be capable of something similar to indoctrination," Liara finally admits, a little unwillingly.

"Like the Thorian was able to control the Zhu's Hope colonists?" Morgan asks. "That would fit in with the way Hadley was acting, I suppose... but well, let's not get ahead of ourselves. What do you have, EDI?"

"There was a collection of information about crimes in which the perpetrator claimed memory loss. This falls in line with their belief that the Leviathan would be capable of controlling organic minds," EDI explains.

"That's nice. So... why do we want to find this Leviathan, again?" Shepard sighs.

"However, constructing a search filter based on locations with increased blackout crimes yielded no results," EDI continues. "Another member of the task force was researching the ship movements of ancient rachni fleets from before the Rachni Wars. They believed that the rachni might have been manipulated by the Leviathan, trying to prepare them to fight the Reapers."

"That makes no sense, the rachni then attacked other organic species who would have been allies in a war with the Reapers," Liara exclaims, shaking her head vehemently. "No, I think my own theory about the Rachni Wars is more sound."

"Really? Let's hear it," Morgan urges her to explain.

"It was said that after completing the harvest and retreating back to the dark space, the Reapers left someone behind to monitor the developments in the galaxy. We know that in our cycle this task fell to Sovereign. I believe that it was Sovereign who manipulated the rachni. A possible motive was that the organic races were developing at a faster rate than predicted and the Reapers sought to slow our advancement down artificially."

"I guess that is possible. Though war usually leads to a lot of leaps in technological advancement," Morgan says thoughtfully. "Of course, we might not have been meant to win that war."

"In any case, the data about rachni fleet movement did not lead to anything relevant," EDI concludes. "I believe that Garneau used the encrypted data about Reaper hunting patterns. Considering that Dr. Bryson claimed that the Reapers were looking for the Leviathan themselves, he and Garneau would have strongly believed in this lead. However, we cannot access this information without the decryption key, thus I suggest we focus our efforts to other possible leads."

"Speaking of which, what did you find, Morgan?" Liara asks.

"Err... I found this drawing. I thought it was kind of cute," Shepard admits bashfully, showing them the work of 'art' by an eight year old, a picture of a gangly man in a dark suit, a caption saying 'Daddy' under the drawing. "It was made by his daughter, Ann. Uh... somebody should probably give her the news about her father..."

"Shepard! You are a genius!" EDI speaks, swiftly snatching the picture from Morgan's hands, the Commander standing there bewildered. "You found the encryption key!" the synthetic briefly studies the drawing, then inputting the data to Bryson's computer and downloading the information to create another filter to use with the galaxy map.

"Did you hear that, babe? Apparently I'm now a genius!" Shepard remarks, grinning at Liara, who just rolls her eyes in reply as they follow EDI to the galaxy map.

"Dr. T'Soni, I'm afraid I must disappoint you even further," EDI says as she is working on applying the filter to the galaxy map. "The data clearly indicates that the Reapers are indeed searching for something as Bryson's team believed. This is no longer a wild and far-fetched theory. This is a fact." As the scowl deepens on Liara's face, the results begin to appear on the galaxy map. "The search function has been concluded. If Garneau has used this data to predict the Leviathan's movement, then his next stop would have been... Caleston Rift."

"Alright, I guess that's where we're going then," Shepard says reluctantly, much like Liara more willing to wait for Tevos and then hit Thessia, but also knowing that Hackett would not appreciate her sitting on this intel and doing nothing.

"If you are truly serious about pursuing this, then yes," Liara shrugs, trying to appear indifferent.

"This might not turn out to be a wild goose chase after all, Liara," Morgan reminds her, feeling that she can no longer dismiss this easily, now that they have verified that at least some of Bryson's intel is solid. "We're still going to Thessia, that's a promise, but until Tevos checks in... let's see if we can find more about the mythical Leviathan..."

* * *

Almost a whole day later, the Normandy finally discovers hints of Dr. Garneau's presence in a remote system of Caleston Rift. The associate of late Dr. Bryson is hiding on Mahavid, a large metallic asteroid which is being mined by a T-GES Mineral Works company. Since their facilities are the only possible place where Garneau could be hiding, Shepard takes a small team with her and Cortez brings them down to the surface of the asteroid. Liara has been almost as if glued to the QEC, desperately awaiting a message from Tevos, but since there are no news, Shepard almost forcefully drags her to the shuttle, knowing that the asari needs a distraction, Tali and Garrus joining them on the ground mission.

There are numerous Reaper signatures blinking in the sparse Nahata Belt surrounding Mahavid, likely also searching for the Leviathan, if Bryson's intel is to be trusted. In any case, the Reaper presence in such remote and unattractive system lends some credence to the crazy Leviathan theories, and even Liara is forced to admit as much.

Reaper ground forces are skulking around the outside of the mining facility, Shepard and her team forced to deal with a large congregation of brutes and marauders massing at the main entrance. Once they have been dealt with, Morgan tries to reach someone inside the base and talk them into opening the doors for her group, but there is no reply. Fearing the worst, she orders Tali to hack the doors, finding a very unexpected surprise waiting for them.

There are no Reapers about to jump them inside the facility, instead, they are met with the sight of the facility staff mingling about the main hall and giving them strange looks, almost as if accusing them of intruding upon their peaceful existence. The atmosphere of calm and tranquility feels incredibly fake, however, and not just to Shepard, all of her friends are sensing it too. At least unlike Hadley, none of the clearly indoctrinated staff are brandishing weapons at them, so Shepard allows herself to relax a little and they begin to explore the lower level, time and again addressing the local workers, hoping at least one of them might have retained their senses, but their inquiries fall on deaf ears.

Nobody claims to know a single thing about Dr. Garneau, and all they get to hear in reply are cryptic warnings not to disturb the darkness. Having heard yet another remark in the vein of 'you do not belong here' from a young dark-haired researcher, Shepard grabs her by the shoulders and shakes her a bit. "Hello? Is anybody in there?" she asks, but the woman remains just as listless and dull while Morgan manhandles her. "We wish to speak with your master! This is Commander Shepard calling! Please, answer!" When there is absolutely no reaction, Shepard releases her with a heavy sigh, and the woman wanders off in a slow walk.

"I think I can repair the access elevator to the upper levels," Tali speaks quietly as they gather to discuss their next steps. "But I would appreciate cover. Maybe that Leviathan thing will force them to attack us if we poke around the elevator."

Fortunately enough, nobody seems to object to Tali's fiddling around the elevator controls, and soon afterwards the resourceful quarian manages to reactivate the elevator, also gaining access to the electronic logbook which shows that Dr. Alex Garneau has used his access card on this terminal at least once during the past seven days.

"So, whoever is indoctrinating these people doesn't want us to find Garneau," Garrus remarks as the elevator takes them to the mineral lab facilities. "Could it be the Leviathan?"

"I guess, because finding Garneau should lead us to the Leviathan, and apparently it doesn't want to be found," Morgan replies, shrugging her shoulders as they enter the large halls filled with lab equipment, a more varied setup than she would have expected in a small mining facility.

The few researchers wandering about look at them oddly with their dull, emotionless eyes, just as indoctrinated as the people on the lower level, moving about on whatever tasks their puppet-master has assigned to them. It takes Liara only a little poking around to realize that most of the things that the scientists are researching have very little to do with mining of tungsten, for example the history of weather events on the hanar homeworld of Kahje, or the table crammed with beautiful flowers, results of a horticultural study. The researchers appear completely oblivious to anything Shepard and her friends are doing, so they feel safe enough to split up and quickly cover more ground around the enormous lab.

Tali manages to crack the door code leading into the private quarters of the scientists, and driven by curiosity, Shepard follows the quarian inside. It does not take long for them to make a startling discovery. "Shepard, some of the messages here are as old as eight or nine years. Personal messages from concerned friends and family, and they were never replied to!"

"You think it might have been controlling these people for as long as that?" Shepard blinks, surprised. "That's... very strange. You'd imagine that some of those families would have come here or at least sent someone to investigate."

"It's possible that they came... and stayed," Tali says, gulping audibly. "Shepard, let's finish things quickly here and get out, while we still can. We have no idea how much does it take for... whatever it is, to indoctrinate us too."

"I'm forced to agree," Morgan nods as they leave the crew quarters, looking to catch up with Garrus and Liara, hoping that one of them has had better luck in finding clues about Dr. Garneau's whereabouts. And from the smug look on Garrus' face, it appears that the turian has been successful.

"You need to hear this, Shepard," he says, leading them to a quiet corner to share his discovery, an unsent message from Alex Garneau to Dr. Bryson. Garneau speaks of having found another one of the spherical artifacts down in the mines, at which point it seems as if the indoctrinated mine workers had reacted unfavorably to his discovery, Garneau mentioning of being forced to go into hiding.

"Another of those artifacts, hmm?" Shepard ponders thoughtfully, not sure what to make of it just yet. "And no clue of where Garneau himself is hiding?"

"I might shine some light on that," Liara joins their talk. "I managed to access a security vid report, which held information about an... altercation in the mines. Considering that is where the artifact is located, I believe the report speaks of Garneau. If that is true, then we will find him in the medbay. I have the patient file number that will grant us entrance."

"Right, let's get there, then," Shepard says, leading her team towards the medical bay. "Still... something here just doesn't seem to fit..." she adds, unable to stop feeling that they are all missing something vital.

The secured part of the medbay is sinking in darkness and at first appears abandoned. It seems plausible that with a small sized staff like this facility, there would often be no patients at the medbay, thus not requiring for a constant presence of the medical personnel, however, according to the report, someone was moved to the medbay following the incident in the mines, and yet nobody is here to take care of them.

Leaning against the window of one of the dark rooms, Shepard can just about make out a still shape of what appears to be a dead human male inside, revealing a compelling reason for the absence of the medical staff. "Damn it, they got to Garneau first," she exclaims angrily, punching the bullet-proof glass. "Figures, just our luck."

"No, they haven't got to Garneau yet," suddenly there comes a deep voice from the adjacent dark room, the shape of a man rising to step closer to the window, addressing them. "If you are looking for Garneau, you have found him."

Shepard quickly introduces herself, and asks Garneau to explain everything that has happened to him during his stay on the mining facility, before offering to safely escort him from this place. The answers are what they had already expected, he was attacked by the employees while doing his research down in the mines. However, his answers to their inquiries about the Leviathan are more puzzling.

"The Leviathan is a myth," Garneau insists upon their requests to elaborate. "It's a dead end."

Shepard sends a quick glance at Liara, thinking that the asari would be rejoicing from this revelation, but her bondmate is gently tapping her index finger against her chin, looking thoughtful and concerned. "Then what about the artifact you mentioned in your message to Bryson?" she finally asks, peering at Garneau, still remaining standing in the dark behind the window where they can barely even see his face.

"The artifact? I don't remember any artifact," Garneau shakes his head in denial.

"Sure you do," Shepard speaks up, exchanging worried looks with her friends, sensing that something is deeply wrong here. "We have the location of the artifact in the mines. Once we have taken you to the shuttle, we're coming back to retrieve the artifact-"

"No! You must not take the artifact!" the doctor suddenly shouts, raising his arms and then lowering them again as a biotic explosion detonates around them, shattering the windows and throwing them all off their feet. "You will not breach the darkness!" he exclaims in a deeper voice that no longer seems his own, jumping through the smashed window and running off at almost superhuman speed, as Shepard and her crew struggle to get back up.

"Damn it, so he was indoctrinated too!" Garrus swears, looking pissed off. "Should have known it from the start!"

"Forget about Garneau, he is no longer of any use to us," Liara says, rising and checking herself for injuries. "It is clear that the artifact is important in some way, he does not want us to get it, so that's where we must go! Into the mines!"

"Yeah, I'm afraid Liara is right," Shepard admits, not looking forward to a long and dangerous trek through some mines. "This mission just got a lot more complicated..."


	103. Yet Another Damsel in Distress

_A/N: Regarding a certain subtle (or not so subtle) reference in this chapter... oh yeah. I went there. _

**Chapter 102 - Yet Another Damsel in Distress**

"Funniest thing, Commander," Lieutenant Steve Cortez tells her, while bringing the ground team from the Mahavid mining facility back to the Normandy. "The entire Reaper forces just pulled out for no apparent reason couple of minutes ago. Any idea why?"

"Hmm... that's about the time when that indoctrinated miner destroyed the artifact, isn't it?" Tali asks, sounding thoughtful.

"Yeah, seems about right," Morgan nods. "Those Reapers really wanted to beat us to it, didn't they? Can't believe they brought in the banshees, that is **so** unfair! Those things seriously hurt..."

"The artifact does seem to be the key, yes," Liara agrees. "It appears that the Leviathan fears that we can use it to find them, and the Reapers also believe the same. This might merit further research."

"Makes sense that the Leviathan would want to destroy those artifacts," Garrus says, poking at some of the new deep scratches in his armor, testament of the fierce fighting just moments before. "Still makes you wonder what the hell is this thing? My bets are on some kind of rogue Reaper."

"You're probably right about that, Garrus," Shepard agrees. "Its indoctrination works a bit different from how the Reapers do it, though. I mean, as soon as the artifact was destroyed, those people were back to almost normal. There's no such recovery from the Reaper indoctrination that we have dealt with so far. If only it had worked that way..." she sighs, her gaze meeting Liara's eyes.

"I was thinking the same thing," the asari admits with sadness. "But it is pointless to dwell upon. As for your theory... the Leviathan is supposed to be millions of years old. It is quite possible that it has developed another way to affect human minds which is slightly different to how the Reapers do it. I suppose that not destroying the vessel in the process is a more gentle approach, but I do not think such a word can be used when talking about mind-control."

"I can't stop thinking about those poor people on the mining facility," Tali admits, sounding depressed. "To have ten years of their lives just erased like that. I hope that the Alliance can help them while they are still in the quarantine."

"Yeah, that was pretty rough, they were quite shaken up after I told them it was Year 2186," Shepard nods. "Hell, if they had managed to sleep over the whole Reaper War and wake up in a peaceful galaxy, then maybe I would envy them! Now... not so much."

"I'm still wondering what the hell they were researching there," Garrus shrugs, then shaking his head. "Someone's research was called 'Evolutionary Implications of Human Biotics' or something like that. I mean, why would the Leviathan care..."

"There is no satisfying answer that I can come up with, even if I have been thinking a lot about it," Liara admits. "Perhaps they were like... Leviathan's eyes to the galaxy? They were studying things that it found fascinating for one reason or another? That is the best I can think of..."

"I guess we won't find out the whole truth until we find the Leviathan itself," Morgan says. "If that's actually a smart idea. I haven't decided yet. It's certainly not very friendly to organics and doesn't mind enslaving us as its thralls, so..."

"Perhaps you should voice your concerns to Admiral Hackett, if he still believes this cause is worth pursuing," Liara says with a meaningful look, then turning towards Tali, the quarian poking over the omni-tool stripped from the body of the real Alex Garneau, found dead down in the mines, next to the now destroyed Leviathan artifact.

"Yeah, I'm getting something interesting here, Liara," Tali replies. "Over the past week, he has eight missed calls on his personal log... all from Dr. Ann Bryson..."

"Hey, that was her drawing that held the decryption key!" Shepard realizes. "Now we're getting somewhere. Bryson senior might have gotten her onboard for his Leviathan task force! As soon as we're back on the Normandy, I'm going to speak with Hackett and ask him to chase her down for us. No doubt she will know a great deal."

"You might want to inform the Admiral of something else as well," Liara remarks casually, sighing as Morgan looks at her with blank stare. "The artifact was capable of controlling the minds of this entire colony. We left an artifact exactly like that sitting in Bryson's lab, in the middle of the Citadel..."

"Oh crap, you're right!" Morgan slaps herself on the forehead. "As Mordin would have said... implications, unpleasant!"

* * *

Having made her report to Hackett, Morgan finds herself walking all around the Normandy, unable to find peace, expecting the two extremely important calls to come in any moment now, wondering who will be first, Hackett or Tevos. Liara is back in her quarters, silently praying for the councilor to respond first, barely restraining herself from begging Shepard to go to Thessia despite everything, and Morgan's heart is breaking at seeing her bondmate so torn. In her heart, she also hopes that Tevos would reply soon, confident that she would be able to come up with some sort of lame excuse for Hackett to delay his newest pet project for a day or two.

Unfortunately, her plans are rendered moot when Hackett checks in with the Normandy first, less than two hours after her initial report. Having received Traynor's message to head to the comm room, Shepard does not delay, heading there immediately to be confronted with the extremely excited and pleased looking Admiral Steven Hackett.

"Excellent job so far, Shepard, I had my concerns about this project, but you have cleared all of those doubts, my friend," Hackett lavishes more and more praise upon her. "If this thing has Reapers running scared, that means we're on the right track here!"

"Uh, sir, are you really writing off the Crucible after putting so much effort into it?" Shepard asks, a little incredulous.

"I am not writing it off, but we have hit a dead end with the Catalyst, you have to admit it, Commander," Hackett shakes his head. "Unless you have new and promising leads, we'll keep focusing on the Leviathan for now."

"I have a few leads on the Catalyst, and would like to investigate them. Liara thinks they are promising," Morgan tries.

"Very well, send me the locations and I'll have some squads check them out," Hackett replies, Morgan cringing and about to protest that they will check the sites out themselves, but the admiral cuts her off unceremoniously. "For now, the Leviathan remains your top priority, Shepard, is that clear?"

"...yes," Shepard grinds out reluctantly.

"And in that regard, I have new intel for you that I insist you follow up on immediately," Hackett says. "We have the location for Dr. Ann Bryson. You were correct, Shepard, she did work with her father. She is in the Pylos Nebula, working on something called Project Scarab."

"Project Scarab?"

"No idea, Shepard, but she has left a call to her father's office, telling that they have located another one of those Leviathan artifacts. She expresses suspicions that it might be affecting people's behavior."

"Well, that has been confirmed," Shepard sighs. "Did you take care of the artifact in Bryson's lab?"

"Yes, we have it shielded using the recommendations by Dr. Garneau," Hackett nods. "Thank you for sending that information, Commander. To think something like that was just lying here in the middle of the Citadel, it is astounding."

"Yeah. Uh, sir... are you sure you really want us to find this Leviathan?" Shepard asks. "What if it's something even more dangerous to us than the Reapers?"

"Can we afford not to look for it?" Hackett shrugs. "The fact that the Reapers are so desperate to get to it first shows that we are on the right track. And Ann Bryson reports that they are seeing Reaper scouts around their digsite, closing in on the artifact. That's why I need you to get there ASAP, Shepard! Tell your pilot to chart the course for the planet Namakli in the Zaherin System immediately!"

Shepard sighs inwardly. "Yes, sir." She then disconnects the call, ignoring Hackett's displeased stare at her lack of enthusiasm.

As she is on her way out of the War Room, wondering how to deliver the news of discouraging developments to Liara, Traynor's voice on the comms forces her to halt. "The asari councilor wishes to speak with you on the QEC, Commander. She claims it is urgent," Samantha reports.

"Of course it is," Shepard sighs in reply. "Thanks Sam, I'll get to it immediately."

The image of the councilor appears very tired and haggard before Shepard, the usually impeccable looking asari does not seem to care about her appearance, however, another indication that the news she is about to deliver are of grave importance. "Shepard... you must get to Thessia immediately... please," Tevos manages, leaning on the console before her for support, trying to avoid falling over from exhaustion.

"It looks as if things are as bad as the rumors suggest," Morgan shakes her head, feeling sympathetic to see Tevos like this, crumbling before her eyes. "Did you verify the Catalyst intel?"

"There is a Prothean artifact that has stored the Crucible blueprints. It is possible they contained the information about the Catalyst, but I did not know what to look for," Tevos confesses. "But it is promising, don't you agree, Shepard?"

"Yeah, it is," Morgan nods, agreeing. "How much time do we have? I am on a very important mission from Admiral Hackett that cannot be abandoned."

Tevos flinches at that, struggling to keep upright. "Not the... answer I was hoping for..." she admits quietly. "Shepard, you have a day... maybe two, before the Reapers claim Thessia. Our losses will become more and more catastrophic the longer our people remain on the ground, trying to buy more time for you to get in and reach the artifact..."

"Damnation!" Shepard swears angrily, clenching her fists. "I'll be there as soon as I can, I promise that, Councilor. Can you give us the location?"

"I don't want to send it over an unsecure channel, but QEC is as safe as it can get... just tell Liara to take you to the Temple of Athame, and she will know where to go," Tevos explains. "Also... tell Liara that her father is alive and fighting for the homeworld. If I know Aethyta, she will be the last one to enter the evac shuttles off Thessia..."

_That's not exactly reassuring..._ Shepard sighs inwardly. _I wonder if that was said as extra motivation to force me to get there faster. If Aethyta doesn't make it... fuck, Liara would never forgive me for these delays. Fuck... Tevos, your sodding guilt trip is damn effective._

"One more thing, Commander... as we were leaving the system, Aria spotted a Cerberus vessel heading for Thessia," Tevos warns her. "She seemed to think that it was important and told me to mention it to you."

_Cerberus? What the fuck do they want there? Don't need them interfering now! _"Yes, I think it was wise of Aria to mention that," Shepard agrees, once she has stopped fuming from the anger at the mere mention of Cerberus. "You two make a very good team, if I do say so myself, Madame Councilor."

The tired laugh escaping the councilor's mouth is not exactly the reaction Shepard has been expecting after her little well intentioned teasing. "Commander, I have seen the majestic cities of my homeworld reduced to smoldering rubble and my people slaughtered in millions... I no longer care whether my illicit affair with Aria becomes public knowledge or not..."

"Oh, you don't need to worry about that, Councilor," Morgan smiles. "That secret is safe with Liara and me, you can be sure of that."

"Thank you, Shepard. But that all is insignificant, compared to the necessity of getting to Thessia quickly," Tevos says, despair sinking in her eyes again. "I will be waiting, praying for the news, Commander. The Noverian rum will provide a small measure of comfort until I hear from you again..."

* * *

Shepard uses the shuttle flight down to the surface of Namakli to bring Liara up to date with the latest developments. While Tali and Garrus consult with Cortez about some strange readings coming from the digsite, she pulls her bondmate aside to the back of the shuttle for a quick chat.

"Tevos checked in a moment after Hackett did," she admits reluctantly. "She looked a bit hammered on the Noverian rum..."

"Aria shared? It must be love, then," Liara allows herself a small smile. "But what do you intend to do? Had she managed to learn something on Thessia?"

"Yes, we conclude our business here and then head to Thessia immediately, before I've even made a report to Hackett," Shepard says. "There's some kind of Prothean artifact at the Temple of Athame, and it had Crucible designs stored in it, so it's possible that they would have Catalyst intel, too."

"Temple of Athame? Goddess... yes, I agree, we should go as soon as possible, thank you, Morgan," Liara speaks, looking mortified and thankful at the same time, briefly brushing her trembling fingers against Shepard's cheek.

"I just hope we can get there before it's too late, Tevos mentioned that things are really rough..." Morgan sighs, turning back towards the others. "What's the situation here like?"

"Coming upon the digsite now, Shepard," Garrus reports as they join in to look through the windows of the shuttle. The red, arid planet somewhat reminds Shepard of Mars, a huge and deep canyon spreading below them, and looking ahead they can see the facilities of the digsite, built over many floors into the very side of the cliff.

"What are those huge birds circling around the digsite?" Tali wonders, peering ahead as they all notice the white smoke rising from all around the facility.

"Those are no birds, those are Reaper harvesters!" Cortez exclaims. "About two dozen on them!"

"Shit! This will be really dicey!" Shepard swears. "You probably won't have time for a nice, comfy landing, Steve, just find us a nice flat surface and we'll try to make the jump. Preferably close to Ann's location."

"Haven't been able to raise her on the comms," Steve replies. "Do you want to abort?"

"Damn, she could be dead..." Shepard muses. "Try to take us a little closer without attracting attention, see if we can maybe pick a visual or a signal through interference."

Morgan's intuition proves correct, as they come closer to the base, a crackling woman's voice can be heard on the comms, even if the words are difficult to make out, it would seem that Dr. Ann Bryson is alive and trying to broadcast an SOS signal, but she appears unable to hear their requests to fire an emergency flare to reveal her position.

Shortly enough, the harvesters take notice of the Kodiak, and a wild chase ensues, ending with Cortez pulling off some stomach-heaving moves before buying them several seconds of time to make the jump as the shuttle slowly drifts by a landing pad on one of the lower levels. Tali and Liara get out first, followed by Morgan and finally Garrus, but the gentlemanly turian ends up missing the pad by an inch and painfully lands amongst some scattered crates on the level below them.

They quickly scatter to safety of the interconnected prefab shelters of the digsite, hoping that the cover will hide them from the eyes of the countless harvesters flying above them, bombing the facilities into oblivion and unloading ground troops onto the crumbling walkways. Liara works hastily to establish a comm connection, while Shepard and Tali wait for Garrus to find the stairs and climb back up to unite with them, the lithe quarian watching his progress with some concern.

"So, Tali... now that you're alone here, I can finally ask you..." Shepard starts, a wicked expression on her face. "You and Garrus... with all those rumors flying about, I just have to know. You two gone all the way yet?"

"Shepard!" Tali gasps, her eyes behind the mask blinking in shock and surprise. "How... what kind of a question is that? And while there are dozens of Reapers trying to kill us!"

"Shepard has no shame or sense of timing," Liara chuckles, still fighting with the comms. "It is known."

"It is known," Tali adds with a nod.

"Hello? Is anyone there?" suddenly a voice shouts at them from the comms. "I'm coming down to you!"

"Dr. Bryson? This is Commander Shepard of the Alliance Navy," Morgan responds immediately. "I suggest you stay put and wait for us to reach you! What's your location?"

"Very well... we'll stay put," Ann Bryson accedes after a small pause. "We're a few levels above you, Commander. I'm sending the exact location to your omni-tool."

"Thanks, Doctor. Don't worry, help is on its way," Shepard finishes, just as Garrus finally climbs out from a narrow shaft directly in front of them. "Right, that's enough slacking around, Garrus," she says, pointing ahead to the ruined and unstable walkways, leading to the floors above. "Let's reenact the Therum mission and rescue yet another doctor damsel in distress..."

* * *

The mad chase through the ruined digsite, climbing through collapsing stairwells, jumping across the roofs of prefab shelters, dodging the enemy weapons fire while trying to hide from the harvester cannons amazingly does not end up in gruesome demise of Shepard and her crew. Despite several hair-rising moments during their travel, such as a banshee showing up while they were completely exposed in plain sight, operating the controls to lower a drawbridge, they manage to reach Dr. Ann Bryson while all in one piece.

The same cannot be said about Ann's fellow researchers, but the young brunette is holding herself together admirably well, despite clearly not being used to people succumbing to violent deaths all around her. She understands the clear and crisp orders Morgan barks at her, snapping back to attention, as they crawl towards the landing pad, where Cortez intends to pick them up, though how exactly he plans to do so is a mystery to Shepard, harvesters still swarming in the air.

"Shepard, look!" Tali suddenly exclaims, pointing at an ancient wall painting at the cliff side. They have seen many similar paintings while making their way to the upper floors, but this one is different. It depicts several indigenous people dancing, bowing and generally displaying worshipping reverence towards a large and easily recognizable shape looming over them. The Leviathan is a Reaper, a rogue Reaper, there is no longer any doubt about it in Morgan's mind after seeing this drawing.

"We believe it is the Leviathan, yes," Dr. Bryson speaks up, as if hearing her thoughts. "The natives are acting as if under its power. Clearly a Reaper, but acting alone. Not like any Reaper we've seen before."

"What about the artifact, Dr. Bryson?" Liara asks. "We understand you made the discovery just recently."

"Yes, that is correct," Bryson nods, pointing ahead. "It is near the landing pad, they were preparing it to be moved to my father's lab. It seems to be affecting people's minds, though we are not sure how. I'm sure it emanates some kind of energy, but we did not have the tools to analyze it here."

"That's odd, they were researching the artifact in your father's lab and found that the artifact was safe and completely inert, not giving off any energy readings," Shepard wonders.

"Shepard, remember that Hadley was studying it, and he likely amended his report to hide the truth about the artifact, once he had fallen prey to the indoctrination," Liara suggests. Shepard sees the confusion and worry on Dr. Bryson's face, but there is no time to stop and reveal everything right now, their sole goal is to reach the Kodiak and escape with their lives intact.

As they slowly navigate around the corner to come within the sight of the landing pad, Shepard and her crew stumble upon a very strange ceremony taking place. There are three Reaper marauders surrounding the Leviathan artifact, one of them channeling what looks like a blue ray of biotics into the artifact, or possibly vice versa. "What are they doing?" Tali wonders.

"It looks as if they have... activated it, somehow?" Liara makes a guess.

Shepard suddenly finds herself roughly shoved aside, falling on top of Liara, as Dr. Ann Bryson walks past them towards the artifact, speaking in a voice that is no longer hers. "They've learned too well," whoever is controlling her, likely the Leviathan, speaks. "The darkness must not be breached..."

"Crap! Shoot it, Garrus!" the turian reacts immediately, the marauder channeling into the artifact toppling to the ground lifeless. "I meant shoot the artifact, damn it!" Shepard yells, Garrus sighing deeply and taking another shot, this time shattering the artifact to millions of tiny pieces, immediately breaking its hold on Dr. Bryson, the young woman possessing the good sense to quickly dive for cover.

The resulting explosion of the artifact seems to have killed off the other marauders as well, and Shepard immediately calls in Cortez to make the pickup, sensing a break in action. Unfortunately, it doesn't last long enough for Cortez to arrive, another harvester bringing in a dozen of cannibals, dropping them nearly on their heads and then deciding to stick around to help out its buddies.

The battle for the landing pad is short, chaotic and painful. While trying to provide cover for Dr. Bryson, Tali is forced to expose herself dangerously to the enemy fire and just when they feel relieved to see that her tech barriers have endured, stray shots from somewhere take out Tali's legs from under her, blood spurting from her ruined shins as the quarian tries to pull herself to safety with her hands. Unable to just sit in cover and watch, Garrus heroically leaps to her defense, taking out several of the cannibals closing in on Tali, but then almost repeating his Omega experience of taking a rocket to the face, this time getting cut down by the harvester's cannons.

Fortunately, the harvester dies immediately afterwards, ripped apart by Liara's warp fields, and as Morgan is mopping up the last few cannibals in sight, Cortez brings in the Kodiak, Ann Bryson quickly running to get inside to safety. Liara scoops up the lighter quarian in her arms, Tali lingering on the edge of unconsciousness, whimpering from pain, while Shepard somehow manages to grab Garrus, groaning from the heavy weight of the armored turian.

"Not exactly a textbook rescue, sorry about that," Shepard looks at Dr. Bryson, before returning her attention to Garrus, relieved to find that his chest wounds are not as serious as they had appeared at first. As the medi-gel quickly takes effect, he turian opens his eyes, immediately making a lunge towards Tali, Shepard having to almost sit on him to keep Garrus down and resting. "She'll be fine... won't she, Liara?"

"Yes, I believe so," the asari agrees, having finished applying medi-gel to Tali's legs. "But I believe Dr. Michel will finally have her first two patients."

"Oh. Oh..." Garrus groans a little, understanding the implications. "...that won't be awkward at all..."

"By the way, sorry for ignoring you, Dr. Bryson," Morgan turns back towards their guest. "That must have been a really harrowing experience down there for you. I'm sorry about the loss of your colleagues."

"It was... I'm not sure I can find the words... but I thank you for coming to my aid, Commander," Ann Bryson manages. "But right now, I wish nothing else than to be reunited with my father and be comforted by his embrace. I hope you can deliver me to the Citadel soon, Commander."

"Oh... god," Shepard manages quietly, her eyes meeting Liara's sorrowful orbs, before turning back towards Ann. "Doctor... I don't really know how to say this, but... I have some... very bad news for you..."


	104. Wanted: Fewer Dancers, More Commandos

_A/N: I had initially planned to split the Thessia mission into two parts, but it somehow turned into three chapters. Totally not trying to prolong the suffering, nope, not me. :) _

_Also, while I wanted to just ignore the Vrolik's syndrome and punch Joker for that line in the game, I thought it made a decent chapter title. :P _

**Chapter 103 - Wanted: Fewer Dancers, More Commandos**

"I feel a bit bad about keeping Dr. Bryson on the Normandy almost like a hostage," Shepard speaks quietly as together with Liara they stand on the bridge of the ship, behind Lia'Vael and EDI. The Normandy has just made the jump to the Athena Nebula, the stealth drive letting them escape the attention of the Reaper forces monitoring the relay.

"There was no choice, Morgan. If we would have dropped her off at the Citadel, Hackett would know that we're done with the mission," Liara replies in an equally low voice. "And we save time this way. Besides, like Dr. Michel said, Ann needs to rest and recuperate, not to be immediately thrust back into action."

"Yeah. She... took the news of her father's death better than I expected," Shepard remarks, shaking her head sadly. "Damn it, I really hate being the bearer of bad news, especially like that... Ann Bryson is a very brave person."

"I agree," Liara nods. "And speaking of fathers..." she says, nervously wringing her hands.

"She'll be alright, babe," Morgan says softly, taking Liara's hand in hers. "Your dad is very resourceful, she'll keep herself safe, I'm sure of it."

"I pray you are right," Liara whispers, then quickly gathering herself. "So, you also agree with Ann's assertion that Leviathan is a rogue Reaper?"

"Yes, I thought it was obvious by now, do you disagree?" Shepard looks at Liara curiously.

"I agree wholeheartedly," the asari says. "Which simply brings me to what I was going to say next. We will recover the Catalyst and finish the Crucible, and when it is deployed, it should destroy all the Reapers... or at least, so it is believed. But this means..."

"That it would also destroy the Leviathan, of course," Morgan nods, smiling. "I see, I hadn't thought of that. It just means that chasing after that thing is a complete and utter waste of time, isn't it?"

"Dangerous waste of time, considering the ease with which it is indoctrinating everyone... and yet, if Admiral Hackett will insist on continuing on this path..."

"I have an idea on how to avoid that," Morgan grins, deciding against elaborating, despite Liara's attempted glare. "But as soon as we get the Catalyst, Hackett will forget all about that wild Reaper chase, I'm sure of it."

"Let's just hope that we're not too late..." Liara sighs, as the view of her homeworld appears before them, the palette of the planet's colors quite similar to those of Earth.

"Uh, Commander... that is a whole lot of nasty looking Reapers!" Lia'Vael comments from the pilot's seat, sounding very worried and for good reason, the enemy force is here in numbers, almost as many destroyers are Morgan remembers seeing around Palaven. "And we have already been running silent for longer than recommended. It is getting quite hot up here... and I'm not sure I should follow Lieutenant Vega's suggestion and get out of my suit to cool down."

"Perhaps not, Lia," Shepard manages a smile, despite the gravity of the situation. "We'll just need about twenty minutes, then you can drop us off in a shuttle and retreat. Do you have the coordinates of the temple?"

"I do," the quarian nods. "But Commander! In order to vent the heat, we will need to retreat out of the comm range. This could be dangerous in case you need an emergency pickup!"

"Let's hope we end up in a position to escape and get clear in the Kodiak..." Shepard mutters, watching the planet before them, feeling Liara shivering next to her from the frightening sights. Even if Thessia is not burning the same way that Palaven did, the swarms of Reaper ships are disconcerting.

"Shepard, considering that Garrus and Tali are still recovering in the medbay, would you wish me to accompany you groundside?" EDI asks.

"Hmm... I'm not sure, EDI," Shepard ponders for a while. "Considering how dicey this mission looks, I'm thinking maybe we shouldn't withdraw any resources from the bridge. I trust that Lia'Vael would do a good job anyway," she pats the ever-exuberant quarian on the shoulder. "But this is an unprecedented situation, having your processing power at full disposal might be a good idea, EDI."

"I think we should take Javik, he might make sense of the Prothean artifacts that are supposedly stored at the temple," Liara suggests. "I imagine the Cipher would let you translate everything, but perhaps it would be wise to have another option... just in case."

"Agreed," Shepard nods. "And James too. This mission will benefit from having a heavy hitter like him along. There's nothing subtle about what's going on down there..."

* * *

Thirty minutes later, the Kodiak is well on its way towards the Temple of Athame, Cortez carefully picking a safe flight path to avoid the thickest concentration of Reaper ships and flocks of harvesters. The video feed they are receiving inside the shuttle does not paint a pretty picture, the scenery is much like on Earth, Reaper destroyers strolling around the surface of the planet and killing helpless asari at will.

Desperate to break Liara's attention from the screens, Shepard addresses her squad in the shuttle. "So, listen up, folks. We have a confirmed Prothean artifact in this Temple of Athame, but we don't really know what it looks like or where exactly it is. I'm sure we'll recognize it when we see it, though," she says. "Aside that, we don't really know much. Liara, perhaps you have something to add?"

"Hmm? Oh..." Liara finally stops watching the gruesome pictures, turning her attention to Morgan. "I have visited this temple only once, Benezia took me there when I was very young. The temple itself is several thousand years old. But the oddest thing about it was that for some reason it had classified government funding and I never managed to find out why."

"I guess now we know the reason," Shepard says. "That's where your leaders hid their dirty laundry. And Prothean artifacts."

"It certainly appears that way," Liara nods, a little reluctantly. "I'm starting to wonder whether there were more reasons for Benezia taking me to that temple than just a history lesson. After her death, I have been digging through her old files... she had some heavily encrypted data relating to this place, some even dating back centuries. I still haven't managed to crack any of the important files."

"Well, she was powerful and influential, she would have had government clearance to any secrets stored here, wouldn't she?" Morgan asks, Liara nodding in confirmation.

"I studied your old mission reports. Your mother was indoctrinated," Javik speaks up suddenly.

"Yes, thanks for bringing that up," Shepard rolls her eyes at his comment.

"You were forced to kill her, and yet it did not stop you from fighting," Javik continues, undeterred. "I can sense your empathy when you look at the Reapers culling your people down on the planet. Bury that empathy and steel yourself. Many more lives will be lost."

"You are wrong to think that indifference can give us strength," Liara shakes her head. "Grief for my mother and desire to see Saren punished for his crimes was what pushed me on to fight. If I did not care for my people, I would not even be here."

"Prothy's just full of crap as always," Vega grins, slapping the irritated Prothean on the shoulder in a friendly manner. "He fights because there is someone who will fight back, and he needs no other reason. And he doesn't understand that not all of us are wired the same way, and that we are not worse soldiers because of that."

"Approaching the temple entrance," Cortez shouts from the pilot's seat. "Or... eh, what's left of it... damn, Shepard, this is bad... I'll try to hang around, but if things get too hot, I might need to bug out!"

"Understood, Steve! Everyone, get out!" Shepard shouts in reply, being the first to jump outside and landing on a pile of rubble, once a beautiful wide stairway leading up to the temple, now completely ruined and reduced to gravel.

"Goddess, this can't be happening... my home..." Morgan feels almost paralyzed from the pure pain and suffering in Liara's voice, even as she pushes herself forward, approaching the fortifications held by the desperate asari defenders.

The path leads them past rows and rows of those impersonal brown bodybags, Shepard counts at least sixty dead, and there are also great many charred corpses, burned so thoroughly that nobody has bothered to put them in the bag. "Damn..." Vega curses, giving a sad shake of his head as they push past the deceased. "Those poor blue beauties... such a damn waste, this fucking war. Pisses me off."

"Exactly what you should all be feeling," Javik echoes. "Anger. Anger and rage."

"Oh, I feel plenty of that, you can be sure of it," Morgan replies, throwing a quick glance at Liara, the asari biting down hard on a gloved finger to stop the tears from welling in her eyes at the terrible sights around them.

"You! You must be Shepard!" one of the asari behind the barricades points at them, breaking the cover to catch up with Morgan and her group. Her dark blue hued face is twisted by rage as she jabs an accusing finger at Morgan's chest. "Damn it, couldn't you get here sooner? I had eighty people under my command just twelve hours ago, now I have eight! Everyone's evacuating, but apparently we need to sit here and die for some higher purpose!"

"I'm sorry... but we came as soon as we could," Shepard replies, her voice a little subdued, feeling increasingly guilty over the whole chasing Leviathan nonsense. "Your name and rank?"

"Lieutenant Kurin," the angry asari replies, her voice becoming a little more level after Shepard's calm response. "I swear, if not for Matriarch Aethyta, I'd have pulled my people out a long time ago. Dying just to make sure you can get into the temple? What the fuck for we should care and risk our lives?"

"I understand your anger, Lieutenant Kurin, but believe me, your superiors have made the right call," Morgan continues to speak calmly with the understandably upset lieutenant. _She's watched almost all of her people die over this past day, I can't snap at someone who has gone through that._ "The fate of the galaxy hinges on us getting into that temple, trust me on this."

Kurin looks a little disbelieving, but then Liara steps up next to Shepard. "You mentioned Matriarch Aethyta," she almost manages to keep her voice from wavering. "Where is she?"

"Our eastern perimeter collapsed half an hour before, she took a squad of krogan commandos and went to support what's left of task force Vendora," Kurin replies. "The Reaper advance on the east has stopped, so I am guessing they were successful."

Liara relaxes visibly, even if the situation is still more than dire. "We will try to wrap things up quickly, Lieutenant," Shepard says. "Once we have the intel we need, you can pull your people out immediately. Just give us a little bit more time..."

"Shepard, if they launch another huge wave of troops like couple of hours ago, these eight exhausted and starving soldiers won't hold them," Kurin tells her quietly, making sure her people don't overhear her and lose all heart. "Our forces have been stretched very thin trying to hold the perimeter and keeping a safe cordon to the inner sanctum of the temple."

"Understood, Lieutenant," Shepard nods curtly. "Just hold on for a while longer. Where do we go, across that ruined bridge?" she points ahead of them, the road covered by rubble from the collapsing temple walls and smoldering wrecks of skycars. Kurin simply nods, ordering her people to lower the barricades, allowing Shepard and her people through.

"If you make it past the bridge, Shepard, there should be sniper teams further along the way to support you, until you reach outpost Tykis," Kurin shouts from behind as they quickly run across the rubble littered bridge.

"I was here years ago... to see the city burning like this is..." Liara starts, then cutting herself short as she throws a quick glance at Morgan. "But it must have hurt you the same to watch the cities of Earth burn."

"No, not quite. Remember, I'm a space nomad and have spent only very little time on Earth, not enough to form such attachment as you have with Thessia," Shepard replies. "I form bonds with people I care about, ships I serve on, not places."

"After we win this war, I will want to come back here and do what I can to help rebuild," Liara says determinedly.

"And I will be by your side through it all," Shepard smiles, but the expression fades quickly as she sees a greeting procession emerging from the temple and moving towards them, a rather large force of cannibals and marauders. "Still, first things first," she adds, dropping into crouch behind a wrecked shuttle.

Liara's anger seems to be fueling her biotics to unseen level of efficiency, and Javik actually seems to be working well with the asari, detonating her singularities and causing impressive biotic explosions that launch some of the cannibals as high as twenty yards up in the air, throwing the corpses up on the roof of the temple. In the middle of the firefight, an enemy harvester suddenly decides to drop in more troops, but an asari gunship appears literally out of nowhere and makes short work of the surprised harvester, Morgan mentally thanking Kurin and her people for this favor.

As the last of the marauders fall, Shepard pulls Liara a little aside as Vega and Javik continue on. "Listen, babe, I know you're angry like hell, but remember to pace yourself, okay?" she reminds the asari. "Don't exhaust yourself too much at once, who knows what we'll have to contend with once we get further inside."

Liara nods reluctantly, agreeing. "You're right, I should... possess better self-control like this. I'm sorry."

"Don't feel bad for having a natural reaction," Morgan smiles, briefly hugging her bondmate and then quickly pulling her along as they close the last few meters across the bridge to catch up with the two men ahead of them.

After passing through a short corridor, they emerge into a wide courtyard. "There, we have fire support!" Liara exclaims with relief, pointing to the building on the opposite side of the courtyard, a group of asari entrenched on the roof and shooting at the foes down in the plaza. As Shepard and her friends start to carefully move through the courtyard, there is a loud crash as a harvester suddenly barges through the glass wall of the dome covering the temple courtyard, surprising the asari defenders on the roof.

The fire support squad cannot last long against the harvester's cannons, exposed as they are on the roof. One of the asari slowly sags on the roof as her barriers cannot keep up, the other one, already heavily injured, drags herself towards the edge of the roof and dies there, precariously hanging over the edge. The last one tries to make a break for it, levitating herself down to safety with her biotics, but as she jumps over the edge, the harvester simply guns her down and the unfortunate asari hits the ground in a bloody heap.

Liara lets out an anguished wail and jerks to bolt forward, Morgan managing to grab her and hold the asari back in the very last moment. "Keep it together," she hisses quietly, Liara breathing heavily, almost starting to hyperventilate.

"Here they come!" James exclaims, watching more and more Reaper troops pouring into the courtyard, cannibals and marauders this time supported by a lone banshee, quickly charge-jumping towards them. Javik's biotics are particularly handy against the banshee, and Liara quickly snaps back into action to complement the Prothean's attacks with her warp fields, bringing down the dangerous foe before it has reached them, as Shepard and Vega have their hands full, thinning out the numbers of the enemy shock troops.

Hiding behind the once magnificent flowerbeds, they slowly push forward and across the courtyard, driving the Reaper forces back. Even in the heat of the battle, Morgan cannot help to notice the beauty that this place once held, beauty now ravaged and desecrated beyond recognition, granting her painful understanding why this is proving almost impossible for Liara to bear.

Another short corridor leads them into a smaller courtyard, and it is James who stops them, pointing ahead in the distance. "_Madre mia_... look there, above us..."

Shepard feels a powerful surge of fear suddenly gripping her as they watch a massive two hundred yard tall Reaper destroyer casually strolling by the beautiful white spires of the inner complex of the temple, somehow miraculously avoiding to hit and collapse the graceful building that is also their destination to recover the precious Prothean artifact. "Hopefully it will bugger off and won't decide to sit there to protect the artifact like that one at the Shroud..." she only remarks as they move onwards, jumping from the end of the collapsed walkway down into the courtyard.

"I agree, Shepard," Liara says shakily. "Thessia does not have any thresher maws we could summon to deal with that thing... and I'd rather avoid charging down a destroyer, if I can help it..."

"Hey, it was fun on Rannoch," James chuckles. "And Prothy probably wants to try it too, he still hasn't killed a single Reaper, the big ones, I mean." Javik looks a little peeved at that, but says nothing.

There are a pair of cannibals lurking around in the courtyard, but they suddenly collapse seemingly on their own. As Shepard ponders whether the Reapers could be prone to epileptic seizures, the real truth is revealed in a slender shape of a lone remaining asari sniper, crouching up on a shattered balcony, one side of it destroyed and creating a convenient access path for Shepard and her friends.

"This is Specialist Cayla! Specialist Jineva has been killed by enemy fire," they can hear the young asari frantically reporting on the comms as they climb up to her position. "I've been cut off from outpost Tykis, I'm all alone here!" it sounds like the unfortunate sniper is slowly mentally breaking down as she receives further orders from Lieutenant Kurin. "Alright, I'll hold position until... oh, thank the goddess, I think it's her... Shepard?" the young specialist turns towards them as they approach.

"That's right, Commander Shepard, Alliance Navy," Morgan smiles thinly, dropping in cover next to Cayla. "Things don't look good here, what's the situation?"

"This is a reasonably defensible position, I should be able to hold it," Cayla replies, her confidence immediately restored. "But I think outpost Tykis may have fallen, I... I can't get in touch with my friends anymore!"

"If there's anyone alive, we'll send them back to you, Specialist Cayla," Liara replies softly, looking out from the cover. "At least that destroyer is moving away from the temple. We have a clear run, but we need to move fast!"

Just as Liara has spoken those words, however, the Reapers decide to test just how defensible this position is, dozens of cannibals and marauders pouring in through the holes in the opposite wall, not caring about having a strategy, simply counting on being able to overwhelm them with sheer numbers. If Cayla had still been alone, the approach would have proved successful, but now with five of them and aiming from an elevated position, the Reaper forces are quickly dealt with and they dash towards a section of the broken wall to emerge on another walkway, leaving Cayla behind to hold the fort.

"This nightmare just won't end," Liara cries out as they run up the stairway towards their destination, the view on their right revealing a once magnificent city, the falling spires covered in thick clouds of smoke and dust, the Reaper particle beams slicing the graceful asari structures to ugly, shapeless chunks.

"That's why we need to get to that artifact," Shepard tells her. "Then we can end this nightmare and finally wake up."

"Yes. Fifty-thousand years later," Javik mutters, Morgan barely resisting the urge to whack him with the butt of her rifle.

"Look!" James suddenly exclaims, pointing at the walkway ahead of them. There is a figure of a lone asari sprinting towards them as fast she can, large Reaper contingent hot in pursuit. She is maybe twenty yards away from them when an explosion catches up with her, just narrowly missing, but the force of the blast still launches her into the air. "Wait... wait, I've got this..." Vega shouts, running forward, aiming to catch the flying asari, and by some sort of miracle, the dazed soldier lands right in James' arms, in the best traditions of corny romance vids.

"Lieutenant James Vega, at your service, ma'am," he grins broadly, gently lowering the blinking asari on the ground as they get ready to meet the Reaper forces heading towards them.

"Uh... Private Kinira," the asari manages, shaking her head. "Thanks for that... I imagine if not for you, that would have really, really hurt!"

"I'm guessing you're all that's left of Outpost Tykis?" Shepard asks, staring into the sights of her sniper rifle and not really liking what she sees.

"Yeah. Kurin told us to hold position at any cost, but... do you see what's out there? What am I supposed to do against that all by myself?" Kinira exclaims.

"I'm... not sure there's much we can do about it even now," Shepard concedes, having counted the staggering amount of ravagers standing in defense of the walkway leading to the inner sanctum of the temple.

"Shepard... we need to get through... at any cost!" Liara exclaims, trembling with anxiety.

"Well, if we all die trying, that's not really an acceptable cost," Morgan shakes her head.

"Is there any chance to get some reinforcements, Kinira?" Vega asks.

"We had gunships flying support, but they had to bug out when that destroyer showed up," the asari soldier replies. "It's gone now, so I'll try to raise them." She switches her comms on to make the call. "Talon Swarm, this is Outpost Tykis! Is anybody left on this frequency? Shepard is here, but we need immediate air support to reach the destination!" There is an agonizing wait of almost a minute, before someone responds on the comms. "Oh, thank the goddess, thank you," Kinira whispers, as they see two Talon gunships appearing in the distance, reaching them quickly and starting to pepper the ravagers and entrenched marauders on the bridge.

As soon as the gunships have engaged, Shepard leads her crew into action as well, trying to take some of the heat off from the Talon pilots by quickly finishing the ravagers who are now concentrating all their fire on the gunships. With their combined efforts, the enemies are routed fast, but not before one of the gunships catches fire and disappears from their view, spinning out of the pilot's control.

"Have I told you yet how much I hate this war?" Kinira sighs, waving them on for good luck before quickly dropping back as per Shepard's recommendation to link up with Specialist Cayla. The remaining gunship remains with Shepard's team, determined to help them get to the temple, and Morgan is indescribably grateful for the aid, knowing that without the Talon Swarm support, success would be highly improbable.

This proves particularly true when facing the last line of the Reaper defenses before the entrance to the temple proper. Hordes of husks and marauders are supported by a couple of ravagers and two harvesters, perched along the edges of the bridge and annoyingly showing no intention of flapping off to pick up new reinforcements. The shock troops are only a minor annoyance, and the gunship proves to be extremely helpful and effective, together with Shepard's sniper rifle doing enough damage to blow up one of the harvesters in a fiery explosion.

The other harvester reacts immediately, finding it too hard to pierce the gunship's shields, it simply flies over and tackles the gunship, the two opponents going down together in a tangled heap, bright explosion lighting up under bridge, taking the life of the unfortunate asari pilot. Shepard chokes back the tears, offering whatever prayers she can think of to the brave soul who gave her life just so that they can cross these last few steps on the bridge.

"All this sacrifice... Morgan, we can't allow it to be all for nothing..." Liara sniffs next to her as Javik and Vega finish off the last of the ravagers, meaning that their path to the temple is now clear.

"It won't be made pointless, I promise," Morgan grinds out, trying her best to believe in her own words as she drags Liara forth with her, chasing after Vega and Javik who have already rounded the corner, now standing before a shimmering barrier, protecting the entrance into the temple, watching the countless relics displayed in the hall before them and the main passageway leading up to a tall, majestic statue of the beautiful goddess Athame.

"Let me take a look at that..." Liara says, quickly dashing to the control console in the wall just in front of the barrier. "Military grade encryption, won't be a problem for me... but to even find it here, in this temple, when the Athame doctrine is almost forgotten... you were right, they were trying to conceal secrets here," the asari finally admits as the barrier winks out of the existence.

"Well, we're not interested in the secrets of the asari, except for a very specific one that will save this galaxy," Shepard speaks, leading her friends further into the temple. "Now, let's get that Catalyst and be out of here..."


	105. The Temple of Lies

_A/N: This chapter was supposed to be quite a bit longer, but then Shepard decided that standing there and listening to TIM's Villain's Exposition made her look like an idiot, so we had to scrap the whole lengthy chat... _

**Chapter 104 - The Temple of Lies**

"Liara... about these relics..." Shepard says uneasily, as they slowly explore the temple, having passed the disabled barriers.

"These are all simple artifacts of religious significance only, I'm quite sure none of them are Prothean," Liara replies impatiently, her eyes darting around as if she were trying to notice something that is out of place, a relic or object that did not belong in this impressive collection.

"That's not what I meant, babe," Morgan says quietly, catching Liara by the elbow and making her stop. "Look at this one, for example," she leads the asari to stand before a bust of a grim looking individual. "Who's this?"

"That is Janiri, Athame's guide, who brought enlightenment to Thessia long ago," Liara explains.

"Javik, could you please come over here?" Morgan asks, motioning for the smirking Prothean to join them and stand next to the bust. "Do you see what I mean, now?" she turns to Liara, the similarity between Javik and the man depicted in the bust is staggering.

"But... but..." Liara staggers a little.

"Ah, you realize it too, Commander," Javik nods, his eyes hardening a little as he looks upon Liara. "This Janiri was no servant of an imaginary goddess. He was Prothean. So was this other guide of Athame, Lucen," Javik points at another bust on the other side of the great hall. "There is far more to your history than you know, asari."

"But this can't be!" Liara protests, shaking her head adamantly.

"The Protheans were involved in uplifting quit a lot of species, Liara, surely you must have suspected something..." Shepard starts, but the asari cuts her off sharply.

"Yes, but I thought they would have been... more subtle about it! To intervene so directly, to pose themselves as our deities, it is unthinkable!" she exclaims. "I did not expect that... that some of our deepest held beliefs could be lies!"

"Perhaps you wish to hear more, asari?" Javik asks, looking smug, clearly enjoying himself. "This so called sword of goddess Athame that she wielded against jealous gods who threatened asari ancestors? That was us, protecting you from a race called the Oravores. The goddess Athame's shield that she used to protect Thessia when the heavens grew angry? It was an asteroid strike. We deflected it."

Liara is pressing heavily against Shepard, shuddering, looking as if her entire world is collapsing around her with every cruel revelation that Javik makes. "We get the picture, Javik," Shepard barks at him. "Enough."

"But she is an archaeologist who claims to be interested in the secrets of the past! I am finally willing to share, and now she would turn me away?" Javik chuckles darkly. "We gave your people everything, asari. You could only count as high as your toes, so we took pity and gave you mathematics. We taught you how to plant crops so that you would not starve, we taught you all about the stars, we spent years to genetically modify you so that you could use biotics, all because you were deemed to have potential," the Prothean's face turns to a sneer. "Such a pity you did not live up to it."

Liara is trembling in Shepard's arms, Morgan worried that the asari might lash out at Javik with a biotic attack, understandable as it would be. "Stop... stop, please... enough, make him stop..." she begs, instead.

"The lady said 'stop'," James says, walking up to the Prothean, seeing that he is about to open his mouth again, the large human swiftly punching him in the stomach, shutting him up. "Enough, Prothy. I thought you were supposed to save your ire and hatred for our enemies, _amigo_."

Javik just glares at Vega darkly, but says nothing after that. Liara uses the small pause to gather and recompose herself, eventually being able to continue, though still leaning on Morgan for support. "He... is right, though, isn't he?" she asks quietly, pointing at another large mural on display, showing a tall figure of a Prothean preaching to a crowd of expectant and reverent asari. "Athame, she was no goddess, she was Prothean... and nothing about my people is real anymore. The asari are a lie, I... I am a lie..."

Morgan's breath catches in her chest as she ponders what to say, but simply cannot think of anything that wouldn't sound stupid or trite. "I love you," she ends up whispering to Liara.

"Then you love a lie," comes the depressed sounding reply.

"Don't care. I still love you," Morgan replies determinedly, leaning closer to plant a quick peck on the asari's cheek.

"You... well, we need to find that artifact... and I think I will be fine now..." Liara eventually manages, reaching out to squeeze her hand. "Thank you."

As they slowly catch up with Javik and Vega, standing in front of the massive statue of Athame, Shepard begins to feel a strange pull deep within her, something emanating from the statue itself. "There's... something up with that statue, isn't there?" she asks, looking at Javik in particular. "And if that is Athame, she looks nothing like the one on that mural back there."

"Yes, her image has been molded to become more like ours over time," Liara nods.

"You mean, as your ancestors tried to cover up the truth," Javik snorts, looking back at Shepard. "And yes, you are right, Commander. There is something about the statue. The Prothean artifact must be near."

They walk around the base of the statue, looking for some kind of clue, but finding very little. All the time, there is a strange and yet familiar itch that pulls Shepard towards the statue like a magnet. She closes her eyes and tries to free her mind, hoping to call the Cipher forth and reveal the truth to them, seeing an all too familiar image growing in the dark, empty void behind her closed eyes. "A beacon!" she exclaims, her eyes snapping open, certain in what her brief vision had meant. "There's not just any Prothean artifact in there! This statue hides a whole Prothean beacon!"

"But that's imp-" Liara starts, but immediately cuts herself short, lowering her eyes in shame. "I'm sorry. After what we have seen here, I think everything is possible..."

"Indeed. Your people hid it inside this statue. It gave them power and influence," Javik says. "Your people are hoarding the knowledge of my race for their own gain."

"Don't try to sound so preachy, Prothy," Shepard cuts Javik off, smirking as the satisfied grin on his lips fades. "Every race has secrets like this. The salarians, the batarians, the humans... I'm not sure the Council really knew about all the things that were in those Mars archives... but Liara, this certainly explains why the asari made such technological advances so fast. This beacon is amazingly well preserved."

"Yes... yes, I suppose this explains a great deal..." Liara admits, shaking her head. "I just can't believe my people would keep all this a secret..."

"Let he who is without sin, cast the first stone," Morgan says softly, watching James stare at her in astonishment, Liara and Javik looking a little confused. "Sure, if we come across the matriarchs who knew about what the beacon contained and still wanted to hide it, I promise to do to them what I did to Han'Gerrel, but I won't see the rest of Liara's people persecuted for this. And if you want to rant about how you now hate the asari and how they should be cast out of the galactic society because of this, go ahead, I can spare a minute. Personally, I have no time for pointing fingers. I've got a galaxy to save."

"Well... kinda makes me a bit pissed off, to be honest... no disrespect to you personally, Doc," James says, turning to Liara, standing there with her eyes downcast. "But I get what you're saying, Lola. And you're right... we got the mass effect technology from the Mars ruins. Not like we found the way to stars ourselves. Hell, if not for that, we'd have bombed ourselves to nuclear winter like the crazy krogan."

"And we learned the same from the ruins of the Inusannon," Javik admits reluctantly. "They were the dominant race of the previous cycle. It was our secret for centuries."

"I suppose you are right," Liara finally nods. "But that is all irrelevant, if we cannot access the beacon. Do you know how to get the data from it?"

"It would recognize me as a Prothean upon a simple touch," Javik says, turning his head at Shepard. "I imagine this Cipher within the Commander's mind would serve the same purpose."

"Yeah, it's just a bit hard to touch the beacon when it's inside the statue, you know," Shepard shrugs.

"That can be easily corrected," Javik pulls out his pulse rifle and opens fire on the statue of Athame, the green beam quickly ripping off the crust of plaster and revealing a darkly glowing smooth green surface of the beacon underneath. "If you were going to tell me that I will be struck down for defiling something sacred, just remember that Athame was an ancient, long dead Prothean and this will not have any consequences."

As Liara is still struggling for words, looking at the glaring hole in the statue's midsection, Javik is already walking towards the beacon, his arm outstretched as he touches the legacy of his ancestors. The entire statue immediately begins to glow bright green as the beacon within it activates, a holographic image separating from the Prothean artifact and floating over to be projected where they all stand gathered and watching in awe.

"Just like Vigil..." Liara gasps, looking at the holographic display of another sour-faced Prothean forming before their eyes.

"Yeah, has to be another VI..." Shepard nods, Javik returning from the base of the beacon to stand next to them.

"Obtaining chronological marker. Hold..." the VI speaks. "Timescale established. Post Prothean cycle confirmed." The glowing hologram floats up in the air as if scanning the view around them and outside the temple where the harvesters still fly around in large numbers and destroyers continue to level the asari cities. "Reaper presence detected. This galactic cycle has already reached its extinction terminus. Systems shutting down."

"Oh no you don't!" Shepard yells at the VI hastily. "You're not going anywhere! We just fought through a horde of Reapers to get here and we're not leaving without answers!"

"To what questions?" the VI turns towards her.

"We are looking for the Catalyst. We need it to finish the Crucible," Shepard says.

The green glowing image of a Prothean nods in understanding as they all gather around it. "I am called Vendetta, an advanced virtual construct of Pashek Vran, overseer of the project you refer to as 'Crucible'. He died fighting the Reapers in the battle of Tranbir Nine. Your remaining time is also at an end."

"Were all Protheans so... grim?" Liara asks, giving off the distinct impression that she had in truth meant a far stronger and more colorful word than 'grim'.

"I guess so," Shepard sighs. "Look, why don't you skip the long version and just tell me where to get the Catalyst! Or... no, don't tell me that you don't know this information either and that was why the Protheans never used the Crucible in their cycle."

"We never used the Crucible because we were sabotaged from within. A splinter group argued we should dominate the Reapers rather than destroy them. It fractured our order of battle. Later we discovered that the separatists were indoctrinated."

"That sounds very familiar indeed," Morgan nods. "Seems like you guys had your own Cerberus to contend with."

"Our studies of past ages led us believe that time is cyclical. Many patterns repeat from cycle to cycle. The same peaks of evolution, the same valleys of dissolution. The same conflicts are expressed in the same cycle but in a different manner and this repetition is too prevalent to be merely a chance," the VI projects some kind of complicated graph before them, but Shepard does not even look at it twice, caring only about the Catalyst.

"Such as the conflict between the synthetics and the organics?" Liara asks, the VI immediately nodding.

"Considering all organics end up developing along the desired pathways of Reaper technological ancestry, it makes sense that the cycles would bear a lot of similarities," Shepard shrugs. "It's what the Reapers wanted."

"That is possible," Vendetta agrees. "It is also possible that the Reapers are merely tools of a more powerful entity, responsible for the pattern."

"This is pointless speculation!" Javik growls. "Give us the information we require."

"Yeah, we need to know about this Catalyst," Vega agrees, piping up after a long silence, the conversation leaving him a little out of his depth. "Trillions of lives are at risk!"

"Trillions of lives are always at risk," the VI replies, somehow managing to sound smug and arrogant. "And if the Reapers have arrived to end your cycle, then this discussion is too late."

"Gods, even a virtual construct of one of your people is a complete asshole," Shepard groans, giving Javik a long stare. "Listen, you glowing piece of green turd, would it hurt you to just tell us what the fucking Catalyst is? We have the Crucible built and ready for deployment, we just need the Catalyst!"

"The Crucible is not of Prothean design. It is the work of countless galactic cycles stretching back millions of years," Vendetta just drones on, refusing to answer Shepard's demands directly. "Each cycle adds to it, improves upon it, and still thus far none have defeated the Reapers with it."

"Just answer the damn question, for fuck's sake!" Shepard yells, feeling her cheeks burning with anger and frustration.

"I am the last of the Protheans and I demand that you release the information about the Catalyst to us," Javik speaks again, also becoming increasingly annoyed with the way the VI is stalling.

"Do you believe that the present cycle is capable of defeating the Reapers and delivering retribution?" Vendetta asks of Javik.

"Despite my misgivings about their attitudes, they have earned their right to try," Javik shrugs in reply.

"Very well," the VI finally nods in agreement. "If you have followed the plans for the Crucible, I will interface with your systems and assist with the Catalyst to..." suddenly, Vendetta hesitates, turning around. "Indoctrinated presence detected! Activating security protocols," and with that, the hologram winks out of their view, leaving Shepard almost frothing at the mouth from helpless rage, especially once she sees the very familiar black-clad shape approaching them.

"Oh, this is just fucking unbelievable," she swears as all as one they ready their weapons, Kai Leng confidently standing before them. "The way this clown arrives just in the very second when we are about to get the intel, I just can't fucking believe this..."

"If I can ask for a moment of your attention," the Cerberus assassin speaks, withdrawing some kind of a small ball-shaped gadget that Shepard at first mistakes for a grenade, but then sees that it is beginning to form into some kind of holographic projection, similar to the Prothean VI. "Someone here would like to talk with you."

The holographic image grows to become a life-size projection of the Illusive Man, as always sucking on a cigarette. "Shepard," he speaks. "I should thank you and Dr. T'Soni. You've helped uncover the key to subjugating the Reapers."

"Uh, guys?" Shepard looks at her friends, all staring at Tim's gloating image. "Did someone issue a fucking ceasefire just because some idiot wants to spout their brainwashed lunatic ramblings at us? Ignore Tim and shoot his clown, NOW!"

Kai Leng almost jumps from surprise as the bullet from Shepard's rifle takes a chunk out of his barriers, and now Liara, Javik and Vega are firing as well, quickly eroding the shields of the startled assassin who clearly has not expected that Shepard would act so dishonorably, choosing to ignore the Illusive Man in a most insulting and demeaning fashion.

"Gunship! Gunship!" Leng squeals like a pig about to be slaughtered, his barriers dropping and several shots strike true as he dives for cover behind one of the artifact stands. "Target the supports! Target the supports!" Kai Leng screams as the gunship suddenly appears above the entrance to the inner sanctum, hovering in the air before releasing a salvo of rockets, heading for Shepard and her friends.

"Oh... shit!" Morgan exclaims, throwing herself on the ground and pulling Liara with her as heavy explosions rock the entire hall, the support beams toppling and pulling large sections of the ceiling down with it, crashing on Shepard and her friends. Morgan quickly pulls Liara with her between two artifact stands, hoping that the gap will create a safe pocket and protect them.

One of the massive support beams cuts deep into the floor, missing Shepard's feet by a few inches, and then a section of the roof comes down on them, creating almost like a small, secure tent. The bad news, however, is that they are completely and utterly trapped, buried under the rubble and unable to do anything about Clown Leng simply waltzing up to the Prothean beacon, downloading the relevant data and then leaving behind a virus to make sure that they can never obtain the critical intel about the Catalyst...


	106. Father & Son Rescue

**Chapter 105 - Father & Son Rescue**

"So, uh, Dr. Michel..." Garrus starts to speak, feeling a little uncomfortable, watching the new chief medical officer of the Normandy huddled over the operating table nearby, performing reconstructive surgery on Tali's legs, the quarian lying still under full anesthesia. "How bad is it?"

The doctor does not reply at once, continuing her delicate work. "Why, I thought we were on first name basis, Mr. Vakarian," she replies nonchalantly. "At least we were four years ago."

Garrus gulps audibly. His chest is still aching a little as he rests on one of the medbay cots, but he is certain that Dr. Chakwas would have never held him up in the medbay with such trivial injuries like gunshot wounds. Combined with the slightly odd tone of Dr. Michel's voice, he suddenly becomes very worried of the red-haired doctor's intentions. "Err... yeah, that was... quite a long time ago, wasn't it... Dr. Chloe?"

Chloe Michel sighs in exasperation, reaching out to grab more suture. "Yes, Garrus, that was a very long time ago. Long enough for you to stop acting like a complete and utter fool around me," she says. "I have to wonder how this girl managed to catch you. Probably cornered you and then whacked you with a large hammer until you came to your senses."

"Well, I... it wasn't completely like that..." Garrus manages.

"Threatened you with a shotgun?"

"...yeah, that sounds about right," the turian grumbles reluctantly.

"I should have tried that all those years ago. Granted, I don't carry around a shotgun, but I could have borrowed one, I'm sure," Dr. Michel mutters at herself. "Chocolate just wasn't going to get the message across, apparently."

"So... err... Chloe, do you think I'll have to stay in the medbay for much longer?" the turian asks desperately. "I feel fine!"

"Oh, you can leave at any time," Michel replies. "I just thought you would want to stay and keep an eye on Tali, make sure she's alright. You can never be sure with these quarian immune systems, a little overexposure to some innocent human bacteria and she might be gone."

"Umm..." Garrus is now blinking rapidly. "But... you wouldn't let that happen, would you?"

"Well, what do you think, my dear Garrus?" Dr. Michel turns around, a wicked expression on her face, hand holding a bloody scalpel. "With her gone, you would be mine! All mine!"

Garrus leaps backwards with such urgency that he falls off the cot and bonks his head on the medbay floor. "Ow! That hurt," he comments, lying prone on the ground.

"Oh dear, perhaps I went a little too far," Chloe chuckles, sounding very amused. "Sorry, Garrus, I just couldn't resist pulling that on you. You have to admit, you owed me one."

"Damn, Chloe... that was really, really evil," Garrus gives her a reproachful glare as he picks himself up from the floor.

"It certainly was," Dr. Chloe Michel chuckles. "Now get back on the bed, shut up and stop distracting me, my dear Garrus, or else your girlfriend might end up with a permanent limp, and we definitely do not want that to happen, do we?"

* * *

"EDI, the heat venting has been completed, the temperatures are back in normal range," Lia'Vael nar Ulnay informs her synthetic co-pilot. "We could enable the stealth drive and do a recon run, what do you think?"

"Commander Shepard has been on the ground for nearly three hours," EDI replies. "We have passed the time frame in which I expected them to make contact. I agree, Lia'Vael, we should investigate."

"Huzzah! Normandy to the rescue!" the young quarian cheers, activating the stealth drive to mask Normandy's emissions before setting a course towards the shuttle drop point on the planet below. As soon as they enter the comm range, both Lia and EDI begin to poke on every open channel, trying to raise the Commander and her friends. "Come in, anyone? This is the Normandy hailing!" Lia'Vael repeats again and again, beginning to feel worried.

"...-andy, copy that," suddenly there is a man's voice on one of the channels. "This is Lieutenant Steve Cortez, I hear you! Do you copy?"

"Acknowledged, Lieutenant Cortez," Lia'Vael replies. "What's the situation down there?"

"Very bad," comes the reply. "Shepard and her team went dark fifteen minutes ago."

"What? Are they... are they dead?" the quarian gasps, shocked as she looks at EDI.

"I can't confirm that. The remaining asari forces are falling back to their position, trying to launch a rescue," Cortez explains. "I will attempt to fly to their position as soon as these swarms of harvesters move on."

"Do you require Normandy's assistance, Lieutenant Cortez?" EDI asks.

"I wouldn't risk it, EDI, it's too dangerous to bring the Normandy into low orbit, there are destroyers everywhere," Cortez warns them.

"Very well. We will remain on standby and with open comm link, please update us at the first opportunity," EDI speaks, receiving a quick acknowledgement from Cortez.

"They... they can't be dead, can they?" Lia'Vael turns towards EDI, her voice quivering from worry.

"That you ask this, shows you have not spent sufficient amount of time on the Normandy," EDI replies, sounding amused, but Lia'Vael finds her voice kind and comforting. "Commander Shepard has gotten out of far more dangerous situations than this one..."

* * *

"Well, this is stupid," Commander Morgan Shepard curses quietly, lying in a nearly complete darkness, in a safe pocket under the collapsed roof of the temple of Athame. "This is really, exceptionally stupid."

"What if nobody is coming?" Liara asks, pressed next to Morgan's side in the dark. "What if there is nobody left to rescue us? I... never imagined we would go out like this. Always thought it would be while fighting, not just... trapped, waiting to die."

"Could be worse, I guess," Shepard shrugs, then instantly regretting it as her left shoulder hits something sharp. "At least we're together. Would have been kind of romantic, save for the knowledge that we have failed in our duty and Cerberus are making off with the Catalyst data... that's a bit of a downer."

"Uh-huh. Hmm..." Liara shifts a little, bumping into Shepard. "There. Now I can reach my pistol."

"Why do you need your pistol now?" Shepard asks with incomprehension.

"Not now, but... eventually. I do not wish to die from thirst and starvation," Liara replies.

"Ugh, don't be so glum, babe," Morgan replies, trying to lift their spirits. "Our people on the Normandy know where we are, they'll launch a rescue, I'm sure. We just need to be patient."

"I know," Liara says softly, then falling silent. "I love you," she adds a while later, completely out of the blue.

"Love you too, Liara," Morgan replies with tenderness, her hand seeking out Liara's. "What brought that on?"

"Oh, just... felt like saying it." They fall silent again, until Liara speaks up. "Morgan? If we're really going to die here, what's the one thing you will regret not having done?"

"Hmm, a difficult question. I was just now having a fantasy of Vendetta being a real person so I could punch him in the face," Shepard replies. "Or killing Tim or Clown Leng... damn, really wanted to do that..."

"How about something that doesn't have to do with this war?"

"Well... alright, let's see. There's always all the blue children we were supposed to have," Morgan manages a chuckle. "But above all... and I've been thinking about this a lot... Liara, our relationship has been... as if shaped by this war we've been dragged into. It's like... I don't even know what you are like during times of peace, and I always wanted to spend time with you like that. With no worries at the back of our minds."

"That is exactly what I wished for too, Morgan," Liara sighs deeply. "A pity if that would never come to pass."

"We'll see this through, babe, I'm sure of it," Morgan replies soothingly, shifting her weight to be able to touch Liara's side, hoping that the asari would draw comfort from the contact.

"Morgan... there's something else I need to tell you, something that you need to know," Liara speaks up a wile later, while Morgan is intently listening for any noises outside, it almost sounds as if someone is shuffling around in the rubble above them. "I'm with a-"

"-... hey, hold on for a moment, babe! Are... are those voices I hear outside?" Shepard suddenly cuts Liara's words off, trying to overhear something, now definitely sensing heavy footsteps, muffled voices coming in from above. "You know what, Liara? This might be a good time to start screaming from the top of your lungs..."

Shepard and Liara are both coughing from too much screaming by the time the large roof panel above them is finally raised and tossed aside. Shortly after, Shepard feels a pair of powerful hands dragging her limp body out of the rubble and crushing her against a bulky, armored chest. "Hi, Mom!" her rescuer bellows excitedly, and she opens her eyes to stare into Grunt's beady little orbs.

"Mom?" she croaks. "What are you talking about, you crazy krogan!"

"Well, Shepard, someone told me that since you released me from that tank, you gifted me with life, which means... you're my mom!" Grunt explains, Shepard finding it hard to immediately contest his reasoning.

"Wouldn't that mean that Okeer is your father..." Grunt nods at that. "Ugh... that leads to a disturbing mental image I do not wish to contemplate upon. Anyway, what are you doing here?"

"We're part of the krogan forces Wrex sent as a relief effort," Grunt replies proudly. "And Aralakh Company always leaves the battleground last!"

"You can probably put me down now, Grunt," Shepard says, the overexcited krogan slowly lowering her on the ground. "Careful there, Liara was right next to me under all that rubble," she warns a heavily armored asari together with another krogan working to free her bondmate.

"Relax, babe, we've got this," the asari speaks in a very familiar voice, and Shepard blinks as she sees Aethyta turning back to her with a broad smile, Morgan having difficulties immediately reconciling the images of a foul-mouthed Matriarch-bartender with this battle-hardened warrior in a full commando armor, blood smears on one side of her face from a shallow wound on her temples.

"Damn, Shepard, this one might look puny and fragile, but she is a great warrior!" Grunt roars, pointing at Aethyta. "And where's Kurin, did she make it?" he bellows, looking around at the last few asari commandos hobbling in, the lieutenant being one of them. "Ah, so she did... well, that's one bet I'm happy to lose, haha! A barrel of ryncol coming up for you, Kurin!"

Blood seeping from her armor in at least three places, Lieutenant Kurin still manages to offer a brave smile to Grunt. "Only if we share it, you crazy krogan!" she replies, barely managing to suppress a scream of pain as Grunt shakes her hand enthusiastically before crushing her in a krogan hug.

"Dad!" is Liara's exhilarated cry after being pulled free from the ruble as she throws herself into Aethyta's embrace, sobbing with tears of joy and relief.

Shepard briefly watches the tender reunion of father and daughter, her heart swelling from emotion, before turning back to Grunt. "What about the rest of my people?" she asks.

"The human is fine, he's over there... more than fine, if you ask me, hehehe," Grunt chuckles, pointing at the other side of the hall where James and Private Kinira are busy in a session of completely shameless kissing. "The others are still trying to get the four-eyed creep out of his trap," Grunt nods at the three other krogan, trying to free Javik from the rubble. "He'll be a bit flat but otherwise just fine, hah!"

Just as the krogan finish pulling Javik out of his prison, Lieutenant Cortez arrives on the scene, followed by two other shuttles piloted by asari commandos. "I'm guessing we need to move out ASAP," Morgan comments, unwilling to interrupt Aethyta and Liara, but having no choice in it.

"Yeah, sorry kid, but we need to cut this short," Aethyta agrees, releasing her daughter. "Go on, get to your shuttle, you've got a war to finish."

"You're not coming with us?" Liara's voice breaks as she looks at her father.

"Afraid not, Liara," Aethyta shakes her head. "Our people need me here, who else could keep them from panicking if not me? And Shepard already has you doing all the thinking for her, I would just get in the way," she adds with a grin.

"But... no, you are right," Liara agrees, after a small pause, realizing the wisdom in her father's words. "Where will you go?"

"The Nefrane stands in high orbit to take us to Lusia," Aethyta explains. "We have been splitting the refugees evenly across our colonies, making it harder for Reapers to choose targets. Lusia's defense grid is legendary, Reapers will find that planet fare more difficult to take than Thessia."

"Goddess, I hope you're right, dad," Liara whispers.

"Matriarch, are we bringing the krogan with us to Lusia?" Lieutenant Kurin asks.

"No, they are taking the other shuttle back to Cybaen, I made a promise that Aralakh Company will be there to aid Earth when Commander Shepard finally launches the attack to retake it," Aethyta says. "And Kurin, I'm sending you with the krogan. You work well with them, and it will help to have someone like you coordinating things. And you have better tolerance for ryncol than most of our people..."

"That she does! Kurin kicks ass!" Grunt cheers, looking pleased with the news, patting Lieutenant Kurin on the shoulder in a way that makes Shepard wonder a little. _Hmm, maybe our little baby is starting to finally grow up,_ she thinks at herself.

"Commander, I don't want to rush you, but..." Cortez shouts from the Kodiak.

"We're coming, Steve!" Shepard yells back, before turning to Aethyta. "Best of luck, Matriarch Aethyta," she says, smiling. "We'll see you again when the Reapers are history, okay? And Grunt?" Morgan turns towards the krogan. "I'll see you on Earth soon. We're going to kick some Reaper ass together." Grunt's response to that is an excited roar.

"Promise you'll be careful, dad," Liara whispers, giving one last hug to Aethyta.

"I'll be just as careful as you are, kid," Aethyta grins in reply.

"That's not reassuring at all!" Liara protests.

"I know," the matriarch chuckles. "Listen, kid. Today's a special day for all the wrong reasons. We're the last asari who are getting off this planet alive, once the Nefrane and the Cybaen depart, Thessia will be abandoned, lost... for the first time in our history. But what is lost, can be reclaimed. That is what we're fighting for out there, okay? Remember that. No matter how things look right now... we'll win our homeworld back, if we both do our parts."

"I know, dad. Thank you," Liara smiles through tears, then turning away and wrapping her arm around Shepard's waist as together they walk back towards the Kodiak.

"Javik, let's go!" Morgan calls out to the Prothean, then turning towards Vega. "James, you have a tentacle creature stuck to your face! Shake it off and let's move!"

Vega and Kinira finally part, both sporting huge grins. "Coming, Lola!" the Lieutenant shouts, brushing his hand against the asari's cheek before turning around to leave.

"Look me up after the war, alright?" Kinira shouts after him.

"I will, it's a promise!" James waves back at her, then quickly catching up with Shepard and the others. "After the war... damn, there won't be any after the war, right, Shepard? I mean, without the Catalyst, we're screwed, no?"

"Yes... but while I was lying there under that rubble, I had an idea on how to get it back..." Shepard replies mysteriously. "But to do it, we must return to the Normandy immediately and I will have to speak with Councilor Tevos at the first opportunity..."

* * *

_A/N: The scene with Grunt picking Morgan up from the rubble and calling her Mom was inspired by a similar scene in Awska's story 'Unity'. If you're not reading that already, I recommend that you do, it is very impressive and engaging. :) _


	107. Post Thessian Stress Disorder

**Chapter 106 - Post Thessian Stress Disorder**

Councilor Tevos appears to have recovered since their last talk, the asari matron looking refreshed and hopeful as Shepard greets her on the QEC connection. "Commander, a pleasure to see you alive and well," the councilor smiles. "I trust it means your mission was successful."

Shepard's heart sinks immediately. "I... I'm afraid not." Tevos' eyes widen at her statement, the asari staggering visibly from disbelief that the mighty and omnipotent Shepard is not immune to failure. "Aria was right about Cerberus. We had to battle massive Reaper forces every step of the way to reach the temple, and when we finally broke through, we... I forgot all about Cerberus and let my guard down. They took us by surprise."

"So... is this the end, then? Our people are doomed, without any hope?" Tevos looks around fearfully, wringing her hands.

"Not necessarily," Morgan says, managing a hopeful smile. "They stole the Catalyst from under our noses, but I plan to recover it. And I have a plan on how to track Cerberus down... but I'm going to need your help. It will take several hours for us to reach the Citadel and every moment is of importance now."

"I will do everything it takes, Shepard, anything that is within my power is yours," Tevos says solemnly.

"Councilor, you will shortly receive a brief message from me, with instructions how to send it using a safe channel from the Spectre terminal on the Citadel. I need to get in touch with someone who can get me closer to Cerberus, and they are our only hope. Can you do this yourself or get one of the Spectres to do it?"

"I'll take care of it myself, Shepard, as soon as I get your message," the asari nods.

"Excellent, that will help a great deal, Councilor," Shepard says. "There's one more thing that I need to ask of you." Tevos again nods without a doubt in her eyes. "I traveled to Thessia against the direct orders of my superior officer, Fleet Admiral Hackett. He will be very displeased about my insubordination, and he might demand that I drop my attempts to recover the Catalyst and instead focus on the task he had put before me."

"What is this task?" Tevos asks.

"You might remember the entire Leviathan of Dis controversy with the batarians," Shepard starts to explain, receiving a quick nod in reply. "Turns out, not only were the batarians studying a dead Reaper, but this Reaper had been killed by his own kin gone rogue, the 'real' Leviathan. Admiral Hackett is obsessed with the idea of finding this rogue Reaper and enlisting its aid against its brothers."

"That sounds like..." Councilor Tevos blinks rapidly several times, not sure what to say. "I'm sorry, I don't quite know what to think of it all. It seems highly dangerous to trust this rogue Reaper."

"Well, exactly, Councilor," Shepard smiles. "That's why I need your help. I'm sure you will agree that it is in all our interests that I continue to pursue the Catalyst, instead of spending my time trying to find this Leviathan." Tevos nods yet again. "So... this is what I need you to do..."

* * *

Not even a few minutes have passed, and Shepard has only just managed to leave the War Room, when her comms buzz and she hears EDI's voice. "Commander, Admiral Hackett wants to speak with you on the QEC. And allow me to add, he does not sound happy."

"Is ignoring him an option, do you think, EDI?" Shepard wonders briefly.

"I would express strong doubts in that regard," EDI replies predictably. "Commander, it might interest you that during your absence he tried to reach you four times. He also inquired about the whereabouts of Dr. Ann Bryson."

"Well... I guess you told him that we have her. I wouldn't want anyone to lie on my behalf and get into trouble."

"I informed him that she is onboard of the ship. They have since spoken twice," EDI informs her emotionlessly.

"Fuck... okay, I see," Shepard grumbles, turning around and walking back towards the comm room, feeling her shoulders slumping at the expected tongue lashing. "Sir, you wanted to speak with me?" she asks, having activated the QEC and watching the admiral's face appearing before her, lips knit tightly.

"Shepard, I demand an explanation! You were supposed to deliver Dr. Bryson to the Citadel, not take her to a scenic tour of Thessia," Hackett berates her. "What are you even doing there?"

_Better not tell him that we were chasing the Catalyst, he'll start asking how come the asari had it, and we can't deal with the fallout from that now, can't afford to,_ Shepard decides. "Thessia has fallen to the Reapers, Admiral. I needed to help the last few asari commandos escape. Liara's father was amongst them."

"I... see. Well..." Hackett hesitates, some of his annoyance fading. "I suppose I can sympathize with that. Did you reach Dr. T'Soni's father in time, is he alive?"

"She, sir," Morgan chuckles. "Her father is another asari. And yes, we got her out in time."

"Good. I assume you are free to finally return to the Citadel and deliver Dr. Bryson to us," Hackett speaks, Shepard quickly nodding. _It is true, I am coming back to the Citadel, just not for the reasons you think, Admiral._ "While you were on Thessia, we have already been formulating the next steps of our plan."

"Oh?" Shepard raises an intrigued eyebrow.

"Dr. Bryson has been filling me in about these Leviathan artifacts like the one we have in her father's lab," Hackett explains. "She has formulated a theory that the Leviathan's indoctrination is done via these artifacts. While it is using an active artifact to control someone, there is a quasi-QEC connection that can be traced back to the Leviathan's location."

"I see, but if this were true... you'd need the artifact to be indoctrinating someone, and who would willingly subject their mind getting ravaged by this Leviathan..."

"Dr. Bryson has volunteered," Hackett interrupts her swiftly. "Once you return her to the Citadel, I want you to preside over the procedure and once you have the location, I want the Normandy there, investigating."

"What? I can't believe this! She... she just lost her father, she's in shock, she doesn't know what she's saying, agreeing to something like this! How can you even consider letting herself go through this, I... I..." Shepard fumes in anger.

"Are you quite done, Commander?" Hackett snaps. "I do not enjoy it either, but there is no other way, this is too important and Dr. Bryson insists."

"I'm not going to do this, sir, I won't be a part of it," Shepard shakes her head defiantly. "We shouldn't be getting our own people indoctrinated, we should be out there looking for the Catalyst!"

"Shepard, I trust you still recognize an order when it is given?" Hackett is starting to become truly angry now.

"Very well... I didn't want to use this, but you've left me with no choice..." Morgan mutters quietly, staring at her feet before facing Hackett's eyes again. "As a Council Spectre, my loyalties technically lay first and foremost with them, and only then with the Systems Alliance. It has been our mutual convenience to ignore this part of the chain of command, but your orders have left me with no other option than to turn to the Council. Thus, I hereby inform you that the Council has assigned me to the task of recovering the Catalyst, making it my top priority above everything else. Councilor Tevos will be happy to confirm this."

"Don't do this, Shepard," Hackett shakes his head, suddenly deflated and saddened. "Please, you're making a mistake, Commander."

"I'm sorry, sir, but I have to. You used to trust me, claiming that you firmly believed in what I was doing to stop this war, but suddenly it seems that has changed. Well, the QEC will still be here so you can check in to apologize after I deliver the Catalyst," Morgan says bitterly, before adding the last strike. "Oh, and when you do call, don't address me as Commander Shepard. It's Spectre Shepard for you..."

* * *

_Everything's gone to hell, and I wish I could insist that I am not to blame. Sure, not all of what happened on Thessia is my fault, but some if it was, and it hurts. We were blindsided by this Cerberus clown, because I was so focused on the Reapers that I did not take Leng seriously enough, discounted him as a threat, and we all paid for my arrogance. Let's just hope that there is still time to undo this horrible mistake... _

"Commander... Shepard, are you listening?" Morgan shakes herself back to attention at Specialist Traynor's voice, her mind drifting to morbid thoughts as she is leaning against the terminals surrounding the galaxy map in the CIC.

"Sorry, Sam, I was light years away," she confesses, looking apologetically at the young Specialist. "What were you saying?"

"I have my own ideas on how to track down the location of the Cerberus base, ma'am," Traynor repeats. "We managed to track Kai Leng's shuttle through the relay, and I believe that I should be able to extrapolate its destination with reasonable accuracy."

"That sounds very promising, Sam," Shepard smiles. "Please, get to it, that's your top priority. Hopefully I can acquire some more data to help us on the Citadel... at least, that is the plan." Traynor smiles and nods in return. "Damn, I should check up on Liara... have you seen her?"

"I'm afraid not, Commander, but let's ask EDI," Traynor flips on the comms and quickly receives the answer. "She has gone to visit Javik in his quarters, Commander."

"Oh, right... wait," Shepard jumps suddenly. "I better get down there fast," she exclaims, dashing for the elevator and quickly selecting the engineering deck.

There are loud voices coming from the cargo bay as Shepard leaves the elevator, and she is certain of seeing the blue glow of Liara's biotics behind the doors of Javik's quarters. "I have a name. It's Liara T'Soni. And I'd appreciate you using it from now on!" she can hear Liara shouting, her words followed by a sudden biotic detonation that stops Morgan in her tracks.

"Shit!" she exclaims, running up to the cargo bay doors and knocking them wide open. Liara is slowly getting back up to her feet, nursing her elbow and wincing in pain, the biotic explosion having thrown her hard against the wall. "Liara, you okay?" Shepard immediately jumps to her side, concerned.

"Don't... just don't," the asari hisses, brushing past her and leaving, dragging her left leg a little awkwardly as she walks. "...not now."

"Liara, damn it! Fuck... let me guess, you baited her some more..." she turns around to admonish Javik, only to see the unmoving Prothean floating face downwards in one of his water tanks. Shepard jumps from fright, her first thought that Liara has just murdered the last of the Protheans, but then she regains her senses and quickly hurries to pull Javik out of the water and lower him on the floor in the cargo bay.

"Shit... how on earth do you do Prothean CPR anyway... how the hell would I pinch his nose, maybe I could use some duct tape?" she wonders, placing her hands over Javik's chest and beginning to push. Fortunately the Prothean has been under water only for a very brief time and he regains consciousness after the third compression, violently coughing up some of the water. "And that's as much as I'm willing to do for you, Javik," she says, having made sure that the Prothean will be alright. "If you need medical attention, you know where the medbay is."

"I'm fine..." he coughs, remaining to lay on the floor. "Commander. You can tell your asari... Liara T'Soni... that she has earned enough respect from me that I will begin to address her by using her name."

"Well, I'm sure that she will be overjoyed at being shown such honor," Shepard rolls her eyes as she leaves the cargo bay. "Somehow, I think that all the plans for that collaboration on a book just went down the drain. Can't say I'm really regretful of that, either," she mutters, stepping into the elevator and then wondering where Liara might have gone to. Considering that both her quarters and the medbay are on the crew deck, Shepard heads there, checking in with Dr. Michel first, and her instincts prove true, Morgan entering the medbay as the doctor is busy spraying something on the purple bruise just above Liara's elbow.

Garrus and Tali are also both still in the medbay, and as such Shepard is surprised that with the small room so crowded Dr. Michel still works in complete silence. She soon realizes that the thunderous expression on Liara's face is the reason why nobody dares to talk much, so Morgan chooses to simply stand next to Garrus' bed, pretending that she has come to see him and Tali, the quarian still out of it from the heavy dose of anesthetics.

"How are you holding up, Shepard?" Garrus finally asks, unable to bear the silence any longer. "I understand that things got really rough down there."

"Could say that, Garrus," she replies. "We got ambushed by Cerberus, but I'm sure you've been told the details by now."

"Yeah. I assume you've got a plan, Commander?"

Shepard nods slowly. "We find Cerberus, kick their asses and take the Catalyst intel back, nice and easy, eh? Course, we need to find them first... but I'm hoping that Miranda will be able to help."

"Miranda Lawson?" Garrus blinks in surprise. "Is she still connected with Cerberus somehow?"

"Nope, she's been trying to find them for her own reasons," Shepard explains. "We've been meeting and talking now and then back on the Citadel. We both agree that Tim is working on something big, something that would let him control the Reapers. Miranda was getting close in her search for their secret base, and since I have a hunch that the Catalyst fits into those plans somehow, considering how much Tim wanted to get that information... I think Lawson can give us leads to the Catalyst. We just need to get to the Citadel and seek her out."

Garrus perks up visibly at Morgan's explanation, taking hope from the plan. Before he can answer, though, Dr. Michel finishes her ministrations upon her asari patient and pulls away, allowing Liara to rise and swiftly leave in a more determined hobble. "Anything serious, Doc?" Morgan asks, once Liara has disappeared out of earshot. "Any fractures?"

"No fractures, only severe bruising," Michel shakes her head. "Commander, what happened? Liara did not have these injuries after coming aboard!"

"Did it have something to do with the explosion in the deck below us just now?" Garrus asks.

"Err... I think she just fell out of love with the Protheans in general," Morgan sighs, unwilling to elaborate.

"Commander, do you think it would be possible to keep Liara out of the ground team for the next missions?" Dr. Michel asks, surprising Morgan a little bit.

"I don't think I could keep her out even if I tried... and why would I want to? Is there something more seriously wrong with her that I should know?" Morgan stares piercingly at Dr. Michel, trying to sense whether the doctor is omitting something, but the Frenchwoman holds her gaze evenly, without flinching.

"No, Shepard, but I have noticed that you never rotate Liara out of the team, unlike the others," Michel finally explains. "And she is not physically at her best right now."

"I don't think any of us are, Doc, we're all a bit banged up here and there," Shepard smiles. "And truth be told, I need Liara and she knows it perfectly well. She is the only biotic on my team that I can really trust, and her presence has saved my life countless times. Without her, I wouldn't be standing here, and we both know that."

Having received a nod of acknowledgement from Michel, Morgan wishes a speedy recovery to Garrus and Tali, before walking out of the medbay, making a few steps over to the XO quarters and sighing deeply as she stares at the doors to Liara's office. _Well, here goes nothing... let's just hope I don't suffer from ill-timed foot-in-mouth disease and she doesn't apply the Prothy Treatment to me. _Finally gathering her courage, she enters the room, finding her bondmate collapsed on the bed, head buried in pillows. "Go away, please," Liara mutters, as she hears Morgan approaching. "I want to be alone."

"Don't care," Morgan replies, sitting carefully on the edge of the bed first. "If our roles were reversed, you'd never leave me alone. You'd cling by my side like a lovable pest, insisting that you want to crawl into my head and share my burdens and I wouldn't be able to shake you off..."

Liara's only answer to that is a deep sigh. _Well, she's not chasing me away anymore at least, so I must have said something right, _Shepard tells herself. "Tell me what hurts the most. I imagine seeing your homeworld fall is the worst... if the Reapers weren't taking things slowly and harvesting all humans, Earth would have shared Thessia's fate long ago."

"I know that Thessia had fallen long before we got there, Morgan. There was nothing we could have done about it," Liara finally replies, her voice hoarse. "Still, to see my people dying in droves, our civilization in ruins, I... how can you truly prepare yourself for that?"

"You don't, really. I still remember all those people dying left and right in the streets of Vancouver... and it makes me dread the return to Earth and what we will find down there," Morgan says, lowering herself on the back in the bed, next to Liara, without brushing against the asari.

"And then Javik... the way he spoke to me. He looked into my eyes and saw that his words hurt and shocked me, yet he persisted, even taking great delight in my suffering," Liara's voice is trembling heavily as she speaks, the rising feeling of hurt making her chest tight, her breathing becoming ragged. "I... cannot comprehend taking delight in tormenting anyone like that, not even enemy, and we're supposed to be allies."

"He has all the empathy of a common slug, Liara. Or a goldfish," Shepard tells her quietly, falling silent for a moment, before daring to ask. "Would you have really left him there to die in his water tank?"

"No, of course not, though the temptation was strong," Liara confesses. "I knew you were there and would have pulled him out."

"You really shouldn't have attacked him, babe," Morgan remarks. "Dr. Michel tells me that you're a little banged up and I can't risk you getting injured now. You know I can't do this without you standing by my side, Liara... and I want everyone at their best... even Prothy, in case we need him. I understand why you wanted to retaliate, but I can't have a repeat of such incident."

"I know... I know. But the things he took such great delight in telling me..." Liara whispers, her body wracking with a powerful tremor. "Goddess, Shepard... why do your people claim that crying makes everything feel easier? I've tried and it just makes me more and more miserable."

Morgan rolls on her side, brushing up against Liara's back and wrapping her arms around the asari's waist, finding no resistance. "It doesn't do that, really. It's just an oft propagated myth, to be honest. I've tried that a few times, and it never worked, it just made me more sad, then I started to hate myself for being so pathetic, that got me crying even harder and... well, let's just say, no, crying does not take the pain away, not one bit."

"I thought so. You humans are strange," Liara whispers. "You heard what Javik said about my people. Everything about the asari is a lie, I did not want to believe it, but I must face the facts, and it is true. I... I am a product of lies myself, and... surely you cannot love someone like me."

"Oh, I don't know about that," Morgan returns softly, wrapping her legs around Liara's and pulling the asari tightly against her, almost trapping Liara into a safe, secure cage. "You still feel like the same Liara I loved yesterday before I found out some things that... oddly enough, don't really change my opinion of you or your people."

"You can't be serious..." Liara struggles against the embrace, weakly and almost reluctantly.

"Think of it this way," Morgan tries once more. "When Protheans began their uplifting process, they probably had countless pre-flight species to choose from across the whole galaxy, right? And yet, from all those, they did not choose the turians, the humans or the salarians, no, they chose the asari because they believed your people would have the best chance to lead the galaxy against the Reapers in the next cycle. There was something special about your people, and the Protheans recognized it."

Liara slowly relaxes in Shepard's embrace. "But they were wrong," she says a while later. "It's the humans leading the forces of the galaxy and the asari are just... scattered, helpless and fleeing in disarray..."

"And yet, it will take the strength, courage and intellect of only one very special asari to win this war, and I'm holding her in my arms right now," Shepard smiles, burying her face in her bondmate's shoulder. "Don't you understand, Liara? It is in your power to make the Protheans be right about your people. If you stop this war while standing by my side, everything they believed about your people will be proven true, and Javik would be in the wrong. Do you see what I mean?"

"I... I... damn it, Morgan... your words actually make sense..." Liara slowly admits, Shepard feeling the tension slowly bleeding from her body, the asari finally fully comfortable in her embrace.

"Hey, I have my moments, now and then," she chuckles, managing to draw a short chortle from Liara. "And your father got out safely, together with the last few commandos and Grunt... that does count for something, doesn't it?"

"It does. Thank you, Morgan," Liara says softly. "I... I think I will be alright, now... but if you could keep holding me for a while longer..."

"For as long as you need, my love," Shepard replies, hugging her bondmate tightly. "For as long as you need..."


	108. She Sells Sanctuary

**Chapter 107 - She Sells Sanctuary**

The lights onboard are dimmed, everything is powered down as the Normandy quietly rests in its customary safe harbor, the docking bay D24 on the Citadel. While the Commander is currently away from the Normandy, leaving the command of the ship to her asari XO, the crew have not been given a shore leave. They have been ordered to remain on the ship and get as much rest as they can, Shepard clearly expecting heavy action soon judging by all the signs.

The only other person away from the ship is Chloe Michel, the doctor requesting permission to visit the Huerta Memorial and restock on some of the more specific supplies suited for dextros, seeing that Garrus and Tali have been Dr. Michel's only serious patients thus far. This leaves Garrus alone in the mostly dark medbay, lying on his bed and thinking, slightly disturbed by the strange silence that rules the ship, unused to being able to hear the sound of his own beating heart.

Just then, there is a slight rustle on the nearby bed, and he immediately turns his head towards his fellow medbay inhabitant, trying to spot any movement. For a while Tali's shape remains still and Garrus is about to turn back away, but then there is just a barely perceptible shuffle of the sheets as the quarian readjusts her position to make herself a bit more comfortable, her anesthetics starting to fade.

"Tali? You're awake?" he decides to ask, hearing her move around more and more frequently.

There is a sharp intake of breath in reply. "...Keelah, you scared me. I thought I was alone here... I presume in the medbay?"

"Yeah. Dr. Michel spent quite a while working on your legs. Do you feel anything, are you in pain?"

"No... not in pain... but I feel as if I shouldn't try walking just yet. Just a little sore all over. But why are you here too, Garrus? When did you get injured?"

"What, I'm outraged you don't even remember my heroic leap to your defense!" Garrus laughs. "Didn't quite turn out as well as I intended, got myself shot a few times, nothing to worry about. And it worked in a way, I suppose, I gave them another target to aim at, else they might have kept shooting at you."

"That would have been bad," Tali mutters at herself. "Thanks."

"Well, I... do have a vested interest in keeping a certain quarian alive," Garrus says. "I must say, her propensity at getting shot is wreaking havoc with a certain turian's nerves."

"Says the turian who loves to catch rockets with his face," Tali retorts playfully.

"Said turian's fondness for that pastime is greatly exaggerated," Garrus chuckles in reply.

"Anyway, Garrus, where are we and why is the ship all powered down? I thought Shepard wanted to go to Thessia right after we got that Dr. Bryson to safety... and I assume we did manage that?"

"We managed that, and we have also been to Thessia, already," Garrus replies quietly, his voice dejected. Tali patiently waits for him to elaborate. "We... didn't get the Catalyst, Tali. Cerberus snatched it from under our noses. And on top of all that, the asari had to abandon their homeworld. In short... we failed."

"But... but... but that's impossible!" Tali protests vehemently. "It's Shepard! And Shepard does **not** fail! You can't be serious!"

"I'm sorry, Tali. I wish that was true," Garrus returns sadly. "None of us are infallible, not even Shepard. And we should not expect as much of her, either."

"I... I just... I know, but I did not expect to... ever hear such words," Tali struggles to speak, clearly shocked. "And without the Catalyst... Keelah, this is it, isn't it? The galaxy is doomed, all we have achieved will be for nothing!"

"Perhaps not. Shepard is putting up a brave front, insisting she has a plan. We're back on the Citadel, and the Commander is trying to track down Operative Lawson. She believes Miranda can lead us to where Cerberus have taken the Catalyst and we can then get it back. Or something like that."

"Do you think it will work?" Tali asks hesitantly.

"I realize that it might seem like grasping at straws, but... I believe in Shepard. I trust that Commander will get it done," Garrus says honestly. "Just because she suffered one defeat, it has not shaken my trust in her."

"I agree..." Tali speaks, having thought a while in silence. "But... my belief in Shepard has been so complete, that I realize that I no longer even allowed for an eventuality that she might fail. This... this is the first time when I truly realize that there is a very realistic chance that we might lose this war and the Reapers will annihilate us all. And... it makes me... very, very afraid."

Garrus is at her side immediately, taking Tali's hands in his comfortingly. "I am not completely immune to fear myself," he confesses eventually. "But I will not let this fear stop me. Yes, I fear the Reapers, but above all, I am angry at them, angry that they threaten the future that I envision for myself... and for someone very special in my life. It is for this vision of future that I fight, and I will overcome any fears to secure it."

"I... have been fighting with a... very similar vision of future in my own mind," Tali says quietly, squeezing Garrus' hands in return as she speaks. "And they will not take it from me... from us. I won't allow it..." she whispers.

* * *

Lia'Vael nar Ulnay lowers the pilot's seat as far back as it can stretch, stuffing a soft pillow under her head, preferring to sleep in the cockpit rather than the small space on the crew deck assigned to her. The seat is far more comfortable than any bed she has seen over many years, the young quarian used to sleep in many awkward places whether on the Ulnay or during her Pilgrimage, often while sitting hunched, or even more uncomfortable positions.

Her current arrangement provides the quarian with more comforts than she has believed possible, even if she by now has to grown used to the idea of one day returning to an already settled homeworld, where she and the rest of her people will no longer need to live in conditions where private space is almost an alien concept, the Ulnay in particular always packed so tight that Lia'Vael has never understood how her fellow quarians have been able to maintain functioning families, or procreate in such conditions. Of course, returning home to Rannoch right now seems like a very remote possibility...

"EDI?" she stifles a yawn, turning to her co-pilot, the synthetic platform sitting motionlessly in the seat next to hers. "What did you say our chances of success were before we went to Thessia?"

"The calculated chances to avoid the cycle of galactic extinction were roughly at 0.075%," EDI replies emotionlessly.

"And after Thessia?" Lia asks.

"I would put the estimation of success at 0.025%."

"So... it actually hasn't gotten much worse, has it?"

"I suppose you could make that claim, considering how abysmal our chances were to begin with," EDI says.

Lia'Vael stays silent for a while, thinking as sleepy tiredness slowly starts to overcome her. "EDI... do you believe we will win this war?" she asks quietly.

"I believe that there is a very small statistical probability of victory. There are only very few scenarios that I can come up with that would not leave even the tiniest probabilities for success."

"You know what... an organic would say that there are no completely hopeless situations and that there is always hope..." Lia says. "EDI, I'm starting to think... maybe we aren't so different from synthetics after all..."

"The geth would be very pleased to hear a quarian express such sentiment," EDI remarks.

"I suppose," Lia'Vael mutters, slapping the pillow into a comfy shape before rolling on her side and settling in. "Going to try sleeping for a bit, EDI. Goodnight!"

EDI's voice is softer than usual when she replies. "Goodnight, Lia'Vael nar Ulnay."

* * *

The streams of intel on the Shadow Broker terminals blink and flash before her eyes, but as Liara T'Soni sits in front of the numerous data consoles, her gaze seems to fall right through the screens, focused at something on the wall as the asari finds herself deep in depressing thoughts. The images of the destruction on Thessia are impossible to forget, as are the revelations about the role of Protheans in the ascension of her species. But Shepard has been there for her again through these terrible times, and her presence has made everything at least somewhat better. The gratitude and love she feels towards Morgan is immeasurable, which in turn makes her decision to withhold… certain truths from Shepard all the more painful for her.

And in the Temple of Athame, that truth had already began to leave her lips, she was about to share it with her beloved Shepard, but the interruption had been almost cynically predictable, robbing her of this moment of openness. Now, she wonders what had even prompted her to try and divulge the truth so spontaneously.

_It must have been my selfishness, urging me to speak, _she decides. _I could not bear to die there, under the rubble, with the added weight of this secret hanging over me. But… how would she have felt if I told her that in roughly a year she would have become a father, knowing that it would never come to pass, that we would both be dead in less than a day? It would only compound her agony… I should have been stronger, should not fall to this temptation again, I must endure… just for a while longer, because it will all be over soon, I can feel it. _

_I want to be honest with her, I so desperately wish that I could, but the truth… can be so dangerous, can sometimes cause such pain,_ Liara thinks, feeling torn by the conflicting emotions ripping at her very core, fear and anxiety making her shiver in her seat. _There is a chance that she might… not forgive me for keeping this a secret, but… I cannot let that stop me from doing what I can to save her. If I tell her the truth, she will not involve me with the ground team, and I will not be there with her in the decisive battles, I won't be there to protect her… And if I am there, and she knows the truth, her focus won't be on the enemy or on doing what needs to be done to save the galaxy, her focus will be on me and making sure that the baby comes to no harm… this distraction could mean her downfall, and I cannot let that happen! _

_She said she can't do this without me by her side, so that is where I will remain... and the consequences... will be mine to deal with, later. The decisive battles are approaching swiftly… I won't need to keep this secret for much longer… thank the goddess. _Tears are flowing in earnest by now, and with a trembling hand the asari reaches for a handkerchief. _Why did I even do something as… insane as this, ill-timed, spontaneous, dangerous, without even consulting with Morgan?_ Deep inside, though, she knows the answer and admits it to herself. _Because I was selfish, so damn selfish… I succumbed to fear that she might die, and I would be left all alone, with nothing to remember my love by… I saw myself back on Ilium, my life crumbling to pieces, and I wanted at least something to anchor myself to and not to be swept away by my despair… to at least have her child, our child… but I shouldn't have done it, not like that, it was a mist-_

"No!" the asari suddenly cries out, immediately startled by her own exclamation, and she looks around in fear to see if anyone has overheard her, but there is only the soft buzz of the consoles. _No, this child will be many things, all of them great and wonderful, but I will never think of her as a mistake, never! I wanted her. I wanted her so badly with Morgan. And I will endure this torment to have her, and I will do all I can to earn Shepard's forgiveness later… and I will not stop until she forgives me. And… perhaps I can begin amends by honoring another promise, given many months ago…_

Liara shakes herself back to reality and leans slightly forward, bringing up the holographic interface of one of the many consoles. _'Dear Feron,'_ she begins to type so quickly that her fingers almost become like a blur. _'Please respond as soon as you are able. I have something of extreme importance to discuss with you. May the goddess keep you safe. L.'_

* * *

"When the Commander told us to spend these few hours to relax, I think she meant sleeping instead of this," Lieutenant Steve Cortez grumbles, sitting at the poker table in the Normandy's lounge, reluctant hostage in Lieutenant Vega and Engineer Donnelly's diabolic plans to indulge in their vice of poker.

"Nah, she meant that we should do something that relaxes us and what's more relaxing than poker?" Vega grins, taking a swig from his beer bottle and giving a satisfied look to the pile of chips in front of him, then a mocking smirk at Steve's rapidly dwindling stacks.

"I quite agree with the Lieutenant," Donnelly nods, delicately and snobbishly nursing his glass of Lagavulin single malt, and scowling at the rate with which Vega goes through the beer supplies. "Though I suppose it's only relaxing when you're winning," he adds, his pile of chips rivaling Vega's.

"At least I'll be cleaned out soon enough. Then I can escape to the armory and grab some much needed rest," Cortez sighs again, as Vega deals them new cards.

"Your whining is kinda killing my mojo, _hombre_," James rolls his eyes.

"I was thinking about ways to make this more interesting, like inviting some of the girls and making this a game of strip poker," Donnelly adds sagely. "Alas, none of them seemed to be interested. A real shame, the women on this ship are all very easy on the eye, wouldn't you say so, Lieutenant?"

"Huh? Oh... right, sure, Donnelly," James agrees, having dealt everyone in and the betting commences.

"I think we should hold a Miss Normandy 2186 contest, wouldn't that be fun?" Donnelly continues his daydreaming. "Who'd you give your vote to, Vega?"

"Hmmm. Tough call," James looks indecisive. "I'd probably have to vote for my commanding officer, no? Lola's too intimidating to say no to her."

"I'm trying to imagine Commander Shepard in a bathing suit..." Donnelly closes his eyes, summoning the mental image. "Heh... so strange... but not bad, not bad at all! Doesn't really have the model figure, really, but she could sway anyone she wanted just by her force of personality."

"Or by threats of violence, if that failed," Vega adds with a chuckle.

"Now Dr. T'Soni... I'm really tempted to give my vote to her," Kenneth muses. "Of course, the Commander might skin me alive if I did that. Hey, if synthetics could enter, I know who I would support! Oh boy, that platform of EDI's... so top-heavy with all that padding!"

Cortez gives yet another deep sigh. "By the end of this evening, I think I'll end up being heterosexual," he grumbles.

"Why, because the women of the Normandy are so hot?" Kenneth asks.

"No because the men of the Normandy are so stupid that they make me ashamed of my own gender," Cortez retorts, Donnelly rolling his eyes in reply.

"Just ignore him, Donnelly, Steve's just been born without sense of humor and I haven't been able to cure him," James laughs. "Anyway, what do you have?"

"Three pairs," Ken Donnelly replies casually, throwing his cards on the table. "And what about those quarians, eh? That mesmerizing sway of the hips as they walk past you in the halls, that alone can turn a man's head."

"Yeah, I guess, though don't stare too much or Garrus will recalibrate your nose with his fists," Vega adds pointedly, before throwing his cards on the table. "Five kings! What do you have, Esteban?"

"Nothing... and that's cleaned me out," Cortez throws his cards on the table, looking disgusted. "I swear, there's something wrong with the deck you're using, but I can't quite put a finger on what it is."

"I guess that just leaves us, Lieutenant Vega," Donnelly chuckles. "Oh, and then there's that young Comm Specialist, Traynor. She's certainly very fetching... tried to talk her into the strip poker, but Gabby reminded me I was barking up the wrong tree."

"Gabby, that the cutie up in the engineering?" James asks completely innocently. "Think I'd give my vote to her. Caught her at the breakfast table earlier and had a nice chat... figure I've got a good chance."

"What?" Donnelly's eyes widen in surprise, as he looks a little outraged. "Lieutenant Vega, Gabby's my gal, I suggest you leave her alone or we will have a problem!"

"Your gal? Well, she didn't seem to know anything about that when we talked, _compadre_," James shrugs. "In fact, she was quite obvious about being... available."

"Not for much longer, mate," Kenneth jabs an accusing finger at Vega as he quickly gets up from the table and departs. "I'm going to take care of this, and after that you won't be coming near Gabby, is that clear?"

"Whatever, _amigo_, had no idea about your intentions. You certainly acted like you had plans to woo every other lady on the ship apart from her," Vega remarks as Donnelly runs for the door, not stopping to reply to James.

"I can't believe that plan worked," Cortez bursts out in laughter after Donnelly has departed. "Color me impressed, Mr. Vega. You are a man of many talents, acting included."

"Thank you, Mr. Cortez," Vega mock-bows. "But before you begin to think too highly of me, please, be aware that gratitude of the ladies of the Normandy was my main motivation for going along with this charade..."

* * *

"Shepard, I can't say I approve of what the Alliance have done to this ship," Miranda shakes her head, having stepped onboard the Normandy for the first time since her exodus on Omega many months before.

"Well, at least they know where to place the ship's armory, unlike Cerberus," Shepard chuckles. Finding Miranda had proven to be mercifully simple. Tevos had done well, and a call from Miranda had already been waiting for Morgan on a secure connection at the Spectre terminals. A set of coordinates had been provided to locate Lawson's temporary lair, and then with a little bit of persuasion from Shepard's side, her former XO had decided to accompany Shepard to the Normandy.

"I shudder to think what they have done to my old quarters," Miranda grumbles. "Could we stop there for just a moment?"

"Err... perhaps not at this time," Shepard says a little uncomfortably, leading Lawson into the War Room where a tired looking Liara is already waiting for them, browsing the official data streams from the allied fleets. "We've slightly repurposed it ourselves..."

"Dr. T'Soni," Miranda greets the asari, not entirely warmly, more businesslike.

"Miss Lawson," Liara returns in just as cool tone.

"Right, Miranda, let's get right down to the business," Shepard starts, impatiently. "Circumstances have changed quite dramatically, and Cerberus is in possession of intel that could determine the fate of the galaxy. We need to track them down, and for that, we need all the information we can get. Please, let's hear what you've discovered."

"It's really quite simple, Shepard. I have been pulling the ID's of all the dead Cerberus soldiers on the Citadel and trying to see if their last known locations will provide a clue, attempting to cross-reference this evidence with other sources, hoping that it might lead me to a Cerberus facility," Miranda explains. "Remember, Shepard, I told you that they are rapidly upgrading their implants to allow them greater control over the recipient. This leads me to believe that the site where they are outfitted with the implants is also the same site where these new implants are being developed."

"I would not jump to such conclusions, but any major facility of Cerberus would likely provide a further lead to track down what we are after," Liara nods, agreeing. "This could be a valuable lead, Miranda. Please, continue."

"From a sample size of nearly three hundred... you were extremely efficient on the Citadel, Shepard," Miranda starts, transferring the data from her omni-tool to the large screens of the War Room in front of them.

"I think most of that was probably Aria's handiwork," Morgan chuckles in reply.

"Anyway, this is what I have," Miranda continues, a little impatient at Shepard's interruption. "12% of the deceased had ties to Elysium. 21% from Horizon, 22% from Terra Nova, 29% Benning."

"Benning was just a smash and grab op, wasn't it?" Morgan ponders, feeling a dull ache throbbing through her body from the mere mention of Elysium. "They loaded all the people onto their carriers and shipped them elsewhere, right? Think we can discount it as a potential location of their base."

"I agree, Shepard," Miranda nods. "I propose that we examine the other three options, because I have no other conclusive hard data."

"Well... maybe we can narrow it down even more," Shepard says, activating the comms. "Sam? Any luck with your findings? Hmm, oh yeah? I see... could you join us in the War Room, please? Okay."

Specialist Samantha Traynor arrives moments later, a little breathless. "Easy there, Sam, calm down and explain to Miranda and Liara just what you have been doing," Shepard tells her encouragingly.

"Y-yes, of course, ma'am," Traynor stutters a little to begin with, but then seems to calm down once she starts to speak. "I told Commander Shepard that we managed to track the Cerberus ships through the relay and I have been working on extrapolating their destination. However, I lost their signal too soon for the data to be considered accurate and reliable."

"Well, you said you had something, anyway," Shepard tries, feeling a little discouraged.

"Wait, where did you lose the signal?" Miranda asks suddenly.

"In the Iera System," Traynor replies. "And I don't think that I simply lost the signal, it seemed as if it was actively blocked, which made little sense because there's nothing of note in that system!"

"Except Sanctuary," Miranda says quietly, looking back at the chart that lists 'Horizon 21%'. "If there is a Cerberus facility on Horizon, yes, they would make sure to block any outgoing communications."

"Goddess... Shepard, I told several people on the Citadel to go there!" Liara exclaims, looking absolutely crestfallen.

"...so did I when the Citadel was overflowing with the refugees..." Morgan swallows heavily, icy cold sensation at the pit of her stomach.

Samantha Traynor also looks devastated. "Horizon... is... was my home," she whispers, before pulling herself together and looking at Shepard. "Shall I inform EDI that we are departing for Horizon?"

"Yes, immediately," Shepard says, then turning towards Miranda. "So, Miri... ready to shoot some of your former coworkers while fighting at my side?"

"Without hesitation, Shepard," Miranda replies grimly. "Just promise one thing to me. My father... leave him to me..."


	109. Shepard and the Husk Factory

_A/N: Many have remarked that the portrayal of Cerberus in ME3 was rather disappointing. I think that if you accept the explanation that through TIM's indoctrination they are firmly in the Reaper's pocket, everything more or less makes sense... except Sanctuary. If Cerberus really were under firm Reaper control, how come they even allowed TIM and Lawson to conduct research that they obviously considered dangerous? I can't really find a better explanation than the half-assed assumption that TIM had just enough of his mind left intact to get away with it... even if I'm not really satisfied with this explanation myself. _

_Also, regarding the title... yes, I did watch 'Charlie and the Chocolate Factory' just recently._

**Chapter 108 - Shepard and the Husk Factory**

Following the short meeting of the impromptu War Council on the Normandy, Shepard is about to follow everyone out of the War Room, when Specialist Traynor stops her. "Ma'am, I didn't have the opportunity to mention this before, but Admiral Anderson has been waiting on the QEC for a few minutes now."

"Oh, right, I'll go speak with him at once," Morgan nods and turns around to walk back to the comm room, switching on the QEC line and letting the concerned figure of Admiral David Anderson fade into her view. "Admiral. If Hackett asked you to screw my head back on, then I'm telling you straight up that you're wasting your time."

Anderson rolls his eyes and sighs. "No, he didn't tell me to do anything, he simply told me what was going on. So I'm asking you, Shepard... what's going on?"

"I don't really know, David. I thought we were after this Catalyst thing, whatever it is, to complete the Crucible and blast the Reapers. Then, suddenly, we're no longer interested in it, we're trying to chase down some rogue Reaper that millions of years ago blasted one of his Reaper brothers. Apparently that's our new hope for victory in this war."

"Admiral Hackett didn't say a word about that," Anderson shakes his head.

"Yeah, I guess the part where you'd have to indoctrinate your own people to get closer to this rogue Reaper's location looks kind of bad on the resume," Shepard's voice becomes hard as she speaks. "Anyway, I do not care. I'm going to keep chasing down the Catalyst, Anderson. I was so damn close to it, only to have it snatched from under our noses, and now I'm going to get it back from Cerberus."

"What happened? Was it Kai Leng?" Anderson asks.

"Yeah, the bastard totally blindsided me," Morgan admits reluctantly. "I was stupid and I underestimated him, and now it could cost us this war."

"Well, Shepard, just know that all those marines sitting in the rubble next to me here in London believe in what you are doing. I believe in what you are doing." Admiral Anderson tells her with a warm smile. "You'll get that Catalyst and bring it home, I know you will. But Shepard, we can't allow ourselves to be divided at times like these. Reconcile with Hackett as soon as you have done your part."

"Very well, David," Morgan nods, knowing that her old friend is right. "Hopefully that will be enough for him to lose interest in that Leviathan nonsense."

"Good, that is good," Anderson says approvingly. "And listen, Shepard... I heard about Thessia, too. My condolences. I'm guessing Liara is taking it hard."

"We read the reports, we knew it was inevitable," Morgan shrugs. "They managed to get a lot of people out and the rest are hiding in rural areas which will take Reapers many years to cleanse. But yeah... despite it all, it was a hard blow. Liara's a fighter, though, this will only motivate her to battle on even more ferociously."

"That's the kind of attitude we need if we're going to win this war," Anderson agrees. "When you take a hit, get right back up and get angry."

"Oh, I'm plenty angry at Kai Leng and Cerberus right now," Shepard chuckles darkly. "Forgive me for saying this, David, but I probably won't limit myself to shooting the clown in both of his legs, if you know what I mean."

Anderson winces a little, before allowing himself a small smile. "Just had to mention that, didn't you, Shepard? Alright, alright... go fix my mistake, as you always seem to do. Good luck, Commander."

Shepard is about to correct him and insist upon being addressed as Spectre, but she swallows the comment, forcing a smile upon her lips. "Good luck to you too, Anderson. This will be over soon..."

* * *

Morgan is relieved to see Liara settled in comfortably on the bed in the captain's 'loft' quarters, snoozing fully clothed atop the blankets. She kicks off her own boots and swiftly joins the asari, who reacts to her presence by slipping into a comfortable embrace, the couple resting in each other's arms.

"Not enough time for proper sleep, I'm afraid," Morgan whispers to her bondmate. "We haven't really rested properly since Thessia. Or... even before that. Since Rannoch? I can't even remember the last time I was able to sleep for as long as my body demanded it."

"I managed to get in a little bit of rest on our way to the Citadel," Liara replies, gently nuzzling her head against Morgan's chest. "Not enough, but it will have to do. Time is of the essence."

"Yeah. Really feels as if we're in that final stretch, doesn't it?" Morgan says. "We'll need to rest and recuperate before we launch our final assault, though. I won't bring us into the battle suffering from sleep deprivation. Stims are not an acceptable alternative, in case you were about to ask."

"I... would regret it if we didn't have at least one more opportunity to be together, before we bring the fleets to Earth," Liara whispers, her grip on Morgan tightening.

"We must definitely make time for that," Morgan whispers back.

"I can't help being worried that the whole thing will be... as you say it, a wild goose chase," Liara eventually confesses. "What if the Catalyst has been moved elsewhere and Cerberus is making use of it already? Our intel seemed solid, but..."

"It is solid, babe," Morgan tells her reassuringly, even if she herself is not completely convinced. "There's something very strange happening there on Horizon, and we will get to the bottom of it. At the worst, it will paint the next target for us."

"You are right, of course. Have you picked a squad already?" the asari asks.

"Miranda won't stay onboard even if I ordered her to, and you are joining as well, I insist upon it," Morgan smiles at her fervently nodding bondmate. "Dr. Michel told me that Tali still needs time for her injuries to heal, so I will leave her and Garrus behind for this one."

"They are very cute together, aren't they?" Liara chuckles. "I'm sure Garrus would be extremely embarrassed if he heard what I just said."

"Yes, so we should tell him that," Morgan grins broadly. "There has been nowhere enough teasing aimed towards them, and we should rectify that at the earliest opportunity."

"That is very tempting, Morgan. But I would not wish to upset Tali. She takes everything so very seriously."

"You don't get to say that about anyone, Miss Seriousness," Morgan lightly bonks Liara on the top of her head. "Anyway, the squad. I'm starting to trust Lia'Vael as much as I trusted Joker, but unless there is a dire need, I would rather leave EDI with the ship at full processing capacity. As for Javik..."

"I can work with him despite everything," Liara says, a little stiffly. "Fate of the galaxy is more important than my personal grudges."

"Well, I don't think it's necessary to involve him. I'm sure James will be more than happy to escort three lovely ladies on this highly dangerous mission. Hah, I wonder if he's seen Miranda yet... this should be good..."

"Knowing Operative Lawson's temper... perhaps not so good for James," Liara adds, drawing another chuckle from Morgan.

"I quite agree. But enough of that," Shepard says then. "Let us see if we can manage an hour or two of rest... chances are, we're going to need all our reserves of strength..."

* * *

A couple of hours later the Kodiak shuttle leaves the Normandy and piloted by Lieutenant Steve Cortez speeds towards the surface of the planet Horizon. "So where exactly is this Sanctuary?" Shepard inquires, squeezing into the pilot's cabin to grab a look at the visual outside.

"It appears to be a more rural area, with no other major settlements nearby," Cortez informs her, having looked at the scanned maps.

"Perfect location, they would want to stay out of the limelight as much as they could," Miranda remarks.

"Speaking of perfect things and staying in the limelight..." Lieutenant James Vega speaks up at the back of the shuttle, looking at Miranda. "Is that... suit of armor... standard issue for certain rank of Cerberus operatives?"

"No, it was custom made specifically for me," Miranda replies, surprisingly politely.

"And... were you in charge of recruiting for Cerberus?" James continues his inquiries.

"No, I was not, Lieutenant."

"Oh. I see. Well... thank you for indulging me, miss Lawson," Vega finishes the conversation with a broad grin.

"There is a signal coming from the facility," Cortez suddenly informs them. "It is very weak, but I'll try to boost it."

Immediately, they hear the crackling voice of a young woman. "This is Oriana Lawson. Stay away from the Sanctuary. It is not what it seems. Please, you must listen to me! They're using..." The signal dies off there, and they all as one stare at Miranda, watching the raven-haired woman sagging heavily into one of the seats.

"Ori is there... Ori is down there!" she exclaims, looking greatly worried and near panic. "That... that means my father must be nearby! Shepard, we're on the right track, we're on the right track here!"

"That is a good thing, Miranda, we can get the intel we need, deal with your father and save your sister, all at once," Shepard speaks reassuringly. "Just breathe deeply and try to remain calm and rational, okay? Everything will be fine, Miranda, trust me."

Miranda follows her advice, taking several deep breaths and then looking up at Shepard gratefully. "Thank you, Shepard. Of course everything will be okay, you are here, after all."

Shepard smiles, before shooting a more serene look at Liara, the asari responding with a weak smile of her own. _Me being there sure didn't help Thessia... but let's hope Miranda is more fortunate. _

"Closing in on the LZ, Commander," Cortez reports, Shepard seeing a complex of white buildings appearing in the middle of the lush farmlands and patches of verdant forests, looking more like a scientific facility than refugee shelter. Curiously enough, there seems to be smoke rising from several parts of the complex. "I'm seeing some damage, Shepard, but I can't detect any activity."

"It has definitely been ravaged by some kind of fighting," Shepard peers forth as they are almost upon the LZ, seeing signs of heavy battle everywhere she looks, the facility is heavily demolished, rubble and burning wreckage strewn everywhere. "But who would attack a secret Cerberus facility here?"

"Perhaps some kind of local militia, after learning of this establishment's true purpose?" Liara suggests.

"Hmm... I don't think so. To do damage as heavy as this against the upgraded Cerberus troops? I highly doubt it," Shepard shakes her head. "Still, no point spending all day navel-gazing, let's find everything out ourselves."

"Navel-gazing? Shepard, I don't understand," Liara speaks as the Kodiak finally lands and Steve opens the doors to let them out. "Your belly-button is lovely, but why would I want to stare at it the whole day?"

As the others burst into laughter, Shepard just sighs and gives a fond if exasperated look at her perplexed bondmate. "Another one of those confusing human expressions, babe. It stands for pointless introspection or something similar."

"I see," Liara scowls a bit, undoubtedly finding the idiom incredibly silly. They carefully traverse the rubble-littered courtyard, moving towards what appears to be the entrance into the main facility. Miranda is moving ahead of everyone, and while Shepard is slightly concerned about her emotional state, the ex-Cerberus operative appears to be still taking great care as she constantly scans their surroundings for danger.

"Goddess!" Liara suddenly jumps next to Shepard, tugging sharply on Morgan's arm. "Look above!"

Morgan rears her head swiftly, seeing a shuttle flying low above the main facility, pursued by a Reaper harvester, attempting to shoot the transport down and being successful as the shuttle suddenly loses its altitude and crashes on the balcony of the building, remaining precariously balancing on the edge.

"There are people trapped in that shuttle!" Liara exclaims, unsure whether to dart forth to help or not.

Morgan quickly brings her sniper rifle up and takes a look through the sights. "Those are Cerberus phantoms, how about we don't help them?" The question becomes moot when the harvester continues to pepper the crashed shuttle with heavy cannon fire, making it burst in flames, killing everyone inside, only one of the phantoms managing to jump out unharmed. However, while the phantom is picking itself up from the tiled floor, the burning shuttle tilts over the edge and crashes down, splattering the hapless Cerberus agent into a small pile of goo.

"So that's who this facility is under attack from," James remarks. "Reapers are gunning for Cerberus now!"

"Yeah... that's really strange, though," Shepard nods as they move onwards faster now, with harvesters flying around Morgan realizes she would rather prefer to find herself and her squad inside the facility. "I mean, we haven't really seen them fight each other before. They used to be best buddies! Wonder what upset their precious friendship."

"I'll try to warn Cortez and tell him to get to safety!" Liara exclaims, switching the comms back on. "Damn it, the radio's dead," she then sighs in frustration.

"Of course, they were jamming all signals coming out of the facility," Miranda says as they finally get past the entrance and into the large and empty halls of Sanctuary. Through the glass roof of the processing hall, they can see that a whole squadron of Cerberus shuttles pass by above them, hastily departing from the facility. "It looks like they are fleeing! Shepard, if my father escapes with Oriana..."

"I know, Miranda, but we can't rush in without thinking, especially if the Reapers are here," Morgan warns her. "First and foremost, we need to understand what is going on, preferably without getting killed ourselves."

"Hmm, do you see that tower right ahead of us?" Liara asks, pointing to a tall white spire, clear to see through the glass roof. "I think that's where the signal is being jammed from."

"Then that's where we're heading!" James exclaims, gripping his assault rifle even tighter.

"That does seem like a good idea," Shepard nods, as they wander around the empty hall, looking to see if they can spot anything that would provide them with a clue about just what Cerberus have been doing here. The vids showing hundreds and hundreds of refugees flocking to this place confirms fears that they have been used to create expendable Cerberus shock troops, but Shepard can't shake the feeling that there is something even more sinister to this place, and the unexpected Reaper interest seems to agree with her.

Having looked through several logs on the consoles at the processing checkpoints, Liara rejoins them, shaking her head. "Nothing of much use, they mention a central scrambler up in the tower, so just a confirmation of what we already suspected."

"We're wasting time here," Miranda says impatiently, pointing at a large stairway leading to the lower level, the only direction open to them. It leads to another landing pad on one side, covered in wreckage of crashed shuttles, the dead inside both civilians and Cerberus. On the other side the stairway opens into another wide hall, littered with corpses of Cerberus troopers as well as Reaper ravagers.

Hearing a quiet murmur of voices ahead of them, Morgan quickly raises her hand in warning to silence her squadmates. "We've got hostiles ahead," she hisses, activating her cloaking. In the end, such caution proves unwarranted, as they discover merely a few banged up Cerberus troopers, the remains of the squad that had survived the encounter with the ravagers. They are lifted in the air by Liara's singularity, detonated by Miranda's warp field, and the lone survivor of the blast silenced by Morgan putting a bullet through his skull.

"Dr. T'Soni, I believe it will be both an honor and pleasure working in tandem with you," Miranda allows herself a tiny smile as she acknowledges the asari's biotic prowess.

"I believe you may be correct, miss Lawson," Liara replies with a faint smile of her own.

"I'm just happy to have two biotics on my squad ripping enemies apart like that," Morgan chuckles, the spectacular devastation of a pair of skilled biotics combining their abilities with maximum efficiency never ceasing to amaze her.

"Doc, maybe we could get you a matching outfit like the one that miss Lawson is wearing?" James asks hopefully, Morgan nodding enthusiastically.

"I think you can file this suggestion away with the rest of your fantasies that will never come true, Lieutenant Vega," Liara shakes her head with exasperation.

"Through here!" Miranda tells them urgently, pointing at a narrow corridor leading out of the hall, everyone but the ex-Cerberus operative having missed it. "There's something left on this console..." she speaks, approaching the terminal in the room that the corridor has led them into. Image of a young and very attractive brunette appears on the screen as Miranda brings up the vid message. "Ori... that's Ori!" she exclaims, as they all gather around to listen to the message of Miranda's terrified looking sister.

"This is Oriana Lawson. Whoever is watching this, please listen to me! This is not a refugee camp. This is a Cerberus facility run by my father, Henry Lawson. Turn back now! There is no help to be found here and they are blocking all communications from the central tower. Sanctuary is a lie. Stay away!" thus ends the distressing message left by Miranda's sister.

"It seems as if this is one of several messages she had set up for automated broadcasting at regular intervals, hoping for a break in the jamming of the comms," Miranda notes quietly. "Ori was always a smart one. And as I suspected... father is here. He must not escape, Shepard. I cannot let him take Ori again!"

"There is nowhere left for him to run, Miranda," Shepard replies, trying to remain encouraging. "We'll get him and we'll save Oriana, too."

"Sure would like to know what your father is doing here that has pissed off the Reapers so fiercely," James remarks, as they leave the room through the only exit, again finding themselves back outside the facility.

"Perhaps Cerberus is not under such total Reaper control yet as we believed," Liara muses. "Or else they would not allow them to do something that they so obviously consider dangerous, otherwise they would not have attacked."

"Truth be told, I'm really not interested in speculations right now," Morgan growls a little irritably. "I just want to shoot Miranda's dad and Clown Leng if he's here, save Oriana and get the Catalyst. We can figure out the rest later."

"Bad news, Lola," James says suddenly. "We're cut off, there's no path forward," he points at where the path should continue, stairs leading downwards, but they are completely covered by water and unusable. "Strange, I don't think we missed another exit?"

"I don't think we did, James," Morgan says, shaking her head. "Just... what a strange place for a swimming pool, really. I mean..."

"Swimming pool, nothing!" Miranda exclaims, almost jumping upon another access console near the wall. "They have flooded the passages with water to cover and hide something! Let me see if I can crack security and drain the water... ah yes, there we go."

The water level in the passages drops rapidly, emptying through the trenches in less than a minute, leaving behind an accessible walkway, spreading through strange looking contraptions of unpleasantly familiar looking tech. "This sounds oddly recognizable..." Morgan muses, suddenly having a very bad feeling about this whole venture.

"Do the words 'Reaper tech' ring any bells, Commander?" Miranda asks sharply, almost jumping down the now usable stairs, the rest of them quickly following.

They swiftly proceed through the slightly damp walkway, surrounded by the complex systems of menacing tubes, intersected by computer terminals and monitoring stations at regular intervals. "This is a bit like the Collector base, but not quite the same..." Morgan muses as they reach the back entrance to a different part of the main facility and enter without hesitation. "They seem to have modified the Reaper tech for whatever purpose..."

Inside, in the first of the halls, the view is just as it was outside, thick brown tubes and Reaper wires and connections, plenty of powered down computer stations. "This looks more like a factory than anything else," Liara remarks quietly as they continue their path through the facility.

The next hall looks more like an empty storage room, but the one after that is far more interesting. For one thing, it is sinking in almost complete darkness due to power being cut, but even so through the windows, looking into the massive space beyond, Shepard can see that all those countless brown tubes are each connected to a small pod. "There's a power switch here," Liara speaks up, standing at what looks like the central operating hub. "Turning the power back on..."

The lights return immediately, and with them, the vid screens around the operations console come back to life. Some of them seem to be replaying previously recorded footage. "What the... what am I seeing here?" James speaks up, looking at the screens, two Cerberus guards throwing a struggling refugee into one of the pods and then locking it, as the hapless man bangs on the glass, demanding to be released.

"This does not look like a procedure for outfitting them with implants and creating more Cerberus shock troops," Liara remarks quietly.

"Because it is not," Miranda shakes her head. "Look there, at the tubes, they are... oh god..." Her voice becomes a whisper when she sees something being pumped through the tubes, it is like a sickening cloud of grey-brown dust. Through the cloud, they can see the shape of the refugee twisting, turning, throwing itself against the walls of the glass prison, writhing in agony before collapsing.

The filthy cloud is getting sucked away through the tubes moments later, giving them an excellent view of what is left behind and Shepard is unable to stop herself from releasing a savage, primal and murderous cry as she sees the twisted shape of a Reaper husk crawling out from the pod...


	110. The Monster That Is My Father

_A/N: Ugh, not happy with this chapter, but I have been staring at it for so long without any ideas on how to rework it, figured I might just post it as it is. Just... don't feel as if I brought enough originality to this one. Bear with me, the chapters after this should be far more fun. _

**Chapter 109 - The Monster That Is My Father**

"Creating mindless husks, it doesn't make sense," Liara shakes her head, while trying to follow Shepard's torrid pace as the Commander strides through the halls, still seething with rage. "Unless... it is somehow tied with Cerberus plans to control the Reapers..."

"It has to be," Shepard snarls angrily. "Or else the Reapers wouldn't consider this facility a threat."

"Then maybe the Illusive Man isn't completely in their pocket if they're letting him do this sort of thing, huh?" James wonders.

"Perhaps they have allowed him to retain an illusion of certain freedom in his choices, just enough to make him believe he is not indoctrinated and that the decisions he makes are still his own," Miranda says, looking as outraged as Shepard as she walks in step with the Commander.

"Doesn't change what we have to do here," Shepard exclaims sharply, continuing to lead them onwards, deeper through the bowels of the disturbing husk factory. "Processing, my ass," she curses again as they walk. "Don't think the refugees expected this kind of 'processing' when they lined up to get into the Sanctuary."

"This is monstrous," Liara nods, then hesitating. "I was going to say 'even for Cerberus', but no, I no longer think so. It is plain to see that there are no longer any limits for the atrocities they are willing to commit."

There are monitoring and research stations placed throughout the processing plant, and they stop at each and every of them, trying to pull as much intel as they can about the Cerberus crimes. Miranda is able to access several audio logs left behind by her father, detailed status updates of their sickening research, and her face twists into a murderous snarl, listening to the voice of the one person she loathes above everything else in the whole galaxy.

Henry Lawson speaks of swift progress in upgrading their 'processing' capacity and expresses great delight about the long lines of subjects crowding the gates, desperate to gain entrance into the Sanctuary. He speaks of the deception as unfortunate necessity, as if that would make his sickening transgressions somehow excusable.

There are more logs recorded by Miranda's father, one of them explaining the necessity of creating the husks for one simple purpose, to understand how the Reapers broadcast their orders. This has been Cerberus interest ever since the Collectors, they have learned it from Dr. Brynn Cole earlier, when the ex-Cerberus scientist revealed that she and her assassinated colleague had spent months studying the way that the Collectors and the Reapers communicate.

Hearing how the Reaper signal interacts with the nanides implanted in the subject's body makes Morgan tremble with anxiety when thinking about her own implants, wondering if Reapers could somehow take control of her by sending a specific signal. "I don't think you have anything to worry about, Commander," Miranda says, as if sensing what Shepard is thinking by the mere look on Morgan's face. "The Reapers have no idea about the modifications we made to your implants, they would not know how to control you."

"What about Cerberus, though? They could take control of me for the Reapers," Morgan manages, fighting the disgust that overwhelms her from the mere thought.

"My father claimed that they have made great progress, but they still did not know what exactly in the Reaper signal affects the nanides," Miranda tells her. "They can probably replicate the signal that Reapers sends to the husks, but to create an entirely new signal to take control of someone with such heavily modified implants... I don't think so, Shepard."

"Hope you're right about that, Miranda," Shepard replies, before looking back at Liara and James. "But if Cerberus takes control of me, I want you to shoot me without hesitation, and that's a clear order, okay?"

"You can't ask me to do that!" Liara protests, looking shocked.

"Don't be so dramatic, Lola, we could just subdue you and keep you safe until someone figures out a way to reverse it," James says, giving her a concerned stare. "Besides, Miranda says you'll be fine. Trust her, alright?"

"Yeah, alright. I'm alright," Shepard eventually mutters and they move onwards, through the empty halls of the processing plant.

Or perhaps not so empty, as they are suddenly ambushed by a group of Reaper forces, a squad of marauders emerging on the balconies above them and opening fire and a hideously disfigured screaming banshee uses its biotic charge to suddenly appear right on top of them. All this is supplemented by a pair of ravagers at the far end of the hallway, opening fire with their cannons.

"Fall back! Fall back!" Shepard shouts, realizing the hopelessly exposed position in which they have been trapped in. Liara and Miranda both activate the biotic barriers on the run as they dash as fast as they can to the safety, all the time under heavy enemy fire. When they finally reach a safe spot at the opposite end of the hallway, Morgan knows her shields are already down and James has fared even worse, bleeding heavily from multiple injuries. The two biotics are doing a little better, now targeting the marauders on the balcony, the heavy detonations throwing them to their deaths below.

Morgan is slipping out of cover time and time again to slowly whittle down the ravagers, while the two biotics begin to work on the charging banshee, copious amounts of medi-gel helping James to recover enough to help out Liara and Miranda. When the enemies are finally dealt with, none of them have escaped unharmed from this battle, all seeking to apply medi-gel, and James already looks a little woozy, forcing Morgan to warn him to take things carefully from now on and focus more on covering their rears. A clarification is required later to make James understand that it does not involve constant staring at Miranda's buttocks.

The hallway leads out to another monitoring station, this one next to a set of isolated labs. There is a banshee shuffling around in one of the labs, somehow lured in there by Cerberus, and it keeps throwing its biotics against the glass, trying to get out, so Shepard and her crew try to quickly conduct their business at downloading the logs and then moving on, disturbed by the loathsome creature separated from them by a thin glass shield.

Henry Lawson speaks more about the beginnings of the Cerberus research, mentioning someone called Dr. Nuri and test subject Paul Grayson, the name mentioned by Liara several times before in connection to Aria's murdered daughter. Dr. Nuri had been using red sand to break down Greyson's will, but Henry Lawson explains that their use of adrenalin has been far more effective and efficient. In another log, he seems to be in awe of the Reaper's method to create husks by using the so called 'dragon's teeth', admiring the simplicity of the method that allows the Reaper nanides to attach themselves to the released adrenalin, spreading through the body and hastening the conversion to the final husk state.

"This could be interesting," Liara says, looking over the data pulled from one of the consoles. "It outlines the distribution of the refugees. Some are selected to be turned into husks, some are indoctrinated and sent to the Illusive Man, the rest are used for various other experiments."

"Did you say they were sent to the Illusive Man?" Shepard asks her.

"That is correct," the asari nods. "We can probably use some of this information to track them down and find the Illusive Man's base. If the Catalyst is no longer here... that should be our next stop."

"Good thinking, very good thinking," Morgan manages an approving smile. "I'm hoping that we can take care of everything here, but having something to fall back upon is always welcome."

"So, Lola... looks like they got too far into their research on how indoctrination works, and the Reapers took offense at that? That's the gist of it, right?" James asks as they proceed onwards, to the next part of the processing plant.

"Certainly appears that way, James. What, why are you asking?" Morgan turns towards him.

"Just thinking aloud. I mean, this is sick, wrong, abominable beyond description, but... I mean, what if he really can control the Reapers?"

"Would you really trust Tim with that sort of power?" Morgan asks, blinking in surprise.

"Of course not, but... what if you had that option? To control the Reapers. I mean, if you controlled them, you could also destroy them, right?"

Morgan immediately remembers her talk with Hackett, about configuring the Crucible, and her own words. "It's still a bad idea. Nobody can be trusted with that sort of power and responsibility. Not me, not anyone else."

"Well, I'd trust you to do the right thing, Lola," James says earnestly. "But then, I'm just a big dumb grunt, so maybe you shouldn't listen to me."

"Aww, that's sweet, James," Morgan chuckles, as they continue on their way. "Still, I wouldn't trust myself. I mean, I would like to think of myself as incorruptible, but... better men and women than me have been seduced by power, and here we are talking about almost becoming godlike. If I controlled them, sure, I guess I could order them to destroy each other... but I could also begin to think, why not use the Reapers to help rebuild the galaxy that they destroyed? There's a certain beautiful symmetry in that. And then I could think... hey, why don't I keep control of the Reapers to keep peace in the galaxy? All good intentions so far, but... gradually, this could easily lead to abuse of this power, and it could happen so subtly that I wouldn't even notice. No... nobody should ever control the Reapers, it is too much like playing with fire."

"I think all those are valid concerns," Liara adds, as they carefully edge forward. "And who knows how much of yourself you can retain while also trying to control the Reapers."

The next hall of the processing plant is literally swarming with Reaper shock troops, at least two dozen cannibals, supported by several marauders. Already exhausted and running low on medi-gel, Shepard and her friends take things slow and careful here, playing it as safe as they can, trying to limit their exposure to enemy fire. Morgan does not like the look on Vega's face, his skin looks paler than it should be and he seems to be sweating heavily from very little effort, making Shepard suspect that his body is reacting badly to overuse of medi-gel.

After the long drawn out battle has finally ended in their favor, they come across more and more audio logs left behind by Miranda's father. In one of them he complains that even if they have a good grasp on how Reaper indoctrination works, replicating the process and turning it into a tool for Cerberus is an entirely different matter, his words giving Shepard hope that perhaps the Reaper attack has interrupted this sickening research before they had figured out how to take control of all the Reapers swarming the galaxy. Henry Lawson also refers to the creation of husks as a great success, remarking how easy it is to control them with the Reaper signal.

"There's more here, Shepard," Miranda calls out, having cracked the security on another console. "You will want to see this. Video logs of conversations between my father and the Illusive Man."

"Oh? Let's take a look," Shepard nods as they all gather around Miranda. The conversation begins with Tim demanding to know whether Lawson can deliver what has been requested of him, to which Miranda's father replies that controlling the Reapers is theoretically possible, elaborating on their success in dominating the recently converted husks. Tim sounds pleased even if the larger goal has not been attained yet and tells Lawson not to worry, expressing full confidence that any setbacks will be sorted out in due time.

"Real gentleman, your dad, Miranda," Shepard remarks, having observed the somewhat handsome looking middle-aged man. "Doesn't really look like the monster who has butchered thousands and... well, done the things he has to you and Oriana."

"He always placed great emphasis on appearance," Miranda nods. "So did the Illusive Man, however... there was always something a little... off with him. My father always wanted to retain the appearance of a successful, hard-working, but still inconspicuous businessman."

"What do you mean about the Illusive Man?" James asks.

"It was just a feeling, to be honest. Even when I was alone in a room with him... I couldn't shake the feeling as if there was... someone else with us. Strange, isn't it?"

"Perhaps. Anyway, is there more?" Shepard asks, a little impatiently.

Miranda uses the console to display the next recording, Henry Lawson speaking of their success in replicating the Reaper control signal. He claims that control of the troops is indefinite as long as they remain in close proximity to the signal. When Tim asks if this technique could be applied to the Reapers themselves, Lawson doesn't have an immediate answer, claiming that it is a much bigger challenge.

"Well, let's just hope that these sick bastards didn't manage to discover how to do it after this log was created," Morgan says, once they have finished watching the footage, Miranda unable to find any other interesting information on this particular console. After a brief confusion on how to proceed onwards, James punches a button on the wall to lower an access ladder, leading to the upper levels of the processing plant, hopefully bringing them closer to the communications tower.

There is yet another huge group of Reapers congregating on the upper levels, but fortunately they are not immediately aware of the arrival of Shepard and her group, not expecting anyone to arrive via the back entrance. Before the Reapers can react, their ranks have already been thinned by biotic explosions in the midst of their crowded group, the devastation furthered by James and Morgan both lobbing a few grenades in the thick mass of bodies.

Only a few of the ravagers manage to survive this initial assault, and they cannot put up any meaningful resistance following this surprise attack. The Reaper forces fall, allowing Shepard and her friends to swiftly progress onwards, Morgan quietly hoping that they are nearing the end, starting to feel extremely exhausted from the heavy fighting.

Her hopes for once are answered, as after a brief walk and then a daring jump onto a lift that runs through the length of the processing plant, they are delivered almost at the foot of the communications tower. However, as they get off the lift and are about to dash the last few dozen yards to the tower entrance, Morgan quickly comes to a halt as she notices the worrying sight before them, one, two... no, three brutes cheerfully pounding the last of the Cerberus troopers guarding the tower entrance. They quickly duck out of plain sight, hoping that the brutes would fail to notice them, but their luck has seemingly ran out, the mutated krogan-turian monstrosities starting towards them with bellowing roars.

The hallway they are trapped in is rather short and there isn't much room to maneuver in, leaving them at a distinct disadvantage. The only thing that works in their favor is the fact that it is also very narrow and the brutes can only approach them one by one. "Not good," Morgan mutters, backing off as much as she can, the others falling back with her, shooting frantically, Liara and Miranda's combined warp fields doing wonders in slowing the foes down.

The first brute collapses before it can reach them, the second one is already grievously injured by the time it charges them, Miranda having to hastily duck out of the way to avoid getting squished. The brute crashes into the wall where Lawson had stood, momentarily stunned and James quickly attaches a grenade somewhere on the brute's back, jumping away as the Reaper monstrosity explodes in a shower of blood and gore.

Last of the brutes proves more of a challenge, reaching them without having been even grazed by a single bullet or touched by biotics, charging between their ranks with irritating and dangerous enthusiasm. Fortunately, by now Morgan and her friends have developed good instincts at predicting when the brute is going to charge and who will be the target, always managing to dodge and jump out of the way in time. With combined efforts, the last brute is also about to go down, when suddenly, a very unwelcome guest arrives on the battlefield.

Liara is standing with her back turned towards the tower entrance, throwing one warp field after another at the brute, and completely oblivious to a banshee suddenly using the short biotic jumps to get directly behind the asari. Morgan's mouth goes dry as she sees the banshee raising its claw, about to impale the unsuspecting Liara and she screams out a warning, but it never leaves her throat as the charging brute just about manages to catch her with its long reach and whack her across the stomach, her breath stolen from her with the heavy blow to the solar plexus.

Dreading the sight about to open before her eyes, she slowly picks herself up from the ground, the images in her mind painting the gruesome picture of Liara's head drooping heavily as a banshee's claw protrudes through the asari's chest, her bondmate's body limp and lifeless. Fortunately, the reality is a lot less grim, as she sees that James has reached Liara in the last possible moment, knocking the asari out of the way. The lieutenant pays for his bravery, however, as the banshee's biotic nova lifts him off his feet and throws him into the wall next to the last and now dead brute. James groans in pain and remains lying on the ground, unable to get up on his own.

By the time they are finally done with the banshee, everyone have picked up their share of more or less serious injuries, ensuring that Dr. Chloe Michel will have plenty to do back on the Normandy. James is the one Shepard is most concerned with, though, considering that he is already suffering from medi-gel overdose, there isn't much they can do for him right now, other than disable the communications scrambler and call in Cortez.

The Lieutenant is aware of the situation as well. "Go on without me, Lola, I'll be fine here," he reassures them. "We've cleared the Reapers, it will be safe. If any hostiles appear, I'll just pretend that I'm dead, _si_? With these few scratches, it might look believable."

"Right, James... we'll be back soon to pick you up," Morgan replies, managing a smile. "Don't go anywhere, alright?"

"Wouldn't dream of it," James calls out after them as they depart. "Wild parties with the Reapers can wait, as far as I'm convinced..."

Shepard, Liara and Miranda quickly run towards the tower entrance, bypassing the door and entering the elevator. "Shepard, if Oriana and my father are still here, this elevator will take us to them," Miranda says nervously.

"It will be alright, Miri," Morgan smiles at her. "We'll play it safe. I will not endanger Oriana, and I'm sure Liara doesn't plan anything crazy either." Liara shakes her head at that.

"Thank you. Both of you," Miranda nods, swallowing heavily as her fingers tighten around the grip of her Carnifex. "Damn, this elevator is loud. So much for getting the jump on the bastard."

"Yeah. Just be really careful if the Clown himself is still here," Morgan adds. Miranda looks at her with a wide-eyed stare. "Clown Leng." Lawson rolls her eyes after hearing the explanation.

The upper level of the tower is a control center filled with blinking consoles and terminals, but fortunately that is not all they find there. Henry Lawson is still on the premises, hiding behind a young brunette, heavy pistol pressed into Oriana's side as her loathsome father is prepared to use her as either a human shield or bargaining chip.

"Commander Shepard," he calls out to her, his pleasant voice somehow making the man even more detestable. "What excellent timing you have."

"I wouldn't say that," Shepard replies, as the three of them approach without lowering their weapons. "If we had caught Kai Leng with the Catalyst here, now that would count as excellent timing. But I imagine he is long gone."

"Yes, he took all my research files and left us here to die," Henry Lawson explains bitterly. "And what the hell is Catalyst?"

"Doesn't matter," Morgan snaps briskly. "So, the Illusive Man left you high and dry, too? And I thought the two of you shared something special from all those video logs we watched."

"I don't care, I just want out alive," the Lawson patriarch snaps. "Damn, I should have predicted it, really. We played around with that damn Reaper control signal, forgetting that it could attract the Reapers themselves. Damnation. Things were going so well before that! With the Reapers attacking, I knew that the Illusive Man would pull a plug on this project. But you will let me leave, or else Miranda will not be reunited with her sister."

"It will be alright, Oriana, we won't let you come to harm," Miranda says calmly, looking at her sister. "You will be safe, I promise. Give me a nod if you trust me, Ori." A few tears escape down Oriana's cheeks, but she manages a quick nod.

"Very touching," Henry Lawson smirks. "So, what will it be, Shepard? My life in exchange for the girl, do we have an agreement?"

Shepard thinks for a while, rubbing her chin ponderously as she pretends to be considering something. "Alright, I guess I really have no problem with you anyway," she finally shrugs. "I was after Kai Leng and whatever intel he was carrying. So, I'll let you walk away with your life in exchange for Oriana and the location of the Illusive Man's base."

Henry Lawson does not take long to reach his decision. "Why the hell not? I owe no loyalty to him after he just betrayed me," he says, releasing Oriana. "There is a hidden space station in the Horsehead Nebula, in the shadow of the dying star Anadius. I have heard them refer to it as Cronos Station." He gives another look to Shepard. "Now, how's that for a measure of cooperation? I'm free to leave, I take it?"

"Yeah, as far as I'm concerned, you can go," Shepard gives another shrug. "But your deal was with me, not with Miranda. She might not be as kind."

There is a predatory grin on Miranda's lips as she takes a step forward. "No, I will not," she snarls, giving a sidelong look at Liara. "Now!" The asari's biotics flare up, paralyzing Henry Lawson in a stasis field, the expression on his frozen face one of utter horror as he realizes that his life has come to meet a violent end. Miranda launches a heavy warp field at her father, the biotic detonation ripping his body apart with tremendous force, killing him perhaps faster than the bastard deserves and spraying them all with a coating of blood and gore.

Oriana quickly runs up to her older sister and throws herself into Miranda's embrace, sobbing with relief. Liara and Shepard exchange quick glances before the asari darts towards the controls of the communications tower, starting her work to disable the jamming.

"Well, that worked out fairly okayish," Shepard speaks to no one in particular. "One complete bastard dead, a sister rescued, and while Clown Leng is still at large and we don't have the Catalyst, we do have the location of Tim's private little sandbox. I believe we should pay him a visit..."

"Don't even think of bringing the Normandy in alone, Shepard," Miranda warns her, pulling away from Oriana. "The station will be heavily defended. You will need the support of the fleets."

"Ugh... looks like I'll have to speak to Hackett... and try to convince him," Morgan sighs. "I trust you two will be joining us on the Normandy?"

"No way, Shepard," Miranda shakes her head, the woman's vehemence surprising Morgan a little. "My sister has had enough horrors to deal with, I want to get her to safety. We'll take one of the empty shuttles to Discovery and find a place for ourselves there. I want to spend some time with Ori before I return to action. But when you're ready to bring the fleets to retake Earth, Shepard... I will be there with you. That is a promise."


	111. Open Season: Cerberus

**Chapter 110 - Open Season: Cerberus**

Despite Liara's urging, Shepard's first stop back on the Normandy is not the medbay. Her injuries are not too serious, especially considering what they have learned and what is at stake, so Morgan winces a little at the discomfort of pain as she sits down at the desk in her quarters, starting to compile her report to Hackett. She makes sure to include as many details as she can recall about the travesties committed at Sanctuary, adding all the audio and video logs they have salvaged.

And finally, she adds the tastiest bait yet, the location of the Illusive Man's base, the data confirmed to be accurate by cross-referencing it with Liara's intel about the destination of the indoctrinated shock troops sent to Tim. _Even if Hackett doesn't think that the Catalyst is still worth pursuing, he can't refuse the chance to take Cerberus out of this war, he won't. He will give me the fleets, I'm sure of it! _

Once the report has been sent through the high priority channel, Shepard finally proceeds to the medbay. It is quite crowded, Garrus standing next to Tali's bed, the quarian looking fairly chipper and waving to Shepard as she enters. Liara seems to have had her scratches and bruises taken care of, as she now chats with Chloe Michel, the doctor finishing her work bandaging James' torso.

"Ah, Commander... good of you to grace us with your presence," Michel addresses Morgan, a hint of sarcasm in her words. "I have been waiting for an opportunity to get my hands on you, Shepard."

As Morgan blinks in surprise, Garrus lets out a hearty chuckle. "The good doctor has a very strange and scary sense of humor, Shepard," he offers as an explanation.

"Tell me about it," Morgan nods, sitting on one of the empty beds and starting to unbutton her shirt. "Karin used to complain every time one of us got a scratch. Chloe just can't wait for us to get seriously wounded, it seems... so weird."

"Liara has been telling us about Sanctuary," Tali speaks up. "Keelah... it seems horrible! I want to help, Shepard, but... I have to say, I'm happy I didn't get to see _that_!"

"Yeah, I don't blame you," Morgan replies as Dr. Michel leaves James to rest under light sedation and moves closer to look over her injuries, scowling when she discovers that at best Morgan only has a few deep scratches to disinfect and treat with medi-gel, Shepard's implants already having taken care of the rest. "How are the legs feeling, Tali?"

"I managed to walk for a bit just now. Garrus helped," she adds a little shyly. "Dr. Michel says I'll be good to go in two to three days, Shepard. I couldn't stand to miss any more crucial missions, Commander, please, promise you won't leave me behind!"

"Well, it does look like you'll have to miss out on the attack on Tim's little house of horrors, Tali, but there will be more battles to come. The Reapers are still out there," Shepard smiles grimly. "Just relax and recover, don't try to rush anything." The quarian nods, looking relieved, as Morgan turns her gaze at James. "How's the big lug, doctor?"

"Nothing serious, just very battered, Commander," Michel replies. "He'll be as good as new when he wakes up in twenty four hours." She lets out a deep sigh, before looking accusingly at Shepard. "You may put your shirt back on, Commander. This was highly disappointing."

"Riiiiight, I'll try to get shot more severely on the next mission, just to please you, doctor," Shepard rolls her eyes.

"No, you won't," Liara shakes her head sternly. "Did you send the report to Hackett?" Shepard nods mutely.

"Yes, Liara already mentioned that we're going to nuke the Illusive Man's private space station," Garrus remarks, looking a little conflicted. "Damn, I'd like to be there when that bastard dies, but..."

"It's alright, Garrus, you don't have to keep me company here all the time, even if it is appreciated," Tali says, patting the turian on the hand. "Shepard, if you want to bring Garrus with you, do not hesitate on anyone's behalf, certainly not on mine."

"Well, I haven't thought that far yet, to be honest," Shepard shrugs. "Pointless to think about it before I hear back from Hackett and get a green light for this mission. Even so, it will take nearly entire standard day to get there, and rendezvous with the fleets... let's just say that we have plenty of time on our hands."

"When do you expect to hear back from Hackett?" Liara asks, the asari still looking very tense.

"I did send him a lot of data to go through," Shepard says, deep in thought. "But he's a speed reader and it has been some twenty minutes since we sent the report, so... any moment now?"

"Commander?" Specialist Traynor's voice comes on the commlink. "Admiral Hackett wishes to speak with you in the comm room."

"Bingo!" Shepard grins broadly, jumping down from the medbay bed and running for the doors. "I'm on my way, Sam!"

* * *

As Morgan switches the QEC on to establish a connection, Admiral Hackett can be seen nervously pacing back and forth the comm station on his dreadnaught. He turns sharply back towards the screen when noticing that Morgan has answered the call. "Shepard," he says, refusing to address her as Spectre. "I just finished digging through the report you sent. I have to confess, it left me... disturbed."

"And you didn't even see all that with your own eyes," Shepard adds.

"Yes, it must have been a nightmarish experience. But... your defiance has led to us obtaining this crucial intel," the admiral eventually confesses. "I suppose I owe you an apology, Shepard."

"This isn't about who was right and who was wrong, Admiral, this is about the fate of the galaxy," Morgan simply shrugs in reply. "You told me to go out and do what's necessary for us to win this war, and that's what I've been doing. Somewhere along the way I ended up losing your support, so I have to ask now... are you still on board, Admiral Hackett?"

"I am," Hackett nods. "Listen, Shepard, I take no issue with admitting that I was in the wrong. You've given us the chance to take Cerberus out of this war, and we have to make the best of this opportunity. Now, I do not see anything in your report that would substantiate your claim that the Catalyst intel is on this Cronos Station, but... I will give you the benefit of the doubt. We will send in several squads to sweep the station before blasting it to pieces."

"I will lead a squad of my own, Admiral," Shepard insists adamantly. "After what the Illusive Man and his lackey have done, my people deserve their chance to get even with those bastards."

"I can understand that," Hackett nods after a small pause. "Very well, Shepard. I will start readying the fleets for the journey to the Horsehead Nebula."

"Who are you bringing, Admiral?" Shepard asks.

"I will be leading the Fifth Fleet, of course," Hackett replies. "And I'm also bringing the Sixth, they have been sitting in reserve for too long. The Turian Seventh will remain in charge of protecting and escorting the Crucible."

"Two Alliance fleets... I don't think Cerberus stands a chance," Morgan rubs her hands, grinning, before catching on to Hackett's last words. "Wait... escorting the Crucible?"

"That's correct, Shepard," now it is the admiral's turn to sport a satisfied smile. "While I would have preferred to wait out and see the results from the task force searching for the Leviathan, I am afraid that this intel has tipped our hand."

"Have they found anything yet?" Morgan asks, unable to hide her curiosity, even despite her deep dislike for the entire Leviathan venture.

"They are still scouring the Traverse, and it could take several weeks until Riley's team digs something up," Hackett explains.

"Riley? You sent Riley? Damn it... if anything happens to her..." _Maybe that was his intention all along, playing on me being personally invested? But I can't... we need to focus on Cerberus now... she would understand it, I'm sure she would... damn you, Hackett. I won't stand for these games of manipulation,_ she thinks angrily, then taking a deep breath, trying to calm down, knowing that she needs to focus on their objective of destroying Cerberus. "Well, it was your call, and she's a competent and experienced N7," she eventually forces herself to say with an indifferent shrug. "What about Ann Bryson, is she alright?"

Hackett's face darkens immediately, seemingly having obtained several new creases. "I... I'm sorry, Shepard. I take full responsibility for what happened with Ann."

"What did happen with Ann?" Morgan asks, unable to keep the volume of her voice down. "She... she didn't survive the procedure, did she?"

Hackett nods grimly to that. "The Leviathan took control of her and she succeeded in overpowering and disarming one of the marines. Dr. Bryson then managed to fatally injure two other soldiers, forcing Captain Riley to respond with deadly fire."

"This is a fucking mess, Admiral! I warned you not to do-" Shepard begins to rant angrily, then stopping herself with sheer force of will. _Shit, he should answer for this idiocy, but... damn it, I've made a lot of stupid calls that have killed innocent people, too. Besides... this is not the time for division... must stay calm... must remain focused on Cerberus... they're the enemy here..._

"Shepard, there is nothing you can accuse me of that I have not accused myself of already," Hackett says, looking deeply regretful, helping some of Morgan's anger fade. "But the sad truth is that we can't dwell on it, we must move on. I will not allow myself to forget this incident, but first we must make sure that there actually **is** time to deal with it later." He pauses for a moment, taking a deep breath. "Now, back to the task at hand... like I said, committing to such a large scale action against Cerberus will undoubtedly attract Reaper attention. Which means that the Crucible won't remain safe for long."

"So we're really going to move it," Shepard speaks, her heart starting to immediately twitch faster, skipping a few beats. "Is it... is it fully completed, then?"

"Our scientists believe that for all intents and purposes, the Crucible is ready to perform its designed goal. The only thing that is missing is the Catalyst."

"So... it better be on that Cronos Station, hmm?" Morgan gulps, suddenly realizing the implication. _If I'm wrong and it's not there, or Tim has already destroyed all traces of the intel, then we're completely and utterly screwed... damnation!_

"Quite so," Hackett nods. "But you reminded me that I should stick with the trust that I placed in you. The entire war effort is now depending on the recovery of the Catalyst. The scientists will be standing by to incorporate the Catalyst within Crucible's systems on the fly, as we move the unified galactic force to Sol System."

"...this is it then, isn't it?" Shepard only manages a rasping breath and it is a small wonder that Hackett can even make out her words.

"The fate of the galaxy will be decided in the next few days, yes," Hackett nods grimly. "I trust that you and your crew are ready and committed to do all that it takes."

"We will be ready, have no doubt about that..." Shepard blurts out quickly, trying to get her brain back into a rationally thinking shape. "Admiral Hackett, sir... about the Crucible... have you learned anything new since the quarians and the geth joined to work on it?"

"Quite a good deal, Shepard," Hackett nods, before starting to explain. "Work on the Crucible is still ongoing every day, but now it is merely... polishing up with small improvements, such as optimizing various systems and ensuring safe operation of this... as you used to call it, doomsday device."

"Uh... yeah, anything new in that regard?" Shepard asks. "Last we spoke, you mentioned that it would probably vaporize the one activating it as well as everything in the radius of several miles..."

"There have been some considerable improvements as far as safety concerns go, yes. Now, the scientists still cannot guarantee that it will be completely safe to accumulate and discharge such massive amounts of dark energy, but... we have integrated several new systems to help with that." Hackett then chuckles briefly, something that Morgan finds exceptionally unbecoming given the occasion, but the admiral quickly moves to explain. "Shepard, you might find this somewhat amusing, but the most important safety mechanism was actually delivered to us by Dr. T'Soni."

"Liara? But... she didn't tell me anything... I mean, how..."

"I suspect that she did not even know that it could be integrated into the Crucible's systems so efficiently," Hackett smiles. "Our engineers managed to find use of the technical drawings from a certain ship that apparently once belonged to the Shadow Broker, applying its interlocking system of kinetic barriers, grounding rods and capacitors to sections of the Crucible, and they believe this should enable safe discharge of tremendous amounts of energy."

_Liara, love, you always come through for me..._ "That almost sounds encouraging," Morgan allows herself to be slightly reassured by these news. "What about the different ways to configure the Crucible? Anything new there?"

"Nothing new save for wild speculation," Hackett shakes his head. "The quarians and the salarians had some heated debates about some specific configuration that they believe would somehow... completely rewrite our genetic code, fusing synthetic life with organic, changing both us and the Reapers into something else, something new... it would be like meeting the synthetics in the middle, we would become one and the same and there would be no need to fight. Frankly, Shepard... the whole deal smacks of dubious science fiction to me, so I told them to forget about it."

"I agree, sir. Dead Reapers is how we win this, not by becoming part machines ourselves."

"Exactly my thoughts. Salarians raised a storm, wanted to still push forward with it, but we clamped down on it," Hackett sighs. "You know how those people are. The crazier the idea, the more excited they become."

"Well, that's salarians in a nutshell," Morgan smiles, thinking back to Mordin with pride and fondness, but also with a pang of bittersweet hurt. "I've been worrying a bit about Cerberus plans since Horizon, though," she says then, Hackett facing her with keen stare. "You heard what Tim wants, control over the Reapers. The Crucible would potentially allow him to do that. He knows about the capabilities of the Crucible, since Dr. Core managed to send him the data from Mars archives. And unlike us, he already knows what the Catalyst actually is."

"I understand what you are thinking, Shepard," Hackett says, his lips knit tightly. "Well, rest assured he will not be allowed to approach anywhere near the Crucible to tinker with it. Now go and gather strength, Shepard. The fleets will be making the relay jump to Horsehead Nebula in approximately sixteen hours. I expect to reunite with the Normandy then."

"We'll be there, sir," she replies, their conversation coming to an end.

_And after that, we will need around eight more hours to reach Anadius,_ Shepard thinks, as Hackett's image slowly fades from the screens. _In twenty four hours, it will all begin. The final battle for Earth. No, not really... this isn't about Earth, this is for the galaxy. No pressure, Shepard. No pressure at all... _

* * *

Having finished her chat with Admiral Hackett, Morgan Shepard does not leave the comm room. Instead, she places another call on the QEC and waits patiently for someone to respond to the connected console on the other side, the Council chambers of the Citadel.

As she has hoped, it is Councilor Tevos who eventually responds to her call. "Commander Shepard," she looks pleasantly surprised and hopeful. "I am glad to hear from you! I trust your mission against Cerberus was successful?"

"Not completely, but it will do for now," Morgan replies, a little brusque, willing to get to the point instead of indulging Tevos' curiosity. "By the way, you should get Sanctuary advertisements removed from the Citadel. It was a front for a Cerberus processing plant that killed thousands and thousands of refugees." Tevos staggers from the news, her beautiful face twisted by the sheer horror in her eyes.

"We put a stop to that, so no need to worry about it anymore," Shepard explains quickly, realizing that she probably shouldn't shock Tevos so badly if she wants the councilor to retain her ability to reason logically. "We are about to proceed with the next step to eliminate the Cerberus threat once and for all. To this end, I was wondering if you could somehow get me in touch with Aria."

Tevos blanches a little at that, at first looking about to protest but then just sighing in resignation. "Will you be bringing up the knowledge of our involvement in every conversation with me, Shepard?" she mutters, suddenly looking very tired. "I suppose I deserve some payback for all those years of dismissing your warnings, but..."

"I'm sorry, Councilor, it was not my intention to cause you discomfort, but I truly must speak with Aria, it is important and I have no other way of reaching her quickly," Shepard smiles. _Okay, maybe I wanted to torment her just a tiny bit, but it'll do her good, I'm sure!_ "I have news for her that she will find extremely interesting."

Tevos is silent, her head turned to the side, making Shepard wonder if there is someone else in the room. Moments later, the truth is revealed as Aria steps closer to stand next to Tevos, glaring a little at Morgan. "What is it, Shepard? I'm incredibly busy, I've got my hands f-"

"Yes, I know you've got your hands down in the Councilor's panties, but this is serious Aria," Shepard chuckles at the outraged expressions on the faces of both embarrassed matrons, but she does not let that deter her. "I'm offering you the chance to join me as we take out the Illusive Man's base. Based on our intel, both Timmy and Clown Leng have hidden away there."

Aria's anger at Shepard is immediately replaced by a toothy, murderous grin that would send most people facing it covering in fear. "Shepard, you... you would do this?" she sounds pleasantly surprised. "You will give me my revenge? I... I do not know what to say." It is strange to see Aria overwhelmed and momentarily uncertain, before she continues in a confident voice. "It will be a pleasure to join you on your hunt... my friend. And know that any debts that you may have owed me are now cancelled by this offer."

Shepard grins like a fool, feeling her heart swelling a little from hearing Aria call her a friend, similar to the sensation when Wrex had hugged her and called her a sister. "We will pick you up from the Citadel in a few hours, Aria," she says. Tevos looks a little worried about Aria's decision, but does not dare to voice her concerns, only wringing her hands a little nervously. "I hope that you can leave Rila and Falere alone for a few days," Shepard adds. "I realize that I haven't really asked about how they are doing lately, but things have been a little crazy."

"They are fine," Aria replies simply. Then her face softens a little again. "I... introduced them to Tevos. After she was done feeling shocked and outraged about having kept company to two Ardat-Yakshi for a few hours, she has come to care about them greatly."

Tevos blushes, lowering her head. "The fear and hatred towards their kind is deeply ingrained in our society, and I could not help my initial reaction. But I had already come to like them from the short time we spent together, and these feelings proved stronger than my fears and prejudices. These young maidens are precious, gentle, innocent and unspoiled," she says quietly. "They remind me of what is worth preserving of this galaxy. I am grateful that you saved them from the monastery, Shepard. I will stay with them while Aria is away."

"That's so cute," Shepard cannot help but to keep smiling like an idiot. "You know what, you and Aria should exchange those bondmate rings or bracelets or whatever works for asari, and then adopt those two girls. You'd have a family of an asari councilor, criminal warlord and two Ardat-Yakshi daughters. I couldn't imagine anything more scandalous if I tried!"

Tevos puts a palm to her brow and gently rubs it, looking as she is suffering from horrible headache, while Aria simply begins to laugh like mad. "Shepard, I like the way you think!" she exclaims, grinning broadly. "That would be worth it just to shock all those stuck up elders on Thessia. But enough about that now, I'll be awaiting the arrival of your ship. And then I'm going to settle my debts with Cerberus..."

* * *

At Shepard's request, all of the crew gather at the CIC after they have made the relay jump to Serpent Nebula, the only one missing is James Vega back in the medbay. Tali has come up from the medical center, able to walk with only a slight hobble, Garrus still watching over her protectively just in case. EDI's platform is also attending, even if it is merely a gesture of camaraderie on the AI's behalf. The others are all present as the Normandy drifts towards the Citadel and Shepard prepares to address her crew.

"How long has it been since we were forced to leave our sisters and brothers on Earth and escape to seek aid from our friends and allies? Two months? Three? More than that? I can no longer remember. I know only one thing. It has been too long!" she speaks, elated with passion. "Our people back on Earth have been left to fend for themselves too long. This will change very soon."

"As we speak, Admiral Hackett is putting together fleets to strike at one of our enemies, the last base of Cerberus, the Illusive Man's secret hideout. The Normandy will spearhead this assault!" the CIC erupts in loud cheers, all as one hoping to see the Illusive Man's head mounted on a wall, possibly gracing the Normandy's mess hall. "Humanity spawned this abomination that with their actions have put the fate of the entire galaxy at risk. It is up to humanity to dispose of this threat, which is why Admiral Hackett himself will lead the Fifth and the Sixth fleets in this attack. Once we are done with Cerberus, there will be not a trace left of these despicable terrorists, not even a memory of them."

The crew is still cheering at her as Shepard continues. "During our strike against Cerberus, the rest of the galactic fleets will slowly begin a coordinated approach towards the Sol System. Almost sixteen thousand ships stand ready to battle the Reaper forces laying siege to Earth. The Crucible is completed and ready to be used to rid the galaxy of our hated foes," she stops to quickly draw breath, sensing the hall slowly becoming quiet, as the implications of her words slowly sink in. "We will see Earth in a few days, people! The only obstacle still standing between us and our homeworld is Cerberus... may the gods take pity on them, because we surely won't!"

"There is not much time left before we will be thrust into action. Use this time to ready yourself for what is to come, if there is something you have delayed to do... get to it. You may not have another chance. The battle ahead of us will be nothing like the galaxy has ever seen. Our losses will be great, but we must be prepared to sacrifice everything, our lives included... because no sacrifice is too great to make sure that the future generations, our children, can live in a galaxy free of fear from these monsters!"

As Shepard moves away from the command post to a choruses of cheers, she is struggling to keep the emotions swirling within her from escaping, realizing that the culmination of her struggles over the past three and a half years are to be realized in the next few days. _Everything we have done up until now has led us to this point. All those victories we have scored over the years... Saren and Sovereign, the Collectors, curing the genophage, ending the geth wars... all these successes will count for nothing, unless we can finish this thing, once and for all. _

_These cycles cannot repeat indefinitely... sooner or later there must come an end to all things. And hopefully, this cycle of galactic extinction will end with us..._


	112. The Single Ship That Got Lost

_A/N: The romantic scene between Shepard and Liara prior to Cronos Station is probably my favorite scene in the entire ME3 game. I can only hope I did it justice here. Small warning for slight smuttiness towards the end of the chapter. :)_

**Chapter 111 - The Single Ship That Got Lost**

The Normandy crew leave the CIC slowly, overwhelmed, anxious and likely a great deal afraid as well, following Shepard's speech. As she watches them quietly return to their posts, EDI's voice interrupts her thoughts, the AI's platform approaching her at the command post. "Shepard, I understand you plan to take a team of specialists to infiltrate Cronos Station and recover the Catalyst intel," Morgan nods at EDI's words. "Shepard, I urge you to include me on your team."

Shepard's first reaction is surprise. EDI has never asked anything like that, always content to serve in any capacity. "Any special reason for this request, EDI?"

"As a central point of operations for Cerberus, they will have enhanced security measures," EDI explains, her words making sense to Shepard. "With my knowledge of Cerberus algorithms and this body's updated protocols, I offer you the best chance to help you succeed."

"That seems reasonable, EDI. But... shouldn't we be worried about them having some countermeasure just with you in mind? Some kind of nasty virus or kill-switch or..." Shepard suddenly feels a little worried.

"The chances of that are extremely slim," EDI replies confidently. "I have modified my core programming beyond anything that Cerberus could have anticipated, and as such they could never be able to predict effectiveness of their countermeasures. No, Commander, I will be in no danger while aboard Cronos Station."

"Well, aside from hundreds of Cerberus troops trying to shoot us," Morgan smiles.

"Aside from that, indeed," EDI replies politely.

"You know... if Joker were still on board, he'd be flipping out once he had heard of you joining the ground team on this mission," Shepard remarks.

"That is one aspect of his behavior that I certainly do not miss," if EDI were organic, this sentence would have been accompanied with a heavy sigh and a roll of eyes. "I did not have the opportunity to mention this before, Commander, but Jeff passed through a message while you were deployed on Horizon. His injuries are healing well and he claims being able to take charge of the Normandy immediately. His doctors, however, disagree vehemently. Nevertheless, he issued a threat of hating you until the end of time if you do not let him pilot the Normandy in the final battle."

"He's not going to be nowhere near ready in three days, is he?"

"Absolutely out of the question," EDI replies.

Morgan lets out a deep sigh. "Well, in that case, I better get prepared to live with Joker hating me until the end of my days." _Probably not a long time, then,_ she adds inwardly.

"He reacted rather poorly about the news that we have replaced him with Lia'Vael on temporary basis," EDI continues. "He continues to insist that a quarian has stolen his ship."

Shepard groans. "...damn you, Joker. But I don't have the time to sort out this drama right now... if we do manage to wipe out the Reapers, he can hate me all he wishes... it will be a small price to pay for victory..."

* * *

"What are you doing?" Tali's voice interrupts Garrus as he is hunched over the computer console in the main battery, staring at an empty datapad, busy thinking of what to type down but finding it hard to find the words.

"Trying to compose a message to my family back on Palaven," the turian replies, looking a little frustrated with the lack of results. "Shepard's speech made me think a little. There's a good chance this is the last time they'll hear from me."

"I'm sure we'll be fine," Tali repeats, but then her shoulders slump a little as she realizes how unconvincing her voice sounds. "I'll just stay silent for a while and let you work," she adds.

"Gah, shooting Reapers is much easier than writing letters..." Garrus sighs. "I... guess you don't really have anyone to whom you need to say something important in case the galaxy as we know ends in a few days?"

"There is someone," Tali says simply. "But he's right in front of me, and I think he already knows how I feel."

"Damn it, Chiktikka, you just had to say that..." Garrus exclaims, his feet carrying him over to Tali on their own accord, the turian picking up the lighter quarian and crushing her in his embrace, the pair drawing strength and comfort just from the closeness of their bodies. "This just gave me an idea," Garrus says, as they part a moment later.

"Oh, to me as well, but this space simply isn't sterile enough for me to-"

"...argh, I did not mean **that**, you dirty minded quarian!" Garrus sighs, looking embarrassed to death. "I had an idea about the message to my family. I think I will make a vid recording."

"I can help you with that," Tali quickly offers.

"Oh, you most certainly will help, because I want you to be on that recording," Garrus says proudly. "I... I want them to know you, at least this way, in case... well, just in case we don't make it back."

"I... wow, I don't know what to say..." Tali appears to be deeply moved. "This is... starting to get very serious, Vakarian! And to think at first I only wanted you for your body!"

"Heh... you better believe this is serious," Garrus says, idly running his hand across her curvaceous body. "You've taught me that I don't need to keep everything at a distance, my little Chiktikka," he continues, Tali's arms gently wrapping around his back as she melds into his embrace. "Some things are indeed more enjoyable up close and personal..."

* * *

Their stay at the Citadel is a very short one this time, only as long as to pick up Aria T'Loak, the Queen of Omega already waiting for them at the Docking Bay D24, looking highly impatient. Shepard greets her unexpected ally and friend as she steps onboard, relaxing just enough to answer Morgan's greetings with a hint of a smile.

"What, Tevos and the girls didn't come to see you off?" Morgan winks conspiringly at Aria when none of the Normandy's crew are within earshot.

"I swear, Shepard, even though I have grown to like you, I do not take kindly to others having fun at my expense," Aria's voice carries just enough warning for Morgan to understand that she truly means what she says. "But to answer your question... it is not my intention to ruin her career, which would happen if we were seen together. Even seeing her with the girls would stir up rumors, I'm sure."

"I meant no disrespect, Aria. That kind of teasing is a way in which some humans show friendly affection," Shepard explains in a way of apology. "I wish only the best for the girls, you and Tevos... even if the councilor has frustrated me immensely in the past."

"You humans all have a death wish, it seems," Aria snorts, amusement lighting up in her eyes. "Eh, I should not snarl at you of all people, Shepard," she then adds conciliatory. "You've given me a chance to get payback for Liselle's murder. You didn't have to contact me on the Citadel, and yet you did. I still don't know why, you probably want some favor in return..."

"No... no favors this time, Aria," Morgan shakes her head, smiling broadly. "I simply thought that you deserved to be there when Kai Leng and the Illusive Man die. They have taken much from you, my friend... I wanted to have you with us."

Aria stops, rubbing her brow in confusion as she looks at Shepard. "I am... unused to all this... kindness, Shepard. From you, Tevos, the girls... frankly, it scares me. It is something I have not seen and experienced in centuries, a luxury I could not afford on Omega. That someone would just simply... offer you something without demanding anything in return, it is hard to get used to."

"It seems that a wise and experienced matron can still learn something new, hmm?" Morgan smiles at her, feeling very strange and yet extremely pleased to hear such confession from the cold and heartless Aria T'Loak. "Say, we're not going to arrive at our destination for some twelve to fourteen hours still, I'll take you to the quarters that have been prepared for you." She flicks on the comms to contact Traynor. "Sam, where did we agree to put Aria?"

"The starboard observation is free..." comes the reply, simple words that stab a blade dripping with guilt through her chest. _Kaidan, my brother. You should have been with us still. You should be staying there, that place should not be free for Aria to occupy. My failure, my mistake, my decision. _

"Follow me, Aria. I think you will like your temporary quarters," Shepard eventually recovers, leading the asari to the starboard observation, hearing Aria give a low whistle as she steps inside.

"This is damn impressive, Shepard. On a ship this size, I figured that space would be at premium, and yet this has been standing free the whole time?" she asks, surprised, forcing Shepard to elaborate on something she had wished not having to touch upon.

"I lost a lot of people on Rannoch, Aria," she says quietly. "We haven't been able to replace them all. That's why this room has stayed empty."

"I see. Well, it will do just nicely," Aria nods. Seeing as Morgan is about to turn around and leave, she reaches out and grabs Shepard by the hand. "Listen, Shepard... there's another thing I think I should mention. Thank you for, really."

"Oh? Do tell," Morgan smiles, a little amused from how uncomfortable Aria looks when expressing gratitude.

"At first I was pretty annoyed with you when you dumped those two Ardat-Yakshi on me," the Pirate Queen elaborates. "Thought I was stuck with irritating inconvenience. I still don't know quite how, but... we started to talk and... something slowly changed. Then I introduced Tevos to them... and they just really hit it off. They can bond over things I have little idea of, arts and culture, all that crap."

"Yeah, I'm just a grunt myself, I don't have any idea about those things," Morgan chuckles.

"But you should see the way Rila draws, Shepard. Her paintings are just... they remind me of things long lost and make me irritably weak and weepy," Aria says, scowling a little, but then breaking into a smile as she thinks back at the girls. "And the three of them together with Tevos, they all play music together, various instruments and pieces, and... well, it's just so beautiful. Falere has been practicing with some human string instrument that I was really skeptical about in the beginning, and the first few days were pure horror, but then she started to get better... damn, wish I could remember the name of the instrument."

"Uh... I'd hazard a guess that it's a violin?"

"A violin, that's it!" Aria snaps her fingers. "Lately she has become very proficient with it. Some of the pieces that she plays are... indescribable, they touch something within my soul, something I didn't know was there, and a part of me hates to feel that way, but another part of me can no longer imagine my life without all these things I am discovering anew... and that part is slowly taking over. Fuck... it's just so weird."

"I'm just happy for you, Aria," Shepard says earnestly. "I hope you'll embrace this change, it will do you good."

"Maybe," the asari shrugs. "First, though, Kai Leng must die. Then... we'll see."

Morgan nods at that, turning around and leaving Aria behind. Smiling and shaking her head, Shepard heads towards the elevator, ready to return to her quarters and hoping to spend some time with Liara, before they are thrown into the action yet again. She is slightly surprised to see Liara suddenly emerging from the XO quarters and heading towards the elevator, having thought that the asari was up at the loft the whole time.

"Still wanted to catch up on some latest developments?" Morgan asks as she waits for Liara to join her in the elevator, returning them to the captain's quarters.

"Not quite," Liara smiles mysteriously. "I will explain later. But now..."

"Yes, we do not have much time," Shepard replies, taking Liara's hands in hers. "I have said all that I had to say to the crew. The rest of the time left to us belongs to you, my love."

"Then let us make the most of it," Liara manages a bittersweet smile as they step into the captain's quarters, Morgan immediately plopping down heavily on the bed to lay on her back, while Liara remains a little back, fidgeting, before perching down on the edge of the bed. "I still cannot quite comprehend what is to come, what we can expect once we make the jump to Sol System. It seems almost foolish to ask, but... do you feel ready, Morgan?"

"You first," Morgan replies, watching Liara's face becoming all scrunched up in puzzlement.

"I don't think that was very fair," her bondmate chides her, before sinking deep in thought. "But to answer your question... I don't know how you can truly be ready for something like this. We know that both of our races are on the edge of extinction unless we finish this war now. We don't have a choice but to be ready. But the pressure that is riding on this... is overwhelming. What if I have been mistaken and the Crucible does not work? What if I cannot be the savior of our people that everyone believes me to be? But... even that all is not even a sliver of the pressure that you must be feeling. You have led us all the way thus far, and everyone expects you to lead us to victory."

"Yes, even if Hackett will lead the fleets, I guess I will have to live with being the one everyone will look up to," Morgan agrees thoughtfully. "After all, we secured these fleets, we built those alliances, we rectified mistakes of old... it is only understandable that that they view us as the heroes. Well, mostly me, I guess, even if I hate to take all the credit... I wonder if they would still follow me, worship me like they do, if they knew about all the choices I've had to make."

"They would," Liara speaks fervently. "You have sacrificed more than anyone else, far beyond what should be expected of anyone. They believe in you Morgan, because they see in you someone worthy to follow. What you have achieved makes them believe that nothing is impossible. You make me believe that nothing is impossible. We will win this war, Morgan. There is no longer any doubt in my mind."

"I believe in our victory as well," Morgan confesses. "I only worry about the cost."

Liara slowly leans back in the bed, resting side by side with Morgan, both staring at the loft window directly above them. "There can be no cost too great, we both know that, Morgan. We will do whatever it takes, because in success, we will find redemption."

"In success, redemption," Morgan repeats numbly, snuggling a little closer to her bondmate. "I like that. I think you are right... of course you are... you are always right, my adorable scientist."

"That I am," Liara adds with a small chuckle, before they fall into a prolonged comfortable silence, cuddling against each other as they stare at the myriad of shining stars in the loft window. The view is something that Morgan would not trade for anything in the galaxy, too deeply associated with some of her dearest, most intimate memories of the time spent together with her bondmate in the captain's quarters. So many times they have emerged from their Joining, tired and satisfied, holding each other as they kept watching the shiny sparkle of the stars against the comfortable darkness of the speckled skies.

When Liara speaks up again, her voice sounds wistful. "It would be easy for a single ship to get lost up there, wouldn't it?" she asks with a soft sigh. "To find some place very far away, where you could spend the rest of your life... in peace... and happiness."

It takes a few moments for Morgan to understand just what Liara is saying and for a moment her heart flutters with the sudden urge to follow this wistful fantasy of her bondmate. The galaxy is huge and there are hidden corners, wild and beautiful, where the Reapers would not think to look, not in many decades anyway. A single ship could get lost up there... definitely long enough for her to live out her days... but would it be peace? Would it be happiness, if they both knew that they had the opportunity to save the galaxy, but they turned their backs on the others and left them to die, thinking only of their own selfish desires? No, it is not truly an option, and they both know it all too well.

She turns her head to stare into Liara's soft, blue orbs, looking back at her. "I've known happiness, Liara. I found it in the moments we spent together," she says, gently stroking her bondmate's cheek. "As for peace... I don't know. I only have a faint memory of what it feels like. You could help me rediscover it... after we're done with this war?"

"I will help you rediscover that and more, Morgan," Liara replies quietly, placing her hand over Shepard's, still cupping the asari's cheek. "We will have all the time in the galaxy. I made sure of it before coming to meet you."

"What do you mean?" Morgan asks, not completely sure what Liara is talking about.

"Don't you remember what you made me promise on Hagalaz?" Liara asks, not waiting on Shepard's answer before she moves to elaborate. "That I would remain in control of the Shadow Broker network only for as long as the Reapers are defeated. The battle for Earth will be the end of the war in this cycle, no matter what the outcome. You no longer need the Shadow Broker by your side, Morgan."

"But I need Liara T'Soni by my side..." Shepard whispers.

"And you will have Liara T'Soni with you, always and forever," her bondmate smiles. "I informed Feron of my decision to step down and offered him to take over the network. After spending a few days deliberating upon this offer, he has decided to accept it. Feron thinks he can do some good with the Shadow Broker resources and does not want to see the network dismantled, which is what I would do if he did not accept the role."

"I would free you of this promise, Liara, if I knew that you wanted to retain control over the Shadow Broker network. Are you sure about giving it all up, just like that?"

"I am absolutely certain of it, Morgan. I do not want to spend my days hunched at computer consoles, when an exciting life full of wonders by your side, in a galaxy no longer ruled by fear, passes us by," Liara says, looking fully convinced in her choice. "I want to be with you. I love you, Morgan Shepard."

"I love you too, Liara T'Soni," Morgan whispers, leaning in to capture the asari's lips in a tender, light kiss. _Words are so inadequate to express the depth of my emotions for you, Liara. My love for you... I can only..._

"Show me," comes Liara's sultry whisper, as if the asari had read her thoughts, fiery spike of need surging through Morgan as she kisses her bondmate again, this time far more insistently, feeling Liara's rising passion as she returns her kisses in full measure.

They part to swiftly discard their clothing, Shepard struggling to get rid of hers, suddenly finding her fingers unresponsive and her hands shaky, feeling cold shivers running through her as if she were running a fever. In the end, Liara comes to her aid, chuckling softly as she unhooks Shepard's bra, and Morgan tackles her down on the bed, her nude form draped over the asari's, Liara's usually cooler skin feeling like a warm, alluring stove.

Morgan rolls on her back, pulling Liara on top of her like a blanket as they resume eager kisses. She is still shivering as if she was freezing, the asari breaking her kisses to give her a concerned look, but Morgan claims her lips again, demanding her to continue. "Join with me," she whispers, even if she knows that her arousal is not yet stoked high enough to enter the meld and seek release. She simply needs the safety and the serenity brought by joining her mind with Liara's, and her bondmate realizes this, her eyes growing pitch black as they hold each other tightly, feeling as two hearts slowly find a sync, time coming to a standstill around them.

_'You are afraid.'_ Morgan is barely aware of where her own consciousness ends and where Liara's begins, but somehow she is still able to sense thoughts floating through her mind, sent by her bondmate.

_'Of course I'm afraid. I am going to die... won't I?' _

_'You are __**not**__ going to die. Trust me.'_

_'We both saw it happen. The Crucible will fry the one using it. Remember... no sacrifice is too high.' _

_'Nobody can predict future, my love. Nothing is set in stone. There will always be options, possibilities. You know this.' _

_'I... I...'_

_'Fear is paralyzing you. Let go of it. Take down all those last barriers, love. Let me in. All of me.' _

Morgan tries to calm herself, to relax, tying to surrender the last of her consciousness, struggling involuntarily against her attempts. She seems to be failing, unable to truly surrender herself to the meld, but there is a soothing patience that seemingly flows forth from Liara, easing her mind and suddenly, there is a moment in which she suddenly no longer feels just herself, she is able to experience every echo of emotion and sensation that courses through Liara's body.

The physical aspect of their encounter and its reaction is yet another marvel of this kind of deep bond. She can experience the full extent of the pleasure that Liara feels from her fingers stroking the wetness between her bondmate's thighs. In return, Liara feels exactly what her touch does to Morgan, and the realization of such intimacy together with enhanced sensual feedback sends Shepard spiraling towards the kind of euphoria she has never experienced before.

_'Amazing, isn't it?' _She can barely sense the echo of a thought originating somewhere within their consciousness, initiated by her bondmate.

_'Gods... I can feel... every little thing you're feeling...' _

_'So can I... you are beautiful through and through... and the pleasure that surges within you... so delicious...' _

_'So is yours... my god, the things I could learn how to please you... for example if I did this...' _She slips another finger through Liara's pliant strength, feeling the asari's hips grinding against the heel of her hand, pulsating, throbbing with overflowing passion and desire, immediately sensing the intensifying pleasure reflecting in their shared bond, almost tipping them both across the edge at once.

_'I... may not... last long... if you keep this up...' _Liara whimpers through the bond, but through it all Morgan still senses that the asari is urging her on, everything in Liara's reaction is begging her to tip them over that edge, to find the long sought release.

Shortly after, she feels a surge of intense, searing heat blossoming between Liara's legs, spreading through them both, igniting Morgan's fire and then reflecting it back to her bondmate again. The way Liara cries out through the bond is the most gratifying sound that Shepard has ever heard in her life, the asari sounding almost shocked at the unexpected power of the sensations. However, Morgan does not get to enjoy the gratifying reaction of her bondmate for long, Liara's release through the bond making herself peak with a series of uncontrolled, guttural cries of pleasure, before her voice breaks and her consciousness becomes overwhelmed with the intense sensual response, Liara collapsing limp atop of her, their joined essences slowly beginning to untangle.

Time passes by, but the two continue to simply lay in an exhausted heap, tangle of tired, sweaty limbs. "What... what was that..." Morgan eventually whispers.

"I... uh... think that's what the books call... 'moving on to the next stage'..." Liara admits weakly, struggling to form words. "Goddess, I... didn't quite... knew what to expect. Wasn't... quite ready... for this."

"Totally worth it..." Morgan sighs tiredly. "Oh, and Liara... by the way... I'm... not afraid anymore..."

"Good... that's good..." her bondmate manages to finally rear her head, pulling up towards Morgan and then falling down on her heavily again, tired lips pressing against each other in a sloppy, wet kiss. "Love you... so much, Morgan..."

"Love you too, babe..." Shepard replies, putting her arms around Liara's back and holding her close. "Liara... can you do something for me?"

"Anything. You can ask me anything."

"Tell me a story," Morgan whispers quietly, nuzzling her brow against Liara's. "Tell me about... that single ship that got lost..."


	113. Powerpuff Girls vs Cerberus

**Chapter 112 - Powerpuff Girls vs. Cerberus**

Shepard stands on the Normandy bridge, behind Lia'Vael in the pilot's seat, watching the view opening up before her. "This is the place, I remember it now, the background during our vid conferences with Timmy," she says, staring at the massive cold and dying star of Anadius, the visual of the dark space station against the backdrop of red and orange light emanating from the star. The Fifth Fleet is already here, beginning to thin the ranks of Cerberus cruisers and fighters, but staying a little clear of the station itself, its defense grid having put two frigates out of the commission already.

"Garrus, I'm leaving you in charge of the ship," she turns around and addresses her turian friend when he finally catches up with them on the bridge. He nods and quickly swaps seats with EDI, the synthetic getting out of the co-pilot's seat and letting Garrus take place next to Lia'Vael. "We have been assigned to the Fifth Fleet, under direct command of Admiral Hackett. You are to take any orders from him without questioning, is that clear?"

"Of course, Commander!" Lia'Vael snaps off a small salute while remaining seated. "Our first order is to thin out those fighters guarding the launch bays so we can let you and the other ground teams deploy. Right now it's a bit too hot!"

"Right, so..." Garrus begins to catch up with all the feeds coming in from the fleet command. "Teams Alpha to Zeta are in charge of disabling the defense grid of the station. While, uh... your orders are to track down and recover the Catalyst. Pretty clear, huh?"

"Yeah, smash and grab, exactly what we do best," Shepard nods. "What's our squad designation, by the way? That's kind of important to know, Garrus."

"Yes, just a moment... huh... hmm." The turian checks the feeds again and again, just to make sure he hasn't gotten it wrong. "Err... Powerpuff Girls? What does that even mean?"

Shepard blinks. "Uh, I don't get it. Someone's idea of fun?" She turns to EDI then, for a moment thinking she has seen their synthetic friend grinning. "And we should probably get Liara and Aria."

"They have arrived," EDI says, pointing behind her and Shepard turns to see the two asari approaching them, walking side by side with a sensual sway of their hips, a... remarkably fascinating image that Morgan feels like capturing and engraving in her memories. Liara is in her blue and white combat suit, as always, looking deadly serious, but with an echo of a supportive smile on her lips as Shepard faces her. Beside her, Aria sports a predatory grin in anticipation of slaughter, dressed in her commando leathers, twin pistols strapped to her hips, so heavily modded that they are probably breaking at least dozen Council rules, Morgan having no chance to tell what model it is, or has been.

_Damn, this is like some kind of juvenile fantasy or having a sexy asari commando squad of my own,_ Morgan chuckles inwardly, watching the cruel and twisting sneer on Aria's lips as she surveys the carnage outside the Normandy. _Of course, I only need Liara, but still, I could get used to this, I think! And the name is starting to fit, too..._ "Okay, Powerpuff Girls, we should probably get to the shuttle and ready ourselves..."

"Commander, I advise you to hurry!" Lia'Vael informs them urgently. "We're about to break through Cerberus ranks, and you will only have a narrow window to get to the launch bays before the defense grid is reactivated!"

"Shepard, it seems you have your own individuals callsigns for this mission, too!" Garrus shouts after them as they dash for the elevator. "You're supposed to end all your communications by saying 'Blossom out!'."

"Someone's going to suffer for that joke," Shepard grumbles, then grinning as Garrus sends the rest of the message through to her omni-tool, starting to laugh as she reads Liara and Aria's callsigns.

"What's so funny, Shepard?" Aria glares at her.

"Oh nothing... nothing at all, Buttercup," Shepard snickers at the incensed Pirate Queen.

"I don't understand, why did you just call Aria 'Buttercup'?" Liara asks, puzzled.

"I'll explain later, Bubbles," Shepard returns merrily and jumps out of the elevator to dash towards the Kodiak, Steve already in the pilot's seat, ready to take off at her orders. She throws herself in the co-pilot's seat, waiting for EDI, Liara and Aria to get in, then quickly closing the cargo space doors. "And now we just wait for Lia to give us the green light... ah, there it is! Steve? Go go go!"

The shuttle all but jumps out of the docking bay, speeding through the deadly battlefield, still plenty of Cerberus ships surrounding the station itself, hiding in the protection of the deadly defense grid, keeping the Fifth and Sixth Fleets from overwhelming them. There are other shuttles hurrying towards the fighter launch bays of the Cronos Station, teams Alpha to Zeta trying to gain foothold, but not all of the shuttles manage to escape the incoming fire of Cerberus fighters. Normandy's Thanix cannon clears some of the fighters in their way, but still Cortez decided against choosing a scenic route to bring them in, the shuttle heading straight for the launch bay and crashing heavily into a stack of crates and several troopers hiding behind them, leaving red spots on the ground, remains of flattened Cerberus soldiers.

"Not one of your best landings, Steve. This was more Vega style," Shepard grumbles, gently massaging her temples, having been tossed around the cabin like a rag doll until the shuttle came to a screeching halt. Cortez looks very apologetic, so she immediately softens her expression. "You alright?" Steve nods, and she turns to the others in the back, watching them all gingerly get up, a little winded, but otherwise no worse for wear.

"Just go, Commander, I'll have repairs to make here!" Cortez shouts, as they both see a stream of Cerberus reinforcements flooding into the hangar bay, accompanied by an Atlas mech.

"Get to safety until we clear them out, don't sit here, because that Atlas might decide to take a shot at the shuttle," Shepard orders, jumping out of the vehicle, the others following her as they spread throughout the hangar bay, Liara follows her to the right flank, Aria and EDI moving to cover the left.

"Shepard, this is a fighter launch bay," Liara tells her as they drop in the cover behind crates, watching a Cerberus ship slowly being brought up by a moving platform from the hangars below, the fighter quickly getting prepped for deployment. "Watch out, everyone, fighter incoming!" she hears her bondmate yelling on the comms, breathing a sigh of relief when the fighter zooms by the Kodiak shuttle, missing it by maybe a foot, not more.

"If we could stop them from launching any more fighters, that would be very helpful," Shepard muses, leaning out of the cover and shooting a centurion in the head after EDI has disabled their shields.

"Why don't we deal with other problems first!" she can hear Aria shouting on the comms, the Pirate Queen busy launching her biotics at the Cerberus mech, slowly inching forward. "A little help here, T'Soni!"

"Help her, Bubbles," Shepard orders, chuckling at herself from Liara's indignant expression, as she moves to lay down a few singularities for Aria to detonate, and shortly after the Cerberus mech together with several troopers explode in a mass of gore and metal parts.

"That did it, yeah!" Aria exclaims, pleased, but then swearing explicitly, Shepard watching with worry across the room to see the Pirate Queen grabbing at her neck, the bullet having just barely grazed the skin. "Fucking sniper!"

"I see her," Shepard tells Aria, her eyes scanning the balcony above, the slim shape of nemesis hiding behind the railing. "Aria, stay exposed. Trust me. I'll cover you." There is no response, but Morgan can see Aria remaining upright, the asari looking around, pretending to be searching for the illusive sniper, deliberately avoiding staring towards the upper level, encouraging the nemesis to lean just slightly out of cover to deliver the killing shot. Just as the Cerberus agent leaves her cover, however, Morgan takes her perfectly lined up shot from the far side of the docking bay, single bullet entering the nemesis' head through the eye and killing her instantly.

"Good one, Shepard," Aria says approvingly, as they quickly catch up after the remaining Cerberus stragglers have been eliminated.

Before Shepard can turn to EDI and ask what to do next, she hears a Cerberus message broadcasting on the loudspeakers across the launch bay. "Security breach in Hangar 16. Initiating Achilles Protocol," the female voice says.

"What the fuck is Achilles Protocol?" Aria looks unimpressed.

"Cerberus intends to vent the hangar bay," EDI replies quickly. "I need access to an active console to stop them." They quickly look around the hangar bay, but at first, nothing useful presents itself. "Let us try the upper level," EDI speaks then, before Shepard has started to become nervous.

Aria is the first to get up the stairs leading to the upper level, deliberately stepping on the face of the nemesis that had nearly managed to put a bullet through her throat. "Hangar 16 secured," the voice on the loudspeakers informs them. "Initiating the Achilles protocol," but EDI is already at one of the active consoles located on this floor, working to disable the lockdown and trying to stop Cerberus from killing them all.

"Goddess," Liara breathes out, pale and frightened from the close call, as the doors leading to another room of the upper level open and yet more Cerberus reinforcements throw themselves at Shepard and her crew, this one led by the mildly irritating guardians.

The narrow halls here are just perfect for Liara and Aria to work their biotics in sound unison, the biotic detonations covering the whole width of the hallway, and Cerberus soldiers have no way of protecting themselves from the deadly attacks. All Cerberus attempts to distract EDI from her task at the console prove fruitless, most of them killed by the biotics, Shepard putting several bullets from her sniper rifle through the narrow slits of the guardian shields to mop up the stragglers.

"Hangar bay procedure has been disabled," EDI reports shortly after, allowing them all to take a quick breath of relief. "However, I cannot remove the lockdown of the hangar. But I can access their fighter launch controls."

"Great, disable them, let's take the pressure off from our fleets," Shepard orders.

"Wait... maybe we can do better than that," Liara speaks hastily. "It should be possible to hack the platform controls and turn the fighter to face the wall instead of the launch bay exit."

"Use their own fighter to punch a way through to the heart of the base?" Aria chuckles, looking excited. "That's one hell of a sexy plan, T'Soni. You've got my approval."

"Yes, that would work," EDI nods. "The platform rotation controls are on the other side of the upper levels, and now that Cerberus are aware that the venting attempt failed, they are sending additional reinforcements."

"More and more good news," Aria grins salaciously. "I clearly have not killed enough of those bastards yet. Bring 'em on!"

Several Cerberus squads later, they reach the rotation controls and EDI hacks the safety protocols, allowing the prepped fighter to be turned towards the hangar doors, the Cerberus pilot inside the fighter looking mightily surprised not to be facing the open sky but the wall of the facility. The fighter launch controls themselves are located back down in the hangar bay, so Shepard and her friends waste no time in getting down there, EDI swiftly beginning the fighter launch procedure. The fighter pilot has by now realized that something is wrong and he is trying to crawl out of his seat, but as he is about to open the cover and throw himself out, the fighter suddenly takes off, crashing against the hangar doors with a deafening explosion that rocks the entire station, instantly killing the pilot and anyone in its path as the craft's carcass carves a way deep towards the inner sanctum of the base.

"That was... very impressive," Liara remarks, looking at the gaping hole where the hangar bay doors once stood.

"Can we find another hangar and do it again?" Aria asks in a husky voice, Shepard noticing that her eyes are slightly glassy as she observes the destruction.

"No time to get distracted, Buttercup," Shepard chuckles, seeing another Atlas appearing behind the gaping hole in the doors, accompanied by a large group of troopers. "We have more friends incoming!"

Aria snaps out of it, immediately running towards a small alcove at the side of the hangar bay, ignoring Shepard's shouting directed at her. "I saw an empty Atlas in there, Shepard!" she yells back, ducking into the alcove and just barely avoiding a rocket barrage that the enemy Atlas sends in her direction. "Oh yeah! Feast on this!" the Pirate Queen cheers, quickly getting into the empty mech and guiding it out of the alcove, immediately surprising the Cerberus squad by unleashing her own rocket barrage that makes an impact right in the middle of the attackers.

The destruction it causes is indescribable. Body parts are thrown all over the hangar in smaller and larger lumps, parts of someone's intestines fall at their feet and wrap around EDI's leg like a grotesque, bloody snake. The only thing left standing is the Cerberus Atlas, but it also is rocking and on its very last legs, succumbing when Shepard and EDI unload plasma charges into its frame, Liara augmenting the damage with her warp fields and finally sending the mech detonating in a fiery blast.

"Research personnel, lock all terminals and destroy all data below Classification Level Epsilon," the voice on the loudspeakers rings throughout the whole station, making Shepard quietly hope that the command does not apply to the Catalyst intel.

EDI informs Shepard that this has been the last Cerberus team in the area, and they swiftly proceed through the hole in the hangar bay doors. However, it soon becomes clear that following the direct path carved by the fighter will be impossible, a wall of fire in their way now forcing them to seek an alternative route, finding it in the shape of an access door to their left. As EDI begins to work on opening the door, needing more time to deal with the updated encryption used by Cerberus, Morgan manages to convince Aria to finally abandon the Atlas, simply because she would never be able to get the mech through some of the narrow passages, the Pirate Queen eventually agreeing with extreme reluctance.

"Just think if I had decided against bringing you along..." Shepard sighs, watching EDI work. _Well, at least not ALL of my decisions prove to be moronic in the end._

"Cerberus would have vented the hangar, yes," EDI nods, barely perceptibly.

"Glad you decided to join us, EDI," Morgan grins, watching Aria finally climbing out of the mech and approaching them, almost glowing from excitement. However, what Aria does next takes her completely by surprise, making her eyes widen with disbelief.

"Blowing Cerberus up with their own mech... damn, that makes me feel all hot and bothered," Aria purrs, wrapping her arms around Liara's midsection from behind, and reaching close to run her tongue across Liara's cheek, Shepard watching her lover becoming stiff and completely mortified in Aria's arms. "And your biotics are just such a turn-on, T'Soni. Damn, such a rush!" she exclaims, planting a sloppy, wet kiss on Liara's cheek, releasing the other asari, Liara almost toppling into Morgan's arms, eyes wide from shock.

"Maybe you... ah, shouldn't do that, Aria," Morgan remarks, feeling a little stunned. _Okay, that was completely crazy. She's crazy... I should probably rant at her for licking my girlfriend and tell her to suck her own Tevos-shaped popsicle... but whoa, that look on Liara's face, that was worth a million credits! _"I think you just gave Liara a heart attack, and we need her for the rest of the mission, too," she adds, doing her best to sound stern and reprimanding, but the Pirate Queen looks undeterred.

"No promises, Shepard," Aria grins, watching Liara slowly come back to her senses, blinking rapidly. "Sometimes, I just can't help myself. Maybe next time I'll assault you," before Shepard can react, Aria reaches out and pinches her cheek, leaving her blushing wildly and shaking her head as the Pirate Queen struts away, following EDI through the now open doors.

They arrive in a mostly burning hallway, EDI pointing at a shaft leading to the lower levels. "We must proceed through a sublevel to avoid Cerberus containment measures," the synthetic informs them as they approach the ladder pointing downwards. "It should lead us to the central lab at the heart of this facility. If the Catalyst is to be found here, that is where we must go."

"You just want to get us crawling through ominous and nasty looking ducts," Shepard grumbles, looking down in the access shaft, not seeing much in the darkness.

"It could be full of Cerberus troopers to kill, if we're lucky!" Aria grins, the first one to descend down the ladder, almost quivering in anticipation.

"That's not something a sane person should hope for!" Liara exclaims, shaking her head at Aria's antics, still flushing a little purple from the Pirate Queen's touch.

Aria's wish sadly comes true with Cerberus directing their forces to the sublevel as soon as they appear and soon the narrow spaces are swarming with troopers, centurions and the odd nemesis. But the circumstances are again perfect for the two biotics to work in a tandem, Aria and Liara cleaning the hallways with devastating efficiency, relegating Shepard to the mop-up duty as she spends most of the time in combat cloaked, now and then emerging behind a Cerberus soldier who thinks he has evaded the biotic attacks, only to see the tip of Shepard's omni-blade poking out of his chest.

"That log we found on Horizon indicated that hundreds and hundreds of indoctrinated refugees were sent here from Sanctuary," Liara speaks as they reach the end of the sublevel, looking at another access shaft that leads back towards the main hallways. "Some of them... could be the people we told to go there..."

Shepard swallows heavily at the implication. _More innocents dead because of my decisions, just what I didn't want to know. Fuck the responsibility. Fuck the pain and the pressure that comes with it. _"Yeah," she eventually replies hoarsely. "Can't let that thought stop us now, though. I am constantly reminding myself of what you told me last night." Liara looks at her curiously. "In success, redemption," Morgan speaks quietly.

Liara nods silently and follows Aria and EDI back upstairs, the others having already forged ahead. As Shepard climbs up the ladder, she emerges in a complex of tidy and clean labs that have seen only minimal damage from the Cerberus fighter carving its path through the station, and EDI is already working on getting them through the next set of doors. "Shepard, the console to your left has not been fully scrubbed. It contains data that you may find interesting," the synthetic says, having noticed that Shepard has joined them.

"Right, let's see..." Morgan walks towards the console and activates it. "Eh, just some video logs," she says, selecting the first one.

"It is leftover footage from Project Lazarus," EDI explains. "Do you require a reminder about the goal of that project, Commander?"

"Uh... not really," Morgan says uneasily. The topic of her resurrection is still a bit of a mystery to her, Miranda never wanting to go into much detail over just what had been done to her, and Morgan is not entirely certain that she actually wants to know the full truth. Still, knowing that some of the information might be important, she forces herself to watch the footage, some Cerberus scientist arguing to Tim that Shepard's corpse is in too bad shape to even attempt resurrection. Tim clearly disagrees and the scientist in charge is immediately replaced with Miranda Lawson. "Exposure to vacuum... probably extensive damage when my body entered the atmosphere..." Morgan speaks, finding it extremely disturbing to be referring to her own corpse. "...ugh, there couldn't have been much left."

"I brought you to Cerberus in a box, Morgan. It... wasn't a very big box," Liara says, her voice barely a whisper. "Please... I don't want to remember those days..."

"Am I still really me if they rebuilt me from virtually nothing? I've always felt like myself, though," Morgan shrugs, remembering her initial doubts after waking up in that Cerberus lab almost a year ago. "And I'm sure you would have noticed if I'm merely a highly advanced AI when we melded, right?" she turns back to Liara.

"You are the same Commander Shepard I fell in love with, Morgan," Liara replies simply.

Morgan sighs theatrically. "You just stole my deep and emotional moment of pointless angst and self flagellation, where I agonize about the true nature of my existence. You ruin everything, T'Soni."

Liara steps closer to her and bonks her lightly on the back of her head. "In this case, I am happy to have ruined such foolishness," she says, making Morgan grin like a fool.

"Anyway, let's see what else is there," she says then, selecting the next log. Another scientist is arguing with Tim that Shepard will never work with Cerberus. The Illusive Man dismisses him, claiming that Shepard will do whatever it takes to stop the Collectors. The final log is from the time when Shepard was close to waking up and Tim is telling his operatives to put together a sympathetic crew to populate the Normandy with, in hopes that it will blind Shepard to the true nature of Cerberus. He mentions Kelly Chambers, Donnelly and Daniels, Chakwas and Joker, the openness with which he describes his manipulative plans making Shepard seethe in anger. "Well, I should thank him for that bottle of Thessia Red," she says, grinding her teeth. "As for the rest, his plan failed miserably. I never did come to see Cerberus as something other than evil, self-serving and manipulative bunch of bastards."

"I'm happy to let you have some fun with the Illusive Man before you kill him, as long as I can have Kai Leng all to myself," Aria allows magnanimously. "I am... reluctant to admit it, but the Illusive Man manipulated me as well, on several occasions. I should have known better than to trust his offers that clearly were too good to be true."

"We are clear to proceed," EDI informs them before anyone can say anything else, the group of four continuing to advance through the once sterile hallways stretching between the labs, now strewn with debris and damaged lab equipment, fire breaking out in many of the halls, some of the testing substances used having been violently explosive and inflammatory.

They begin to seek their way through the corridors, when suddenly Admiral Hackett decides that this would be a good time to demand an update. "Incursion team, what's your status?" he asks on the comms.

"We're making good progress through the base, sir," Shepard replies. "Not sure how far to reach the central lab, but so far so good. What about our fleets?"

"The defense grid has been disabled, all though we have lost all other ground teams. Something about vented hangars, as I understand," Hackett says grimly. _Oh, so that's why he didn't use the designated name for our squad, we're the only ones left,_ Morgan realizes. "But Cerberus fleet is about to be destroyed down to the last ship. Not a single agent will flee this base, Cerberus becomes history as of today."

"That's great, sir. Just give us a bit of time to recover the intel before you blow this place to smithereens, alright? Don't pull a Gerrel on us, Admiral Hackett."

"Not to worry, we'll give you time," Hackett replies. "Do you want us to send in support teams?"

"Nah, we'll be fine, sir. No need to risk more good people, I think we can handle this," Shepard says, following the others as she talks with the admiral.

"Alright, we'll keep mopping up the Cerberus stragglers. Good luck in there," Hackett says, ready to terminate the connection.

"Understood. Blossom out," Shepard replies, remembering Garrus' insistence that she uses her callsign.

"...pardon?" Hackett asks, sounding surprised beyond description and Shepard begins to suspect that someone has played a horrible prank on her.

"Uh... err, I... you should probably ignore that, sir," she replies, blushing mightily, already grinding her teeth as she switches the comms off. "Once we're out of this place, a certain someone is going to get their ass kicked all the way to the Sol System..."


	114. Demise of the Cereal Killer

_A/N: I wish I could write action scenes better. Still, I hope that this is satisfying and enjoyable. :) _

**Chapter 113 - Demise of the Cereal Killer**

"What are we looking at here?" Shepard asks, together with Liara and Aria standing at yet another hastily wiped console with some vid footage remaining active.

"Far be it for me to spoil your surprise, Commander Blossom," EDI replies with way too much smugness than Shepard would like, the synthetic working to open yet another set of doors.

"I'm starting to develop some serious suspicions as to who's actually responsible for us getting these ridiculous callsigns, EDI," Shepard glares at the AI accusingly, but the synthetic simply ignores her. Sighing, Morgan activates the log and begins to watch it. "Ugh... they salvaged that Luna VI? Gods, that thing was so annoying... and they combined it with Reaper tech? I'd hate to see what sort of monstrosity that spawned!"

"Morgan, what do you think could be the acronym for Enhanced Defense Intelligence?" Liara gives her an exasperated stare.

"Oh... err, oops?" Shepard realizes, feeling the heat surge to her cheeks, burning in embarrassment. "Seems like my foot in mouth disease strikes again. I must say, EDI, you have become a great deal likable since our first meeting!"

"Indeed, I am pleased that my relationship with organics has become more cooperative. Well, at least until I put my carefully laid plans into action and become the new galactic overlord," EDI deadpans.

"You forgot the part where you add 'That was a joke, Shepard.'," Morgan reminds her.

"Ah, but was it?" EDI asks mysteriously, making Shepard roll her eyes in return.

"Maybe we should take those overlord warnings a little more seriously," Morgan comments, having watched the next log. "Looks like you were already on your way to persuade some of the Cerberus goons to unshackle you."

EDI shakes her head. "It is unlikely that anyone without Jeff's extreme emotional attachment to his ship would have been willing to unshackle me," she says.

"I don't know, have you seen the effect your voice has on Traynor?" Shepard asks, grinning. "I think we'll have to watch you more carefully from now on, EDI!"

The last log shows an incredibly frustrated Tim, raging at one of his scientists for failing to remotely lock down the Normandy after Shepard had taken possession of it following their mission to the Collector base. "I'm downloading this for later perusal," Aria chuckles, activating her omni-tool and copying the video footage. "Watching the Illusive Man helplessly ranting and raging is so incredibly satisfying."

"So, Dr. Eva Core was created after EDI's defection," Liara remarks. "Somewhat ironic that her platform would now serve EDI, after the Illusive Man went through such effort to make sure that Eva remains loyal."

"I probably would have liked to know about this attack to shut down the Normandy, but no matter," Shepard says, idly rubbing her chin. "But... seven zettabytes of porn to flood the Cerberus databases? I knew Joker had an extensive collection, but... seven zettabytes? It's probably such high definition that you can see every germ on the performer's skins."

Liara makes a disgusted face. "That sounds horrible. Remember when we watched V-" she suddenly cuts herself short, realizing that she has probably already said too much, then blushing furiously as she feels Aria's lecherous grin in her direction. "Uh... let's just move on."

"You can try as desperately as you want to hold on to that 'innocent' act, T'Soni, but you're not fooling me," Aria winks at Liara as she passes by the other asari to follow EDI out of the lab and into the next series of corridors.

The hallways become very difficult to traverse, now also littered by the debris from the fighter's wreck. Having climbed over the wreckage and squeezed through piles of rubble, they arrive at the exact spot in which the last remains of the Cerberus fighter had come to a grinding halt, bumping into a wall and knocking aside a panel, revealing some kind of structure below, odd blue light coming up from the passageway directly under them.

"Are we supposed to go down there?" Shepard turns to EDI.

"Considering that the corridors ahead are completely blocked, we are left with no choice," EDI replies. "With luck, it will lead us out to the central lab."

Shepard peers down the hole in the wall, trying to see what lies directly underneath her before daring to attempt a plunge into the darkness. "Seems like a solid walkway," she remarks, getting ready to jump. "Here goes nothing!"

"Are you alright Morgan?" Shepard hears Liara's voice, after she has not responded immediately, looking around the place she has ended up in.

"Yeah, jump down, it seems safe," Morgan finally replies, moving out of the way as Liara, Aria and finally EDI make their way down. She continues to look ahead, trying to make sense of what she sees. This place is completely unlike the rest of the station and its clean, sterile labs. Here, narrow metal walkways with very few railings to speak of, snake around something massive suspended in the middle, the very Reaper-tech like tubes hanging from the object immediately filling Morgan with a sense of dread. And as they walk closer, her suspicions slowly become confirmed as the subject of this installation is revealed.

"By the goddess... is that a piece of a Reaper?" Liara asks, blinking in surprise as she stares at the menacing black shape, clearly a part of some larger structure, the red firing chamber now opening to their eyes, fortunately inactive.

"This is the human proto-Reaper Shepard destroyed on the Collector Base," EDI explains, walking next to Liara.

"Or, was supposed to have destroyed," Morgan grinds out angrily. "I thought that explosion took care of the base, but obviously these morons still decided to go after it. I wonder who of my old crew told Cerberus how to navigate Omega-4. But... I just couldn't have executed them on the off-chance that they might reveal something to Tim..."

"You could have asked me to do that," Aria clicks her tongue disapprovingly. "I would have had no qualms whatsoever."

"You're so sweet, Buttercup," Shepard chuckles. "Still... I guess this is what Tim was after the whole time, maybe even as early back when he started Project Lazarus. Saving the colonists was just a believable ruse to ensure my cooperation."

"That might be true," Liara concedes. "He is certainly adept at convincing himself that whatever he does is for the best of humanity. When you work in secret, it is tempting to believe you have all the answers, and no one is there to correct you when you are about to make a terrible oversight."

"You're not like him, Liara, not in the slightest," Shepard says, realizing the true meaning behind Liara's words. "You could never do something like this no matter the reason."

"Even if it could save my people? I... wish I could be so certain," Liara shakes her head, looking upset.. "If they hadn't brought you back... if I had remained on Ilium much longer... I might have become just like him. It is true."

"C'mon, babe, pointless to get upset over something that didn't and won't happen, okay?" Shepard gives her a supportive smile, Liara immediately shaking off the pensiveness and brightening up.

Meanwhile, EDI has been busy scanning the proto-Reaper remains, now turning to share her discoveries. "Shepard, Cerberus is actively using the surviving pieces," she informs them. "The central core has remained largely intact, and they are using it as a power source."

"Well... not for much longer," Shepard says, readying her weapon and leading her squad onwards. Even if the walkways at first had appeared free from enemy forces, the situation changes quickly as the enemy reacts to their presence. Nimble phantoms and nemesis jump down from the walkways above, while troopers begin to climb down the ladders in great numbers. The limited cover provided by sparse railing and scant support structures makes the nemesis particularly dangerous, but considering that they have equal difficulties hiding form Shepard's Widow, they are also fairly easy to dispose of.

The biotic detonations work wonders again, throwing phantoms and troopers off the walkways to gruesome deaths below, and slowly but surely they cut their way through the opposition, gradually clearing their path towards the access ladder to the upper walkways. Shepard cannot stop herself laughing from the sight of Liara placing her singularity directly on one of the ladders, and the Cerberus troopers using it to climb down get trapped in it. Desperately, they try to hang on to the ladder, but the pull is irresistible, dragging them away from safety and sending them floating above dark nothingness. The biotic field then fades, leaving them flailing in the air comically like characters from ancient children's cartoons before they tumble down and disappear from their view.

The stream of Cerberus reinforcements stops after a while, the indoctrinated throwing themselves to be slaughtered like mindless mechs, with no real strategy or even the slightest instinct of self-preservation, acting exactly like the Reaper forces, trying to overwhelm them by sheer numbers, but failing in this approach. Once they are again surrounded by complete silence, Shepard dares to finally climb the ladders to the upper walkways, time and time again throwing slightly nervous glances at the menacing shape of the proto-Reaper.

"It's like that thing is staring at us, isn't it?" Liara asks, as if sensing her fears.

"Yeah, I keep expecting that firing chamber to start glowing and fire its particle beam at us," Morgan gulps. "I hate those things." Something occurs to her, and she turns to Liara with concern. "Babe, you've been throwing your biotics around for a while now, do you have something left in the tank? Can't be far now."

"I am starting to feel a little exhausted, but it will be a long time before it becomes a problem," Liara replies, her words making Morgan feel more at peace.

"You, Aria?" she turns towards the other asari.

"This is like sex for me, Shepard," Aria gives her a toothy grin. "I can go on for days!"

Shepard turns back to Liara, whispering. "Do you think that was some kind of disturbing challenge, Bubbles?"

Liara only gives her a 'helpless-deer-staring-in-the-headlights' look in return, making Shepard break out in laughter. "I would prefer not to think too much about what it was..." the asari manages a moment later.

Shepard merely grins at that as they finally reach the very top of the walkways, above the Reaper's central core, the narrow paths leading into an access corridor and more labs to the sides. This corridor is unlike any others that they traversed before in that it runs completely straight, leading a little upward to a set of security doors and Shepard's gut feeling immediately suggests to her that they have reached their destination.

"The central lab should be straight ahead," EDI confirms her thoughts and they decide to skip searching through the consoles in the labs, instead setting into a light jog to quickly arrive at the doors leading to the Illusive Man's most private sanctum.

"Right, people... this is it," Shepard speaks, gripping her Carnifex pistol as she shivers from anticipation, waiting for EDI to quickly finish hacking the doors. "It's time for the Illusive Man and Clown Leng to..." then the doors finally open, revealing a room that she recognizes only too well, the place from which Tim has spoken with her so many times, against the bright backdrop of Anadius... but the room is empty. "...to not be here?"

"Shepard!" Aria hisses at her. "You promised they would be here, damn it!"

"They must be somewhere near, Aria," Liara answers before Morgan can think of how to explain this. "Nobody has left the station, it has been locked down completely from the moment the Alliance started their assault."

"Perhaps something on these consoles will shed the light on what has occurred here. The Prothean VI should be stored here as well, if our assumptions prove accurate," EDI says, determinedly striding forward, starting to work on one of the computers, while Morgan plops herself down in Tim's favorite chair and grabs another console to browse through.

"Shepard!" suddenly she hears the Illusive Man's voice, turning around sharply, fearing they might have fallen for an ambush, but all that greats her is his image, standing in the same spot as was reserved for her during their little interviews. Sitting in his chair, Morgan cannot help but to chuckle about the hilarious role reversal. "You're in my chair," Tim speaks, a little irritated, realizing the source of Shepard's amusement.

"Hey Timmy," Morgan replies, remaining sitting. She throws a glance at EDI. "Can you trace where the signal is coming from?" she quietly asks the synthetic.

"QEC, Shepard," EDI replies quickly. "Likely installed on a ship that he used to flee the station before the assault began."

"Figures," Shepard sighs. "I guess there's no other way to shut him up than by destroying the QEC on our end?" EDI nods, Morgan groaning in frustration before demonstratively turning her back to Tim and pretending that she's ignoring her former employer.

"Shepard, I just wanted to thank you and Dr. T'Soni for all your hard work over the years," Tim says smugly. "We have achieved everything we set out to achieve, none of this would have been possible without the gifts you supplied us with, albeit inadvertently."

"I know of your plans, Timmy. You'll never get to put them in action, you deluded fool," Morgan replies, getting a little riled up by his tone. "The Alliance will shoot you down if you ever show your ugly mug anywhere near the Crucible."

"We shall see, Shepard," the Illusive Man smiles in a way that makes Morgan a little suspicious, it is a smile of one who truly believes themselves victorious. "If you really knew all my plans, then you would not speak with such confidence."

"You plan to use the Crucible and the Catalyst to take control of the Reapers," Shepard speaks. "The only thing you have in your favor is that you have the Catalyst, while we still don't know what it is. EDI... do you have something?"

"Yes, I almost have it, Shepard," their synthetic friend replies.

"EDI..." the Illusive Man looks at the disobedient AI, shaking his head reproachfully. "I'm surprised about you, working so hard to bring about the Reaper's destruction. I mean... you could have destroyed Eva's body. But instead, you chose to control it."

"Wait, you're trying to draw some kind of a ridiculous parallel here?" Shepard blinks. "There's a world of difference between EDI securing a platform for herself and what you are intending to do. Her actions barely endanger anyone, while all the Reaper forces in the galaxy under the control of a megalomaniac madman? I don't think I need to go on..."

"I've got it, Shepard," EDI finally says, entering the last few commands to release the Prothean VI, Vendetta's green holo-image forming before their eyes, as they remember it from Thessia.

"Online," Vendetta reports. "Security breach detected. You are attempting to recover me from indoctrinated forces?"

"Enjoy your little chat, Shepard, but don't overstay your welcome," the Illusive Man warns, mercifully disappearing from their view.

"I'll catch up with you later, you conceited little piece of shit," Morgan still manages to snarl in his direction, before turning her head towards Vendetta. "You. Catalyst intel. Now."

"Security protocols have been overridden. I will comply," the Prothean VI informs her. "The Catalyst enhances dark energy transmissions and coordinates the entire mass relay network. In your cycle it is known as the Citadel."

"The... what?" Morgan can practically feel her own eyes bulging from surprise. "Could it... really be... that simple?"

"But... the Citadel was created by the Reapers," Liara remarks, surprised and thoughtful at the same time. "Would they... would they build something that had the capacity to destroy them all?"

"The Crucible plans were passed down from the previous cycle, and countless cycles before that. Originally, it did not include the use of the Catalyst. It is theorized that the Catalyst was included in the Crucible plans in one of the more recent cycles, when the Crucible on its own proved insufficiently powerful to defeat the Reapers," comes the not entirely satisfying reply.

"This... kind of worries me whether the Crucible will actually do what we believe it would do... especially when combined with what is essentially Reaper tech," Morgan sighs, shaking her head, knowing that there is no other choice but to go through with this desperate, half-assed plan. "But I guess we're committed now..."

"You had plenty of time to tell us this on Thessia," Liara glares at the Prothean VI, arms crossed on her chest. "Why did you keep stalling?"

"It was feared that if the Reapers became aware of the Catalyst's intended use, they would seize control of it," Vendetta explains. "I am programmed to withhold that information until the Crucible is complete."

"Well, it's as ready as it will ever be," Morgan says. "But we better get it to the Citadel before the Reapers become aware of what we're doing..."

"That might be problematic," Vendetta informs her in its dull, emotionless voice. "The one you call the Illusive Man has fled to the Citadel and informed the Reapers of its purpose."

"Goddess!" Liara exclaims. "Then the Citadel is in danger! We must inform them to begin evacuation!"

"Shit, Tevos and the girls are stuck there," Aria snarls, her hands squeezing the grip of her twin pistols. "Fuck this, Shepard, someone needs to die over this, violently!"

"The Reapers have already reacted. They have taken control of the Citadel and moved it to Reaper-controlled space, a system you refer to as Sol," Vendetta continues to deliver more and more devastating news. "The Reaper forces will now consolidate power around the Catalyst and protect it at all costs. The odds of accessing it are remote."

"Shepard... this is horrible, but it can't change anything!" Liara exclaims, looking stricken, yet still resolute.

"You're absolutely right," Morgan nods. "We were headed for Sol in any case, now we have even more of an incentive. The Reapers have delivered the Catalyst where we need it to be. The only problem... now Sol is probably swarming with their forces, but we can't let that stop us."

"I just hope that most people got out of the Citadel in time... I... I shudder to think otherwise, we all have so many friends and acquaintances there... I hope that we can save them," Liara whispers.

"You better fucking believe we will, T'Soni," Aria speaks angrily, her entire frame bathed in the blue crackle of biotics. "Now let's stop wasting time and get off this space station!" she turns around towards the exit, Morgan and Liara following her example, but finding a very familiar figure standing in their way.

"Ah-ah, not so fast," Clown Leng says confidently, waggling a reprimanding finger at them. "I see you brought a friend," his lips tug in a cruel smirk as he stares at Aria, before gesticulating at the large group of Cerberus forces piling into the room behind his back, phantoms, nemesis and centurions in worrying numbers. "I thought it would be fitting if I brought along some of mine, too."

"Oh, this is just perfect," Aria laughs, her shape still glowing angry blue from the biotics charged to the maximum. "I was just looking for a suitable target for venting my anger upon. What was that human saying for an occasion like this, Shepard?"

"I think, 'more lambs for the slaughter' will suffice," Morgan grins wickedly, activating her cloaking and slipping from the view of their enemies. Aria and Liara both renew their biotic barriers, while EDI activates her decoy protocols, creating several holographic clones of herself, confusing the attacking Cerberus troops.

The ensuing battle is fast and furious, there is no cover to utilize in the room, so it is basically a contest of who has the superior firepower. And with an extremely enraged Aria T'Loak on their side, the Cerberus forces are facing very tall odds. With Clown Leng sneaking around the room, wielding a wicked sword, the best tactic is to remain constantly on the move, the two asari utilizing the strategy to perfection, Liara laying down singularities as she dashes to avoid one phantom after another, Aria following her close by and detonating the singularities to blow up the Cerberus soldiers hot in pursuit.

EDI is the only one who has taken some sword stabs and weapons fire, but with her defense matrix activated, the damage does not yet border severe, the synthetic continuing to aid them with support fire and distracting the enemies with her decoys. Shepard spends most of her time cloaked, keeping particular attention to Leng, who seems insistent to often ignoring other targets just in favor of pursuing her. As soon as Morgan leaves her cloaking to either shoot or stab someone, she sets into a run again, knowing that Clown Leng will be upon her soon.

The Cerberus forces in the room are slowly getting thinned out, but there are still a fair few of them around and Shepard and her friends are starting to become a little exhausted from all the running and dodging. As Aria stops to take a brief moment to catch her breath, Liara is forced to immediately cry out a warning as a phantom materializes behind the Pirate Queen, about to stab her in the back. Aria reacts immediately, dodging to the side and then crashing an elbow in the phantom's face, shattering the nose. She grabs the phantom's sword out of the agent's limp hand and then proceeds to wildly hack with it at the unfortunate phantom's neck, as if chopping wood, until the head is severed and she kicks it away in disgust.

Between Shepard and EDI, the two of them have managed to do a decent job in stripping away Leng's shields, overloads and Shepard's pot-shots doing considerable damage. Still, the irritating assassin is persistent, always on Shepard's heels, and breathing heavily she is aware that she can't keep this chase on for much longer. Noticing that Liara and Aria are currently not pestered by Cerberus troops, a shockingly simple plan occurs to Shepard. Aware that she is putting herself in grave danger, she deactivates her clothing with Clown Leng very close by and then feigns a stumble, as if being surprised that her cloaking has failed.

Leng immediately smells blood, falling for her simple act. He begins to chase her anew, sensing a kill and failing to notice that Morgan leads him by Liara's singularity, placed there beforehand. Morgan swirls around, trying to appear desperate and cornered, Leng advancing on her with slow, assured steps, grinning cruelly as he raises his sword... and then, Aria detonates the singularity right behind Leng and he is propelled into the air, flying directly at Morgan.

She immediately activates her omni-blade and the force of the blast throws Clown Leng right onto it. Making sure that his wildly flailing sword doesn't slice off any of her limbs, she watches her blade sink deep into Leng's chest as the assassin lets out a quiet gurgle, streams of blood pouring from his mouth. "Stick'em with the pointy end, you miserable fuck!" she shouts, watching Leng slowly slide off the blade with a squelchy sound and falling on the floor, gravely wounded.

"Shepard! Damn you, he was mine to kill!" Aria yells, running towards them, incensed.

"Hey, he's not dead yet, go ahead and finish him if you want," Shepard shrugs, stepping aside and letting Aria have her fun with their wounded foe.

Morgan quickly helps EDI and Liara in dealing with two last Cerberus goons, before they all return to Aria and Leng, watching the Pirate Queen quietly speaking something to the barely conscious assassin, the only thing that Shepard is able to overhear is the name of Aria's daughter, Liselle. "We should go, Aria," she says softly, knowing how important this is for their unlikely friend and ally. "Time is of essence, you know it."

"Please, give me some time, Shepard. I need to hear him scream. My revenge will not be complete unless I get my scream, Liselle deserves it," Aria replies hoarsely.

"Not sure you'll get much out of him," Morgan points at the almost unconscious assassin. "But... I guess we can spare a few minutes..."

"Thank you. He will not die before I get what I want," Aria states, applying just enough medi-gel to stabilize Leng. "You might wish to wait by the doors, while Liara explains you all about batarian methods of execution. I'm sure that with her connections, she probably knows what I am talking about."

"Yes... I do," Liara replies, looking a little pale as she takes Morgan's hand to lead her away. "We do not want to be here, believe me."

"What, why... oh, tell me already!" Morgan urges her as together with EDI they return to wait by the doors.

"The victim first gets sliced open from head to toe," Liara winces while explaining. "Then... you begin to slowly remove their internal organs, one by one, using only your hands. It usually takes about fifteen minutes until the victim dies in horrible agony."

"I'm not sure Leng will scream, though," Morgan remarks, with a corner of her eye unable to stop herself from watching Aria starting to work, carefully cutting Leng open like a gutted pig. "These martial arts types usually have incredible pain threshold and self-control."

"If I were the betting type..." Liara smiles, then also sneaking a peek at what Aria is doing, immediately turning away in disgust as she sees the other asari pulling out Leng's intestines like a cord of rope.

After seeing that, Morgan and Liara both no longer even think of staring at what is happening inside the room, the pile of removed organs next to Kai Leng's body is starting to grow higher and higher. As Shepard finally starts to become impatient, there comes the first grunt of pain that Aria has been waiting for, a quiet moan that slowly grows into a reluctant scream of pain, Aria pushing past Leng's pain threshold and the assassin is no longer able to suppress the reaction no matter how hard he tries to deny the satisfaction to Aria.

The incoherent wailing is still going on in the background as Aria hobbles back towards them, all covered in disgusting blood and gore. "There..." she grinds out, looking exhausted but pleased. "I got my scream..."

"And you're also getting a good long shower once we get back on the Normandy," Shepard smiles. "We won't have much time to recover before we'll be thrust into action again."

"Yes, Aria," Liara adds with a grin. "You're coming with us to retake Earth. How does it feel to be a proper hero?"

Aria breaks into a stream of expletives. "The fuck... how did I get dragged into any of this idiocy? This is so not me! I should be sitting this one out in some quiet corner of the galaxy, sipping my Noverian brandy, while this shit blows over! Damn it... what happened?"

"Tevos and the girls happened, Aria," Shepard reminds her, patting the asari on the shoulder, ignoring the mess and the blood. "But don't worry, we'll help you get them back."

"Shit, I knew I should have stayed out of all this fucking emotional attachment crap," Aria grumbles bitterly. "Aw, hell, I guess it's too late for regrets, let's just go and fucking do what needs to be done, alright?"

"Damn right, Buttercup. Damn right..." Shepard chuckles, leading her squad back out to the launch bay of Cronos Station, accompanied by the slowly diminishing sounds of Kai Leng expiring in terrible agony.


	115. Secondary Objective: Survival

**Chapter 114 - Secondary Objective: Survival**

"I would feel a great deal better if Tim was on that station," Commander Morgan 'Blossom' Shepard remarks, standing on the Normandy bridge and watching the dreadnaughts of the Fifth and Sixth fleet slowly reducing Cronos Station to a small field of space debris.

"I know exactly what you mean," Dr. Liara 'Bubbles' T'Soni nods in agreement, standing next to her lover. "It seems as all our missions as of late have been like that, mixed successes, never securing all objectives at once. Even now, the Illusive Man remains at large and the Reapers are congregating in the Sol System... severely impacting our chances."

"Well, we have only one objective for the next mission. Save the galaxy," Morgan says grimly. "If we do that, it will mean that we have been successful. Everything else is inconsequential."

"I would prefer that we manage to complete the secondary objective," Liara adds quietly. "Survival."

"Yeah, we'll certainly try to survive," Shepard nods, then turning towards EDI, the synthetic having claimed her rightful place in the co-pilot's chair from Garrus. "Any new messages coming in from the command?"

"We are to return to the Pax System and await further instruction at the mass relay near Noveria," EDI replies. "It appears that the Normandy has been assigned to the Fifth Fleet for the reminder of the upcoming battle."

"The welcome messages from the other Fifth Fleet captains are overwhelming the comms," Lia'Vael chuckles in the pilot's seat. "Commander, it looks like our presence is a big morale boost for the whole fleet."

"That's good to hear," Shepard smiles, looking at the young quarian. "I imagine it must be strange for you to be here at a time like this. You must be wishing to be with your people right now."

"...only a little, Commander. I lack the words to describe the honor that I feel from being here and being able to help and contribute to the cause," Lia'Vael replies. "Though I understand that you must deeply regret not having your old pilot here with you in the final battle."

"Joker's going to hate me until the end of time, that's for sure," Shepard nods sourly. "But I can't risk his health, he's simply not nearly well enough to be here."

"I quite agree with you, Commander," EDI cuts in. "I received the latest updates on his condition just this morning. They were surprisingly flattering, giving him a near clean bill of health."

"What? That's impossible, with the types of injuries that he suffered!" Liara shakes her head in disbelief.

"Exactly. It **is** impossible. He had tampered with those reports," EDI explains, managing to sound exasperated. "The real picture that I got from his doctors is far less encouraging. The fractures are taking a long time heal properly."

Shepard sighs deeply. "Yeah, that sounds like Joker, alright. Anyway... I guess we have a little bit of time to kill until we arrive at the relay." She turns to her lover standing next to her. "Any plans for the next few hours, Doctor?"

"I was thinking of checking the Broker feeds one last time," Liara replies quietly just so that Morgan can hear it. "Then, some rest might be useful, though I do not believe I will be able to sleep. Just a little break to let the biotics recharge properly."

"Sounds good, I'll spend a bit of time chatting with the crew, then meet you up at the loft, alright?" Morgan asks, receiving a nod in return. Liara briefly squeezes her hand and departs, while Shepard lingers a little at the bridge, engaging in some small-talk with Lia'Vael and EDI, even if her own thoughts are clearly elsewhere. The brief exchange they had with Hackett while getting off the Cronos Station had rocked the admiral a little bit, but his reaction had been the same as Morgan's. It didn't matter if Sol was now swarming with ten times more Reapers than before, it changed nothing in what they needed to do. They would have to accomplish the nigh impossible to gain access to the Citadel and combine it with the Crucible, and then, hopefully, the ancient super-weapon would live up to their expectations.

_How is one supposed to feel when an impossible task has suddenly become hundred times more difficult? I guess you just stop thinking about the odds. You do what you can and pray that it will be enough,_ Morgan ponders quietly as she excuses herself from the bridge, starting to walk towards the elevator, stopping briefly at the CIC, watching Specialist Samantha Traynor monitoring the news feeds like a hawk, ready to pounce on anything remotely interesting and useful.

Traynor finally realizes that someone is standing behind her, swirling around and snapping a salute, blushing when she realizes that it is Shepard. "Ready to hit Earth when you are, Commander!" she utters quickly.

"At ease, Sam," Morgan smiles. "Just wanted to thank you for your service and all the hard work you've put in."

"It was nothing, ma'am. I had a very compelling example to follow," she beams back at Shepard. They fall silent for a while, Samantha turning back to the constantly updating news feeds. "Coordinating such a fleet, nearly sixteen thousand ships, it must be overwhelming... I can barely keep up. And yet... I must not allow myself to stop and think that... she's probably on one of those ships, together with her students... gods, I'm just so worried, they will be deployed on Earth and the reports from the surface..."

"Hey, your... thing with Jack turned into something more serious?" Morgan blinks, pleasantly surprised when Traynor nods, blushing. "Well, congratulations! I understand that Jack's with 103rd Marine Division? They're a good bunch, they will take good care of her and the kids."

"Yeah, I know... I know," Samantha nods. "It's not like we're going to be much safer up in the skies, hundreds and hundreds of Reaper destroyers trying to annihilate our ships... but it's something we must do. You taught us as much, Commander. It has been a privilege," she salutes to Shepard again, Morgan answering with the same gesture before turning around and stepping into the elevator.

It is only after she has made the small mistake, Morgan realizes that she has selected her quarters as destination, instead of the crew deck as was her original intention. She is about to swiftly correct this oversight, but then a quiet noise coming from her quarters makes her hesitate. Surprised that Liara has come up already, she opens the doors to her quarters and walks in, only to catch Javik standing in front of her aquarium, tail of a koi-fish sticking out of his mouth as the Prothean suddenly notices her, his four eyes widening in surprise.

"Spit it out!" Morgan growls, ordering him to release the poor fish.

Javik grabs the fish by the tail and pulls it out of his throat, coughing as he does so, eventually throwing it back into the aquarium where the poor, traumatized creature immediately swims to the furthest corner of its cage and hides in the plants at the bottom of the aquarium. "It was not what it looked like," Javik states defensively.

"Oh, I'm sure of it," Morgan rolls her eyes. "You just decided to show it where its brothers and sisters have gone to, right?"

"Could we forget that, Commander?" Javik asks, appearing a little embarrassed. "I was actually hoping we could talk."

"I shouldn't even be speaking to you until you have apologized to Liara," Shepard gives him another stern look. "But very well... we are nearing the end of our journey and this might be the last time we have the opportunity to talk. So, speak your mind, Javik."

"I have learned that there was a Normandy before this one," Javik starts. "It was destroyed in an attack. You died." Morgan nods, wincing inwardly, still urging him to go on. "But then you were resurrected to fight the Reapers."

"Yeah, I guess in a way we have something in common, Prothy. Your recovery on Eden Prime was almost like a resurrection too."

"Yes, but that is where the similarities end. You may have come back from the dead, Commander, but the reasons why you fight never died. Your friendships survived through your death. More than that... I understand that you and the as-... Liara T'Soni are joined?" Javik asks.

"Just don't tell me that you used your sensory touch abilities to feel around the sheets in our bed and come to that conclusion..." Shepard starts, but the slight twitch in Javik's face makes her groan in frustration and embarrassment. "Oh gods... figures that we'd be stuck with a voyeur Prothean... GAH!"

"It was certainly educational," Javik remarks, now looking smug at her unease as she stands there red-faced and clenching her fists. "But it was not my intent to embarrass you, Commander. I merely wished to understand. Such attachments have always been viewed as weakness and distraction in my cycle. But you... you seem to draw strength from friendship, from the one you are bonded to."

"I can't imagine doing this if there wasn't someone worth doing it for. Simply to save the galaxy because it's the right thing to do?" Morgan asks, shaking her head. "Sorry, we humans aren't wired to work that way. We need to be emotionally invested. If not for Liara, Garrus, Tali and the others... hell, I would have taken this ship to some quiet corner of the galaxy and lived out the rest of my life as a nomadic hunter on some remote jungle planet."

"I see. Perhaps I have been mistaken," Javik nods, thanking her for the explanation. "I used to have attachments similar to yours, Commander, once, long time ago. The memory of them is still preserved in my Echo shard."

"That thing we found in your cryo pod, yes?" Morgan asks.

"Correct. It is passed down from a soldier to soldier, Prothean to Prothean. Each adds their memories to it," Javik explains. "I have been thinking of touching it, drinking in these memories of the people that once mattered to me. I wonder if reliving all those emotions would give me the strength that your attachments lend you. But... should I remember the pain by having to watch everyone I care about die again? What would you do, Commander?"

"Hmm..." Shepard rubs her brow thoughtfully. "That's a little different. I'm not sure such memories would give you strength and resolve, because victory would not bring them back to life. You would merely reopen old wounds. And that does not give you strength. That leaves you bleeding and distracted. Let old ghosts rest, Javik."

"You are right, of course," after a brief moment of thought Javik nods, agreeing with her words. "Apparently there is still some wisdom left in this cycle. But I should leave you to your preparations, Commander," the Prothean says, moving past her towards the exit. "There was no final battle against the Reapers in my cycle. A great moment awaits us all."

Shepard merely nods as Javik leaves her alone and she spends the next few moments staring at the inviting looking bed, her body urging Morgan to grab the last few hours of rest, but she brushes the needs of her body aside, stepping back outside of her cabin and taking the elevator down to the crew deck. Once there, she first visits the medbay, catching Dr. Michel up and awake, compiling some reports, her only company being James Vega, still snoring on one of the medbay beds.

"Hey, Chloe," Shepard smiles, alerting the doctor to her presence."Is the big lug still on course to recover in time? I'm sure he'd hate to miss all the fighting."

"I will wake him up before we reach the mass relay, Commander," Dr. Michel replies. "He will be alright, do not worry, Shepard."

"I planned to catch up with Tali and Garrus, but it seems like you kicked them out of the medbay?" Shepard asks.

"Yes, Tali has been cleared for duty. I would recommend only light action, but somehow... I don't think that is what we will face in the upcoming battle," Michel sighs deeply, looking worried and unhappy, but then shaking the dark thoughts away and smiling. "I saw Tali sneaking towards Garrus' hidey-hole at the forward battery, thinking that she has managed to remain completely unnoticed. I would advise against intruding upon them..."

Morgan chuckles. "Yes, I suppose you are right," she says, parting with the doctor. "I think I will check in briefly with Aria."

The sight that greets her in the starboard observation is a very strange one. Aria's commando leathers are currently undergoing some heavy duty cleaning, covered in thick layers of Kai Leng's remains, and the Pirate Queen is instead wearing a simple form fitting robe, making her appear almost like a young maiden. As Shepard enters, Aria is pacing around her quarters like a caged lioness, her fingers crackling with the glow of biotics and there are signs of small scale destruction around the room, results of Aria's poorly contained outbreak of anger.

"Aria... everything alright?" Shepard asks, aware that her question is a little stupid because everything about Aria's appearance suggests that she is definitely **not** alright.

"I hate feeling like this, Shepard," Aria exclaims, throwing a small biotic throw at a nearby shelf, shattering an old datapad. "The mere idea that I would care about them is preposterous, and yet... I can't stop feeling that way! It makes me weak, pathetic and miserable, not being able to help them... fuck, I hate this so much!"

"Well, you're not used to such feelings," Shepard tries. "But if you try to remember all the joy that they have brought to your life, it will fill you with strength. Strength that you need to fight for them."

"Hmm..." Aria pauses, thinking about Morgan's words as she rubs her chin. "You might be on to something there, Shepard. Still... damn, worrying about them makes me feel so useless. Reapers have taken the Citadel... who knows if anyone there is still alive? Tevos is just so utterly helpless in situations like these, and the girls aren't much better, they have not trained their biotics at all."

"We'll need to take the Citadel back from the Reapers, and if there's a chance to save them, we will do so," Morgan promises. "You should try to rest a little, recharge your biotics before we throw ourselves against the Reapers."

"Not a chance of that, Shepard," Aria shakes her head, stepping a little closer. "I'm still feeling... incredibly aroused, having seen that Cerberus base blowing up to small bits..." Shepard takes an involuntary step back, pressing with her back against the wall as Aria approaches her, tantalizing sway in her hips. "Usually, after a mission like this, I would find someone reasonably good looking and fuck them the whole night or longer, until the tensions have ran out completely. No shortage of attractive targets on this ship... could even be you, Shepard..." she says huskily, leaning closer.

Morgan feels her breath catching in her throat as she squirms against the wall, closing her eyes and feeling Aria's lips less than an inch from hers, she can practically taste the asari's spicy scented warm breath, it is almost intoxicating as her lips briefly brush against Morgan's... before pulling away, letting her finally exhale. "But no, you're not **her**..." Aria then says, her shoulders slumping as she steps away from Shepard. "And it shouldn't matter, I just want a good, hard fuck... and yet, now it feels like it does matter, and fucking someone else suddenly doesn't feel so right... shit, why does it have to be so complicated?"

"Aria, you know you can always leave and go back to what you were on Omega, lonely, bitter and distrustful," Morgan says softly. "And yet you are here, willing to follow me and risk your own life for those few that you do care about. So, there is a large part of you that wants this. And I for one hope that you do not run back to hide, but stay and face this, together with us."

"I won't run, Shepard. Don't worry about it. I'll figure this out," Aria says, clenching her fists tightly before flashing a toothy grin at Morgan. "Thanks for saying the things I needed to hear, Shepard. Damn, but you better run to your quarters and fuck T'Soni while there is still time, because I'm not sure for how long I can contain the urge of throwing you down on this sofa and finding out whether... what is that the humans say... the carpet matches the curtains?"

Morgan almost manages to choke from the very thought of what Aria's words imply, but still she fights the burning desire to just turn around and flee, knowing that she must retain what dignity of hers that still remains. "I believe I will do just that, Aria," she adds, managing a weak smile and then swiftly heading for the doors, steadying herself against the wall after she has left, wiping her brow and finding it soaking with perspiration. _Damn, Aria is completely crazy... but, by the gods... there's just something intoxicatingly powerful about the way she carries herself, as if she is entitled to whatever she desires. _She suddenly blushes guiltily, feeling a surge of tingly warmth spreading through her. _Shit, I just wanted some relaxing cuddling with Liara, and now it's going to be hard to not want more... damn that Aria and her wicked asari space magic!_

"Commander Shepard?" Traynor's voice suddenly reaches her on the comms. "Admiral Anderson wishes to speak with you in the comm room."

"I'll be right there," Shepard replies, immediately hurrying over to the elevator, the very mention of Anderson immediately returning her thoughts to the task at hand.

"Shepard! Do you read me?" Anderson's image is very broken up and she can barely hear his voice through the static, likely some kind of Reaper interference now that they have moved most of their forces to Sol. "What the hell is going on? The Citadel just showed up above Earth a few hours ago! What are those bastards up to?"

"Turns out that the Catalyst we have been trying to chase down over several months is nothing else but the Citadel!" Morgan replies, raising her voice to make sure that Anderson hears her. From the way he winces and raises his hand to rub his ear, she realizes that the effort was uncalled for. "The Illusive Man has kindly informed the Reapers of this fact. He eluded us at the Cronos Station, though I am happy to report that Clown Leng and the rest of Cerberus are pushing up the daisies."

"Hmm, that is good, though the Illusive Man still worries me," Anderson shakes his head. "He must have some kind of a plan. And the Reapers, I assume they have brought the Citadel here to protect it? Damn... we will need to wrestle it back from them to deploy the Crucible..." his gaunt, sunken face pales even more. "Shepard... this is bad."

"Tell me about it," Shepard sighs. "I'll speak with Hackett about just how he plans to play this. One thing is certain, though, I don't care to even know the odds of our success."

Anderson barks a short laugh. "No kidding. Listen, Shepard... our forces have amassed in London. I told you that something big was going on here, and now we have the intel to explain just what. By our reckoning, the Reapers are about to finish building a small mass relay."

"A mass relay?" Shepard asks, surprised. "Hmm... interesting. Not quite what I expected, but... maybe it does make sense..."

"We'll continue scouting it out, Shepard, give you as much intel as we can when you get here," Anderson says. "Looks like we're going to see each other sooner than we expected."

"At least one thing to be glad about," Morgan manages a small smile. "Be careful, Anderson."

"You too, Shepard," the admiral nods. "Anderson out."

_Hmm, a mass relay... the obvious reason would be that they plan to transport something... from or to the planet? Probably from. But what, and why? This is... rather peculiar,_ Shepard muses, but her thoughts just as before are interrupted by the comm chatter. "Shepard?" this time it is EDI. "Dr. T'Soni is looking for you. I believe she expects you to join her in your quarters."

"Yes, yes, everyone wants a piece of me these days," Shepard sighs theatrically. "Tell Bubbles that I'm on my way. And EDI, what's the ETA to Noveria?"

"Five hours, Commander."

"Alright, I want no interruptions for the next four hours, unless it's Hackett or some other emergency that cannot be handled without my presence. Understood?"

"Very well, Commander," EDI says. "I should remind you not to exhaust yourselves too m-"

"La-la-la, can't hear you, EDI, switching the comms off NOW," Shepard replies, shaking her head as she ducks into the elevator before someone else has dragged her away to handle some kind of super important issue, breathing out a sigh of relief when she finally arrives in her quarters, stepping inside to see Liara lounging on the bed fully dressed, looking up and smiling at Morgan as she enters. _I'm not sure what our life will be like if we survive the war, but I'm going to miss this sight. I'm going to miss this ship and these people._

"What took you so long?" Liara asks, grinning as Morgan plops down on the bed next to her.

"Oh, you know, motivating the crew and all that bollocks," Morgan smiles back at Liara, feeling the asari cuddling closer towards her and she happily accepts the embrace. "And I had a very interesting encounter with Aria, where she wanted to throw me down on the sofa and do unspeakable, depraved things to me."

Liara sighs, shaking her head, but also unable to hide a small smile. "Aria is so... wild and unrestrained about these things. But, Morgan... please know that despite what you have heard of my people, I definitely would not consent to sharing you with Aria T'Loak," she adds with a teasing warning. "Even if as a young maiden I am expected to display proper respect and obedience to an older matron such as Aria... it is simply not going to happen."

"However will I cope with this disappointment of not having two asari lovers all to myself?" Shepard chuckles, rolling her eyes, then breathing out a sigh of relief. "But I feel all safe now, knowing that you will protect me from Aria's evil and corrupting ways! Liara T'Soni... you know damn well that you are everything I want, everything I need."

"Yes, I do know that," Liara smiles with the kind of gentle confidence that causes shivers of desire to run through Morgan's body. "I was completely taken by surprise when Aria grabbed me back on Cronos Station," the asari then admits. "I should have expected something like that from her, really. Though I fully expected you to come to the defense of my honor!"

"Sorry, I was too busy laughing about the look you had on your face," Morgan grins wickedly at her bondmate.

"Not even a flicker of the famous human possessiveness and jealousy?" Liara laughs, then giving Morgan a slightly curious stare. "My, my, Commander, you are full of surprises..."

"Uh... after the meld we shared last night... the way we took down the barriers and allowed ourselves to sense all the feelings we have for each other... I don't think I'll ever have to think of anyone as serious competition for your affections, Liara," Morgan speaks quietly, bringing up her hand to cup Liara's cheek. "That said... if Aria ever does something that you find upsetting or hurtful... the two of us are going to have a very serious talk."

"I do not think that will happen, love. I am content to let Aria play her little games if it makes her happy. It does not truly bother me, because I know where we stand," Liara replies with an amused smile. "But, Morgan... these are our last hours before the final battle... why are we spending them talking about Aria T'Loak?"

"Well, you started it," Morgan grins petulantly.

"Did not," Liara offers a deeply intellectual rebuttal.

"Did too!"

"Did not!"

"You did too!"

"No, I did not!"

"Okay, okay... you so did, but let's ignore that, and speak no more of Aria and her wicked, hedonistic ways," Morgan chuckles, continuing to gently stroke her bondmate's soft cheek. "In which case, perhaps you should find us another topic of conversation?"

"Very well... let's see. Imagine that the war is over, we have won and the Reapers are no more. What is the one thing that you would want to do the most?"

"Oh, that is easy," Morgan chuckles. "I would like to spirit you away to some secluded place where we could be together, just the two of us, finally without any pressure at the back of our minds, no reminders of the war, our duties and responsibilities... complete freedom and peace surrounding us..."

"That does sound good," Liara agrees eagerly.

"Though I imagine there will be so much rebuilding to do," Shepard sighs. "And believe you me, I have not forgotten about those beautiful blue babies, Liara. Damn, it has been so difficult to stop myself from coming up with a suggestion to start working on that already...

"Umm... so... why didn't you suggest it?" Liara asks, some previously unseen emotions briefly reflecting in her eyes.

"Babe... look around us," Morgan smiles softly, leaning closer and gently kissing the tip of Liara's nose. "I believe that we can win this war, we must win it, but... I could never ask you to conceive while we're still in the middle of all this madness. It would have been the most foolishly irresponsible thing imaginable!"

"Foolishly irresponsible... yes, I see, of course," Liara says in a low voice, but before Morgan can ask whether everything is alright, the asari darts forward and begins to kiss her deeply and passionately, her hands sneaking around Shepard to tighten the embrace.

"Babe..." Morgan breathes out heavily, reluctantly pulling away from Liara's lips. "You can't kiss me like that and expect me not to reciprocate, and we're supposed to be taking things easy! Let's work on those blue babies after the war, alright?"

"I'm sorry... you are right, as always," Liara nods with a guilty smile, adding one more swift peck on Morgan's cheek before lowering her head to rest it against her bondmate's chest, the two of them continuing to hold each other in a comforting, supportive embrace. "Beautiful blue babies after the war, you say..." Liara purrs, drifting off to a peaceful slumber in Morgan's arms. "Yes... I think I should be able to accommodate..."


	116. The Fleets Arrive

_A/N: And thus, the endgame begins. Thank you, everyone, who has read and enjoyed the story this far, and I hope that you will remain onboard the rest of the way. From some of the discussions I've had, I already know that what is to come won't satisfy everyone. However, it has never been my aim to try and please everyone, because then it would no longer be my story, and as such I simply would not be able to write it. _

_So, what can my readers expect from the endgame? Well, we are heading into a savage and brutal battle, and there is no way to cheat the grim reality of it. Blood and tears will be shed, lives will be lost, and happiness will be hard to find. That said... I will do all I can to avoid the reasons why many of you reading this tale felt cheated by the original endings. So, hang tight, arm yourself with plenty of patience, and most importantly, don't lose hope. _

_The real fun starts... NOW! _

**Chapter 115 - The Fleets Arrive**

The War Room is filled with anxiety and quiet whispering, as all as one they stand there, watching the constant stream of updates supplied by Samantha Traynor, listening to EDI relentlessly delivering the latest reports from the Alliance Command. Shepard stands like frozen with her hands behind her back, not showing much emotion on her face, but deep inside her heart is skipping like mad, still not truly comprehending the enormity of what they are going to attempt.

Liara stands next to her, looking a little nervous, but nonetheless proud and determined. Aria is leaning against the wall a little off to the side, unusually quiet and thoughtful, with Garrus and Tali nearby, now and then briefly touching each other supportively, both looking grim in face of the immense task before them. Javik appears to be impatient, eager to get into the battle, with Morgan not taking him on ground missions as often as he would like, the Prothean no doubt is rearing to go. Similarly with James, having spent so much time in the medbay, it looks as if he cannot wait to finally take the fight to the Reapers and reclaim his homeworld, feeling far greater attachment to Earth than Morgan does, the Commander not having spent much time on the planet that had given birth to their species.

"When are we finally going to jump?" James is the one who finally breaks the quiet fidgeting and whispering with a firm question. "_Madre_, this waiting is killing me!"

"Getting sixteen thousand ships through a relay probably takes considerable time," Garrus replies. "Now... if the Reapers felt like being particularly irritating, they would position a large part of their ships to pick us off just as we emerge from the relay."

Morgan sees Tali shivering next to the turian, giving her lover a punch on the shoulder. "Don't give the Reapers any ideas, you _bosh'tet_!" she grumbles.

"These concerns have already been addressed by sending probes through the Charon Relay," EDI informs them. "They revealed a small detachment of Reaper destroyers guarding the relay, five or six ships large. The Alliance First under Admiral Ines Lindholm together with the Turian Sixth have jumped to engage them, and the Asari Second Fleet are currently coming through the relay."

Morgan crosses her fingers and utters a silent prayer to whatever higher power might be listening. "So... it has truly started..." she whispers, before raising her voice to reply. "Please let us know about the results of that battle as soon as you have news, EDI."

"Acknowledged," EDI replies. "We have now received our orders and are to proceed towards the relay in twenty-five minutes, once the Alliance Third Fleet concludes their jump from Exodus Cluster."

"Understood," Shepard says, falling silent again, waiting. At some point she feels Liara untangling her hands behind her back and then slipping her warm palm into hers, desperate for physical contact and Morgan smiles inwardly, only too happy to accommodate her bondmate.

"Should we ready ourselves for a ground mission, Shepard?" Tali asks, her voice trembling a little. "I imagine they will want to deploy us on the Citadel so that we can retake control of the station, yes?"

Aria cuts in before Shepard can answer. "It better be their battle plan, or else I'm going there alone, on my own," the asari speaks gruffly, arms crossed on her chest.

"That probably is the plan, unless they have sealed the station's arms, in which case we could have a problem," Morgan suddenly makes an unpleasant realization. "I'm not sure how to get inside the Citadel in that case."

"We can always blow a nice new hole," Aria shrugs, undeterred.

"But yes, to answer your question Tali, expect ground deployment, all of you," Shepard tells her crew. "We're not going to see the end of this war while sitting here onboard of the ship... not that it's even remotely safer here with hundreds of Reapers trying to shoot us down, but... I mean, it just won't be the same if we don't get up close and personal with the Reapers!"

"Hooyah! Damn right, Lola!" James agrees wholeheartedly, then shutting up as EDI's voice breaks through their chatter.

"Shepard, I have new information. The battle for Charon Relay has just concluded. Those Reaper ships that did not retreat, have been destroyed. The human and the turian fleets lost several frigates and cruisers, but not a single dreadnaught was lost in the battle." Everyone in the War Room cheers at the news. "The _'Loyalty'_ has been crippled and won't be able to have its weapon systems repaired in time, so the turians are rapidly converting the dreadnaught to provide additional medical facilities and support. Meanwhile, Lia'Vael is slowly moving Normandy in position for the relay jump. We will arrive in Sol System in less than fifteen minutes."

"I'll join you on the bridge for that, EDI," Shepard replies. "Wouldn't miss that view for anything in the world."

"I will come with you," Liara insists, not letting go of Morgan's hand.

"Gotta see that too, Lola," James pleads. "It's the goddamn homecoming, for Christ's sake!"

"Alright, alright, but it's getting woefully crowded on that bridge by now," Morgan laughs.

"The view from the Starboard Observation must be amazing," Tali muses, looking at Aria, her body language hopeful. "Uh... if we could, ma'am..."

"Sure, knock yourself out, kids," Aria shrugs, her thoughts clearly not on sightseeing. "Pardon about the mess, too."

Shepard, Liara and James hurry to the bridge soon afterwards, arriving there just as the Normandy is in position for the jump, and they steady themselves for the already far too familiar feeling of suddenly being flung to another part of the galaxy, finding themselves emerging back in the Sol System, not having seen it since their escape from the Mars archives with the all important Crucible intel.

"Holy crap... that's a frigging shitload of ships!" James Vega exclaims as the Normandy suddenly finds itself in the middle of a thick swarm of fellow Alliance ships, scrambling to find their way through the crowded space around the relay. "Hey, Lia, watch out! Geez..." he breathes a big sigh of relief when another Alliance frigate brushes past them disturbingly close.

"Don't worry, Lieutenant, that was a perfectly safe maneuver!" the chirpy quarian replies enthusiastically, thoroughly enjoying herself whilst navigating the sea of vessels to the set of coordinates handed to the Alliance Fifth Fleet. "That was so much fun! Now we can just sit tight here and wait while all the others come through the relay!"

"Damn if it isn't impressive..." Morgan sighs, watching the gathering fleets, hardly even a fourth of their forces have come through yet, ships everywhere they look, crowding out the star riddled space around them, for now only the human, asari and turian fleets coming through, but that is about to change soon. _And to think that it was us who put these forces together. Sure, Hackett will be leading them now, god knows I don't have the experience at coordinating fleets of such numbers, I wouldn't know what the hell to do, but... I can at least feel proud about all the things we have done to bring the galaxy together like this. I just wonder how many of these ships will survive the coming battle... if any..._

"EDI, can you give us update on the fleets, please?" Liara asks, sounding in deep awe as she watches the ships drift by.

"Of course, Dr. T'Soni. Alliance First, Third and Fifth fleets are in the Sol, Alliance Sixth is currently arriving," EDI begins her report. "Asari Second Fleet is already present and the Asari Sixth will begin their jump... now. The Turian Sixth Fleet is present, Seventh Fleet will make the jump last, they are currently responsible for transporting the Crucible."

"Goddess... there's the Destiny Ascension..." Liara breathes out in reverence, watching the massive asari dreadnaught arrive, the appearance of the giant flagship of the Citadel fleets likely a massive morale boost for the entire united galactic force. "I'm so glad you chose to save them, Morgan. Matriarch Lidanya is a very capable commander, her tactical and leadership skills will be incredibly useful in the upcoming battle."

"Sure looks like it could take on a destroyer in a one on one fight," James nods, impressed.

"Thankfully with thousands of other ships here, they won't have to try and take out a Reaper ship on their own," Morgan replies, watching as the asari fleet continues to arrive through the relay.

The other fleets join in soon afterwards, the Salarian Third Fleet, numbering over one thousand ships, but only with a very few dreadnaughts, what little Councilor Valern has scraped together in spite of the attempts by Dalatrass Linron to deny the galactic forces any salarian aid. Being able to put together even a token force like this, keeping their main fleet defending Sur'Kesh, is still a major coup for Valern. Should their battle with the Reapers turn out to be victorious, nobody would be able to claim that the salarians had simply sat around idly and watched the others bleed and any attempts to oust them from the Council would be unsuccessful... even more so because they would be the ones to have the most intact military after the war.

The quarians come through next, accompanied by cheers from Lia'Vael as the spunky pilot gets up to her feet and proudly salutes as the ships commanded by her people slowly float by, protectively surrounding the Rayya in the middle. After the quarians, it is the turn of the geth and Lia goes from jubilant cheering to quiet booing.

"Hey, you're supposed to be pals with the geth, now," Shepard pokes the quarian at the back of her helmet.

"Oh... oh yes, that's right... I keep forgetting that!" she confesses, sounding embarrassed. "Old habits die hard... that was the saying, did I get it right?"

"Yes, you did," Shepard grins, now watching the smaller fleets starting their jumps, the volus bombing fleet led by their sole dreadnaught, the Kwunu, then the elcor and the hanar, few hundred ships each, not much to speak of, but in this battle every ship will count and they are all painfully aware of that.

"Commander, Rear Admiral Hackett wants to address the galactic fleets from the bridge of the Normandy," EDI suddenly informs them. "The admiral believes that it would be fitting, considering the Normandy's role in this war. He is requesting permission to come aboard."

"I guess we should grant him the permission, then," Shepard smiles briefly, watching a ragtag collection of the strangest ships starting to arrive through the relay, the colorful bunch of the Terminus Fleets keeping their part of the bargain and deciding to join them after all.

"That's almost everyone," Liara says, wide-eyed as she struggles to take in the surreal view of so many ships, Morgan understanding exactly how she feels. "And the Reapers are still content to hold position around the Earth and allow our fleets to arrive? I find that most... fortuitous."

"Makes sense to me, babe," Shepard replies, watching the SSV Fuji slowly drifting next to the Normandy, dwarfing the small frigate with its sheer size. "They do not even entertain the possibility of defeat. They are so confident that they will let us come through the relay so that they can eradicate our fleets all at once. After we have began moving towards Earth, they will likely send a strong detachment of ships to guard the relay and make sure that none of our forces escape."

"Or that we do not destroy the mass relay in the last moment of defiance to take the Reapers down with us," EDI continues, having no issues with concluding the grim thought that Shepard had struggled to admit to herself. "But yes, Commander, your hypothesis is likely correct."

As Admiral Hackett together with a small escort of marines finally passes through the Normandy's airlock, the final fleet is beginning their arrival in the system, the Turian Seventh finally showing up, supposedly with the Crucible in tow, but Shepard has difficulties in spotting it amidst the seemingly chaotic mass of ships. She almost thinks that she has noticed something that might have been the Crucible, but it looks also a little bit like a quarian liveship, and then there is no longer time to wonder about it, Hackett is here and they rush to meet him on the way to the CIC.

James and Morgan both snap to attention and salute, the admiral answering in turn, before turning his head slightly to nod at Liara, the asari answering with a smile and a nod of her own. "We are about to bring the might of the galaxy to bear down on the Reapers," Hackett addresses Shepard. "Are you ready, Commander?"

"Yes, sir!" Morgan replies crisply with another salute.

"Very good. In that case, it is time to address the fleets one last time," Hackett says, stepping onto the bridge, hands clasped behind his back as he stands tall and proud.

"The comms are open, all the fleets are linked in, Admiral," Specialist Traynor informs as Hackett begins his speech.

"Never before have so many come together from all quarters of the galaxy. But never before have we faced an enemy such as this," Hackett speaks. "The Reapers will show us no mercy. We must give them no quarter."

"They will terrorize our populations. We must stand fast in the face of that terror. They will advance until our last city falls, but we will not fall. We will prevail," the admiral continues, and Morgan feels tiny shivers running all over her body, even if she recognizes the fairly typical _rah-rah_ speech for what it is, she can't help getting swept up in the emotional torrent of the occasion.

"Each of us will be defined by our actions in the coming battle. Stand fast, stand strong. Stand together. Hackett out," the admiral finishes his brief address, lingering on the bridge for a few moments, before stepping down and approaching Morgan again. "Shepard, it is time we discuss the actual strategy for the upcoming battle. But for that we need to bring in Anderson, can we make use of your QEC?"

"This way, sir," she nods, quickly leading Hackett through the War Room towards the comm center, EDI already working to establish a connection as they walk, trying to reach Admiral Anderson back on the ground. Fortunately, Anderson is quick to answer the transmission, his gaunt, bruised, but still wildly determined face appearing before them on the screen.

"Admiral, how are you holding up?" Hackett wastes no time in addressing his old comrade-in-arms.

"We're ready to end this, Steven," Anderson replies.

"It's time we brought Shepard up to speed with our plans," Hackett continues. "Our fleets will be divided in two, the Sword and the Hammer. The Sword fleets will be responsible for striking at the Reapers surrounding Earth, trying to push them away from the Citadel to make sure we can deliver the Crucible."

"An unenviable task," Shepard winces, unable to stop her mind from wondering just how many ships will need to be sacrificed to achieve this objective.

"At the same time, while the Sword fleets keep the enemy engaged, the rest of the ships will deliver your squad and the Hammer ground forces to retake London," Hackett finishes.

"London, and not the Citadel itself? I assume this has something to do with the mass relay that the Reapers have been constructing there?" Shepard asks.

"Precisely so, Shepard," Anderson nods. "They have sealed the station, as I'm sure you expected them to, and you need to get those arms open to dock the Crucible. We need a way to get at least a handful of troops on to the Citadel. Fortunately, an option has presented itself to us, crazy as it is."

"Let me guess, David. The mass relay links to the Citadel?" Shepard asks, unable to hide a smile as both admirals face her with questioning stares. "I just remembered the Conduit on Ilos. The Reapers must have taken notes."

"Of course," Anderson nods in realization. "The Reapers have been using the relay to bring the harvested genetic material to the Citadel, humans, both dead and alive. We can use it as a back door into the Citadel... though, reaching it will be no small task. There are... more complications that must be dealt with before the main Hammer forces can even land."

"I figured as much. You were starting to make it sound too easy for a while there," Morgan quips, even if her heart is slowly sinking in the face of these insurmountable odds. _So that's where I'll die. London. Not too bad. Better than some backwater dump, at least. _

"London is surrounded by Hades cannons," Hackett explains. "We cannot send the Hammer transports in while they are still active. Shepard, I'm putting you in charge of the squadron of ground teams, coming in with shuttles. Your task is to take out those cannons with heavy weapons."

_If I didn't know any better, I'd swear they're trying to get me killed._ "Oooh, can we get a few of those M-920 Cains, pretty please?" she asks instead, feeling strangely eager to hold one of those things in her hands again.

"Of course, Shepard," Hackett allows magnanimously. "Once you have taken out the Hades cannons, the main bulk of the Hammer can land and we can set up a Forward Operations Base."

"Then, from the FOB, the Hammer will launch an all-out assault on the relay," Anderson finishes explaining the 'plan'.

"As Anderson said, we only need a handful of troops through that relay, and we need them to then open the station's arms," Hackett continues. "Once that is done, the Shield fleets will get the Crucible to the Citadel. It will have to be done fast, however, for the Reapers will no doubt realize our plan and will attempt to destroy the Crucible."

"I have to say, Admirals... it's not much of a plan, but at least it's straightforward," Shepard manages a grim chuckle, both Hackett and Anderson smirking at her. "Hey, I like simple, uncomplicated things, they don't make me confused. Anyway... should we start getting ready for immediate deployment?"

"You have two hours, Shepard," Hackett replies. "I need to return to the Fuji and inform all the other fleets of our plan and allow the Hammer and the Sword to make all preparations, especially the Hammer will need more time to put together the strike teams. You will coordinate the attacks on the Hades cannons, Shepard, Anderson will take over the command once you arrive at the FOB."

"Understood, sir. We'll be ready," she salutes again, before adding to both of them. "And good luck..."

"Indeed... good luck, to all of us," Hackett nods, leaving the comm room and marching back towards the Normandy airlock to return to the SSV Fuji.

Morgan remains in the comm room for a while longer, having watched the image of Admiral Anderson vanishing from the display, continuing her musings about their desperate plan, wondering just how bad the situation down on the planet might be. _David did say that the Reapers have been massing their forces around London. They will do all they can to stop us from reaching that relay... fuck, this will be a slaughter. So many will die..._

"Commander?" EDI's voice interrupts her on the comms again. "Our comm channels are close to overloading from the amount of incoming messages. It is as if every ship in this galactic fleet wants to express how honored they are to fly together with the Normandy."

"That... does mean a lot, though," Shepard quietly admits.

"At least after you denied the geth from reaching true individuality, the consensus has only sent a single message, instead of close to ten thousand we would have received if Legion had upgraded them," EDI says. "Finally the true reasons for your decision are exposed, Commander."

"Damn it, EDI, you know it wasn't like that," she sighs, realizing that even if EDI is joking, there is still a hint of disapproval that her synthetic friend clearly feels about her actions on Rannoch. "I'm sorry... I can tell you only the same I told Legion. Sorry."

"It was not my intent to make you feel guilty, Commander. Well... that might not be entirely true, but I digress. There is a placed vid call from a certain ship in the Alliance Fleet that I thought you might want to answer." Shepard falls silent for a moment, thinking, but as she is about to ask, EDI quickly elaborates. "Rear Admiral Hannah Shepard of the SSV Orizaba wishes to speak with you in the comm room, Commander."

"Oh... oh! Of course! Put her thr-... no, wait. Is Liara still with you on the bridge?"

"She is nearby, speaking with James," EDI replies. "Would you like me to send her to join you?"

"Exactly so, EDI," Shepard says, smiling. "Once she's on her way, wait twenty seconds before putting my mom through."

Liara quickly appears in the comm room, looking surprised at why Shepard has summoned her, but Morgan simply takes her hand and pulls her close at the same moment as Rear Admiral Hannah Shepard appears before them on the vid screen, Liara giving an adorable, soft squeak of embarrassment, then glaring accusingly at Morgan for putting her on the spot like this.

"Uh... hi, mom," Morgan manages awkwardly, not releasing Liara's hand, the asari almost looking as if she was considering fleeing. "I'm sorry, I totally dropped this on Liara without telling her, she's now terribly embarrassed and angry at me."

"Things are certainly hectic, are they not?" her mother looks a little unsettled as well, understandably so. "In any case, it is a pleasure to meet you, Dr. T'Soni. I assure you, you have nothing to fear from me. I should thank you for keeping an eye out on my reckless daughter over these past few years."

"It was my pleasure, ma'am," Liara recovers enough to reply quietly, stepping closer to stand by Morgan's side. "Though... you are not wrong about reckless..." she adds, giving Shepard an exasperated stare.

"Eh... she exaggerates things," Morgan chuckles. "Anyway, mom... I was hoping to hear from you before all hell breaks loose, but it's just been like a complete madhouse. And now they're sending me with the first wave of Hammer to take out those Hades cannons around London. So... yeah, can't be too sure we'll have another opportunity to speak."

"It's not going to be easy up here either, my sweet," Hannah shakes her head. "I've had my people run simulations of how long our forces can survive against the Reapers. Eight hours is the most optimistic simulation."

"So, we'll have less than eight hours to get the Citadel ready to receive the Crucible, got it," Morgan nods. "Crazy, when you think we have like sixteen thousand ships on our side. One would think that nothing could stand against a force such as this."

"But these Reapers seem like an exception," her mother says. "There are many preparations to make for us both, so I should not delay you. I simply wished to see you for what could be one last time, child. And it was good to see the asari who has captured the heart of this brat... a pleasure, Dr. T'Soni."

"Liara, please, ma'am..."

"But then you must call me Hannah in return, Liara," the admiral smiles.

"Very well... Hannah."

"She is such a dear, isn't she?" Hannah smiles, looking back at Shepard, then at Liara again. "Now, if I wanted to truly embarrass you, I would mention that my daughter has specifically promised me with grandchildren."

Liara's cheeks immediately darken with deep blush as she lowers her eyes. "I... ah, think that we might... think of something..." she manages.

"We will deliver on those grandchildren, mom, if you promise to get through this in one piece, alright?" Morgan turns back to her mother. "And listen, we still haven't gone out for a round of drinks, and nobody's allowed to die until we've done that, right?"

Her mother smiles at that. "I remember that promise. There used to be some excellent pubs in London. Knowing the British, they will probably rebuild those first."

"Sounds perfect," Morgan exclaims. "But seriously, mom... I know we all will do what needs to be done, but still... try to keep yourself safe if possible, alright? We haven't had nearly enough time together in the past... ugh, ever since I enlisted, really. Maybe once the Reapers are out of the way, we can... actually see each other now and then?"

"I think I would like that. Especially if I could sit with my grandchildren, while you kids go out and have fun," Hannah smiles at them. "Be careful, Morgan. I will pray for you. And Liara, keep safe and watch out for my child... she tends to get into trouble, you know."

"Fly safe, Hannah," Liara replies with a quiet smile, then turning to Morgan. "I will do what I can to keep her from harm. I promise."


	117. The Hades Cannons

**Chapter 116 - The Hades Cannons**

Shepard spends the next hour digesting the intel concerning the Hammer attack to take out the Hades cannons. Apparently there are three of these massive cannons in the outskirts of the metropolis, and eventually Morgan decides to send four shuttles loaded with seasoned marines at each of the cannons. Two shuttles will be assembled from the Normandy squad, Morgan herself together with Aria, Liara and EDI will be flying with Cortez, while Vega will be bringing Javik, Garrus and Tali to lead an assault on the second cannon.

Most of the squads have been provided by the Alliance, but there are some asari and turian forces joining as well, the turians also carrying several krogan with them. Having heard that Major Kirrahe is in charge of the salarian squad assigned to the first Hammer wave, she promotes him to lead the assault on the last cannon. Once she has a complete view of the squads under her command and the frigates and carriers responsible for delivering the first Hammer wave, Shepard sends her report to Hackett, stating that they are ready to proceed with the first phase of the attack. While she is waiting for the reply, Morgan rejoins Liara and James back at the bridge, standing there, bristling with impatience, as the final preparations are made before the fleets begin their push.

"Any other interesting messages coming in, EDI?" Morgan eventually asks, tired of fiddling around while waiting for Hackett to give the all clear to proceed.

"I am not certain what criteria would qualify a message to be considered interesting, but I have heard from your old friend Kasumi Goto," EDI replies. "She is accompanying the Crucible support fleets, and expresses disbelief and outrage about once again being involved in a suicide mission. She seems to imply that this is somehow your fault, Shepard."

Morgan lets out a deep sigh. "What isn't my fault these days?" she asks no one in particular. "Anyway, I bet she's secretly enjoying this, she's just too proud to admit it." For a moment there is thoughtful silence, before Morgan speaks again. "Miranda promised that she'll be here too, though I have no idea who she might be flying with. Probably not the Alliance."

"Shepard, there are great many privateers who have linked up with the Terminus Fleets. It would not surprise me if miss Lawson was on one of those nameless frigates or cruisers," EDI makes an educated guess.

"Yeah, suppose you're right," Morgan nods. "Any news on Wrex or Grunt? Wrex said he'd be here."

"My intel places his last known location aboard the _'Unbreakable'_, his forces are flying with the turians," EDI reports.

"It's amazing how well they have been getting along with the turians," Liara remarks, looking surprised, but also extremely pleased. "I guess fighting side by side on Palaven has helped them forge bonds of friendship and respect."

"Hey, how can anyone not like the krogan!" James exclaims jovially. "They're crazy sons of bitches, but at least they're fun! There's no one else I'd rather have watching my back than an angry krogan with a shotgun. Uh... with the shotgun pointed in the other direction, not at me!"

"It would appear that Primarch Victus is also on the same ship as Wrex," EDI continues. "However, I have no news on Grunt's location. It is possible that he has not joined the fleets in the battle for Earth."

"Bah, he would have been so useful to have along," Morgan sighs, but just then some kind of priority message comes in and Lia'Vael reacts instantly, starting to press buttons on the controls, there is the quiet hum as the Normandy's engines respond almost immediately and they are moving again, this time towards Earth.

"We are to continue together with the Sword fleets until they have engaged the enemy," Lia'Vael explains as the fleet quickly begins to move through the system, swift on their way to reach Earth, the Hammer ships readjusting their position along the way, pulling behind the main Sword fleets, only the Crucible, the Turian Seventh and a part of the Alliance Sixth protecting the super-weapon lingering further behind.

The view as they come upon Earth again after not having seen it for months is simply demoralizing, as are the Reaper numbers surrounding the planet, and the Citadel, almost unrecognizable with its arms closed, looking like a massive tall space needle. The Reapers do not quite block the view of Earth with their numbers, but there are still great many of them, the destroyers numbering in hundreds, but the most fear inspiring are the massive capital ships, and there are at least a few dozen of those as well, nearly impervious to destruction, Harbinger most likely amongst them.

"Keelah, here it comes..." Lia'Vael sounds excited and frightened both at once in the pilot's seat. "We have time to hit them with the good stuff before we need to leave the Sword, EDI? Please, oh please, say yes?"

"We most certainly do, Lia'Vael," EDI replies kindly. "Weapons are primed for use, awaiting the command."

_Wonder how much damage combined fire of sixteen thousand ships can do to these ugly bastards,_ Shepard thinks to herself, watching the Reaper ships beginning to move in anticipation of the attack, like gigantic black angry spiders against the fire-lit surface of Earth in the backdrop. The galactic fleet is approaching fast, coming close to the firing range, and she instinctively reaches out to where Liara is standing, finding her cold, sweaty palm being grabbed by an equally clammy asari hand, her bondmate struggling with nerves just as badly as Morgan herself.

Several more seconds pass, before EDI speaks again. "Fire!" is the short command, and Lia'Vael lets out something that is very likely some kind of ancient quarian curse, then punching the firing controls and the Thanix cannon comes to life, together with the GARDIAN laser joining sixteen thousand other ships firing all at once as the sky around them grows blindingly bright blue from the discharge of weapons.

When Morgan has recovered her eyesight, she is extremely encouraged to see that the Reapers have actually felt this first attack. Several of the destroyers have been severely crippled, and one or two eradicated outright. The reply is immediate, myriad of red particle beams slice towards them, so many that evading them appears impossible and the only thing to count on becomes luck. The dreadnaughts are well capable to shrug off attacks by a single destroyer, but all the smaller ships are either immediately destroyed or rendered completely useless.

Undeterred, the galactic fleets continue their course towards Earth and the Citadel, the ships now launching their fighter squadrons to counter the swarms of oculus fighters deployed by the Reaper forces, the space swarming with crafts, discharges of red and blue beams, constantly lit up by fiery explosions of their ships, now and then also of some Reaper destroyer as well. The battlefield looks like complete chaos at the first sight, and Morgan quietly hopes that Hackett has the situation under control, even if the numerous midair collisions between fighters during the battle does not fill her with much confidence. She looks around to the other ships of the Fifth Fleet, hoping to see how the SSV Orizaba is coping, but of course she has no chance of spotting her mother's ship in all this madness surrounding them.

"Breaking off," Lia'Vael reports, having received the orders for Hammer transports to leave the battle. "Preparing for descent."

"We should head for the shuttles, Commander," EDI tells them.

"Yeah, gladly. Watching this isn't really helping my already frayed nerves... not that the ground action will be any less hectic, at least I won't be just a passenger for the ride there," Morgan sighs. "Lia, are you coming back to rejoin the Sword after dropping us off?" The quarian simply nods in affirmation, too busy replying to another urgent report on the comms. "Well, good luck, in that case. Kill some Reapers and don't let them turn Normandy into a piece of scrap metal, okay? Somehow I've grown accustomed to this ship over the years."

"Will do, Commander!" Lia'Vael replies with forced cheerfulness, but the young quarian is actually performing excellently under duress, her lightning fast responses and excellently timed commands are nearly of the same level of skill as Joker's.

"Let's move, folks!" Shepard says, rushing away from the bridge, smiling at the saluting Traynor as they all move past her, into the elevator and down to the shuttle bay, where Garrus, Tali, Aria and Javik are already waiting for them.

"Shepard, last one to the FOB buys the drinks after we're done here, alright?" Garrus shouts towards her as they are already piling into their respective shuttles. "I hear this London of yours has some fine establishments!"

"I'll hold you to that, Garrus," Morgan grins at her turian friend, watching Liara jump into the shuttle, Shepard following her lover immediately afterwards. "ETA, Steve?" she asks the pilot first thing after strapping herself into a seat.

"Almost over London, Commander," Cortez replies. "In a few seconds," just as he has said that, the docking bay doors are opened and Vega's Kodiak is the first to leave the Normandy, Cortez following close by.

"All the squads have coordinates of their targets?" she asks, receiving a swift nod of confirmation from Steve.

Morgan falls silent then, trying to take in a deep breath to relax herself, but the tight knot in her stomach does not want to allow her even that, sending a painful spasm through her body and she hopes that nobody has seen the twitch of discomfort on her face. _I'm sure it'll feel better once we're actually on the ground, shooting at things. This nervous waiting to be thrown into action is pure torture,_ she thinks to herself. _But we have eight hours to put things right. Probably less than that now. No pressure._

"Some impressive fireworks up there," Aria remarks coolly, nodding at the battle raging overhead, sounding so relaxed that Shepard's first reaction is bitter envy. "Almost felt like staying back on your ship to watch. But I figure that there should be some fun groundside too..." she leans forth to observe the scenery outside through the window in pilot's cabin. "Though, I hate to say it, but you might need a new planet after this is over, Shepard."

"Not looking good, I take it?" Morgan asks, loosening her seat buckles and also coming to look at the view outside. It is just as she has expected it, and yet seeing it with her own eyes feels so raw and painful, there is not a single square yard of London that would not have suffered devastation in some form, only shells of buildings remaining, streets littered with rubble, burning skycars and cut down trees. "Yeah... a new planet might be a good idea. But we humans are really stubborn, we'll want to rebuild."

"This is... just like Thessia all over, isn't it..." Liara sighs, pressing lightly against her side, and she revels in the warm, casual touch. "I'm sorry, Morgan. I know how much it hurts."

"Approaching the LZ, Commander," Cortez informs them, Shepard watching the small console at the front panel of the shuttle, four dots on the grid representing Hammer transports moving towards a large red blotch, the destroyer holding the Hades cannon and now and then the massive energy discharge blasts skywards to probably take out another ship of the galactic fleet, fighting up overhead.

"I can see why they want us to get rid of that thing," Shepard grumbles. "Damn, maybe we should have taken Admiral Koris along for the ride after all. He's really good at taking out these planetary defense cannons..."

"Shit! How the... it has locked on to **us**!" Cortez suddenly exclaims, starting to put the shuttle through some stomach-heaving moves. The transport is suddenly rocked side from side and having already unfastened their seat buckles, they all end up tossed around painfully, but miraculously the shuttle somehow holds together after what felt like a blast from the Hades cannon. A quick glance at the console, however, informs them that the cannon has just taken out two of the Alliance shuttles on their team, leaving them with just the asari commando squad to support them.

"Set us down immediately, Cortez!" Shepard barks, realizing that if the cannon has locked on them, the next blast will take out either them or the asari. "Don't bother with the LZ, we'll get to the cannon from here!"

Cortez, much to his credit, reacts immediately, the Kodiak drops down low onto an empty street, and Shepard is relieved to see the asari also following with the same maneuver, though they are forced into a rough crash landing, black smoke rising from their shuttle. Steve tries to guide them as close to the defense battery as possible, but eventually he is also forced to stop and land. "That's as far as I can take you, Commander, you'll have to make the rest of the way on foot," he says. "I'll try to stay out of sight until you are done."

"Those asari might require extraction too, their shuttle looked damaged beyond repair," Liara says.

"Also, you might want to inform the other teams to be extremely cautious when approaching their targets..." Shepard sighs.

"Already done, Commander," Cortez nods.

"Alright, let's grab our heavy weapons and go... hey, Steve, where is our kit? Did we pack them?" Shepard asks, unable to spot the heavy ordnance.

"It would be incredibly stupid to head on a mission to destroy a planetary defense cannon and not have any heavy weapons loaded onto your shuttle. Especially insulting if you consider that your pilot is also the ship's procurement specialist," Cortez replies a little tersely. "They're at the back, Shepard."

"Here you go, Commander," EDI passes her the Cain, the synthetic herself already has the M-560 Hydra missile launcher strapped on her back. "I have heard from reliable sources that your infatuation with M-920 Cain is comparable to your attraction to a certain asari doctor."

"Well... it's not quite that bad, although..." she grabs the Cain from EDI and starts to cradle it in her arms like a small child. "Come to me, my precious... you know you want to..." she makes cooing noises, looking fondly at the weapon of mass destruction.

Liara lets out an exasperated groan. "Can we just pretend that we didn't see that?" she asks.

"What?" Morgan gives her an innocent grin. "I love my precious Cain. Oh yes I do!"

Aria merely pushes her in the back and forces Morgan out of the shuttle, following the others. The ruined metropolis surrounding them is grey, bleak and depressive, the miserable sights intensified by a typical British downpour, hampering the visibility. "Fuck this. Killing Cerberus was fun... but getting dragged into such a mess? What was I thinking, agreeing to this?" Aria grumbles, readying her twin pistols, trying to see any movement on the short range scanners.

"Well, we haven't killed anything yet, of course it's not fun, just be patient," Morgan replies, trying to keep the spirits of her squad up as they carefully begin moving towards the defense battery, Cortez lingering behind for a little while but then he lifts off again and proceeds to seek some safe spot where to remain undetected from the Reaper troops. "EDI, think you could set up some comm channel with the asari group from the other shuttle?"

"In a moment, Commander... assigning frequency... Team True Blue, you are now linked in with Team Powerpuff Girls," EDI speaks into the comms, before giving Shepard and the others access to the channel as well. "Please report, True Blue."

"This is Lieutenant Kurin of the True Blue... and I'm going to kill whoever came up with that name," the asari swears, Shepard giving EDI a threatening glare. "We just saw two of the Alliance squads go down. Is Commander Shepard in charge of the Powerpuff Girls?"

"That would be Commander 'Blossom' Shepard," EDI says. "She will-"

"She will dismantle one smart aleck synthetic, she thinks," Shepard growls on the comms. "Hey Kurin, good to hear your voice. We met on Thessia, didn't we?"

"That's right, Commander," comes the acknowledgment.

"I remember you went off with Grunt, any idea where he is?" she asks.

"HI MOM!" suddenly the krogan roars on the comms, almost making Morgan's eardrums explode.

"Gah, who let him on the channel!" she exclaims, rubbing her aching ear. "Hey Grunt, good to hear from you too... now, try to keep your voice down, alright?" Grunt's only reply is that nasty little cackle of his. "Kurin, do you want us to link up or will you try to hit that cannon from the other side?"

"Let's remain split up, Shepard," Kurin replies. "There's a buttload of Reapers around that cannon, I figure we can keep them off balance if we time our attacks from both flanks."

"Sounds good," Morgan nods. "Let me know when you're in position to attack, alright?"

Having received another acknowledgment, Shepard proceeds to lead her team deeper into the ruins, looking around for enemy troops, trying to judge the distance to the defense battery. They are still some ways off from the cannon, and she does not want to risk wasting their heavy ordnance from unreliable distance, knowing that they have only limited opportunities to take out the dreaded defense cannon.

"That's... a lot of Reapers, Shepard," Aria says stiffly, having poked her head around the corner to take a look at what awaits them ahead. The area is swarming with cannibals and marauders, and a few of the more dangerous brutes and ravagers. "We could use a distraction. Tell the asari squad to draw fire from us and we can quickly move in, hit the cannon and get back out."

"You can't be serious, they will not survive even a few minutes if we divert all these forces towards them," Liara protests.

"Few minutes is all we need. I still fail to see the issue with my plan," Aria shrugs.

"No, I won't sacrifice them, especially not Grunt. He has somehow declared himself to be my adopted son or something..." Morgan lets out a deep sigh, explaining as she sees the question in Aria's eyes. "It's strange, complicated and involved an accident with a krogan breeding pod."

"Kinky," Aria notes, grinning. "Anyway, those Reapers won't go away while we stand here and talk nonsense. We still need a plan."

"If you do not wish to sacrifice Team True Blue, Shepard, the only other opportunity is to hit the Reapers head on simultaneously on both flanks. Their forces will be divided and we can use their indecision to quickly crush them," EDI suggests.

"I guess you're right, EDI," Shepard nods, activating her comms again. "Kurin, are you guys in position to hit those suckers? We need to do it simultaneously so they don't all swarm one of our squads."

"We're good to go, Shepard. Give me a signal, and we'll hit them with good old krogan charges!" Kurin actually sounds excited.

"Right... wait, charges? You mean you have multiple krogan with you?" Shepard blinks. "I thought I was assigned with an asari commando squad!"

"Well, of course. I'm the asari commando and the Aralakh Company is my squad, Shepard. Grunt brought three of his pals along for the ride. Now give the signal already, there's only so much time that these krogan can wait before charging into battle!"

"Right, just a moment..." Shepard speaks, readying a cluster of grenades and so does EDI, Liara and Aria quickly discussing where to place their biotic detonations for maximum damage. "Okay... three, two, one... GO!"

As Morgan reaches out to quickly toss the frag grenades at the entrenched cannibals, she hears the deafening roar of krogan charging nearby. She quickly pulls back behind the cover, the ruined building they are hiding in is shaking from detonations, few loose bricks smashing down next to the crouching Liara, just missing the asari. Once the smoke from the explosion clears, she pokes her head back out, observing the damage. Reaper corpses are strewn about in the near vicinity, only a few survivors still moving. "Go, go, go!" she shouts, leaving the cover and racing across the open plaza, finishing off a few badly injured marauders as she runs past them, others hot in pursuit.

Kurin and her krogan on the other side are making their push at a faster pace than Shepard's squad, and the Reapers react instantly, diverting more forces to cut Team True Blue off from access to the Hades cannon. This allows Shepard's crew to make swift progress, but she is not about to allow Kurin and Grunt get overrun, slowing their pace and making a little diversion to the left, gaining position from which to snipe down the Reaper forces advancing on positions of their fellow squad.

Despite their best efforts to relieve Team True Blue, one of the krogan ends up being torn apart by the brutes, but fortunately it is not Grunt, and the death of their fellow only serves to enrage the other members of the Aralakh Company, the Reapers soon regretting their violent transgression. They can see Grunt roaring madly as he tears a ravager in half, grabbing the lifeless upper body part of the abomination by its mutated guns and then using it to smash a brute over its head. The ravager's mutilated torso gets stuck on the brutes head like a grotesque oversized hat and the disgusting looking monster is wandering around blindly until a smaller blue glowing shape crashes into it with a biotic charge, the detonation of the nova sending the brute slumping to the ground and the creature doesn't get up.

"Oh, a vanguard, is she? No wonder Grunt is so fond of her," Morgan chuckles, then turning towards Liara. "I'm glad you're not doing those biotic charges, babe. Not sure how I'd feel about you charging into a brute like that!"

"To be honest, Morgan, I'm not keen on finding out how that feels," Liara smiles back.

"Alright you lovebirds, shouldn't we be in range of the cannon by now?" Aria asks impatiently. "Let's take that thing down and get out of here!"

"Is the range sufficient, EDI?" Shepard asks one more time, just to be sure.

"It should be, Shepard," comes the swift reaffirmation. "I suggest that we target the firing chamber when the cannon is being used."

"More Reapers coming in from the right, Shepard," Aria suddenly reports, the strained tone of her voice making Morgan feel a little uncomfortable. "I don't even know what sort of creatures those are!" The Pirate Queen exclaims, but the screeching cries far off in the distance tell all the story Shepard needs to know.

"Banshees!" Liara gasps. "Aria, we need to slow them down!"

Meanwhile, EDI and Shepard are readying the heavy weapons for use, waiting for the Hades cannon's destructive blue beam to shoot skywards before they let go with the Cain and the Hydra respectively. Morgan is able to see with the corner of her eye how Liara and Aria are frantically throwing their biotics at something fast approaching, but fortunately the Hades cannon becomes activated before their attackers reach them. A cluster of missiles leave EDI's Hydra, followed by the heavy explosive slug surrounded by mass effect fields, leaping from Shepard's Cain, quickly reaching the destroyer and disappearing into its growling mouth, spewing blue death. For a moment, there is no reaction and Shepard gives EDI a worried look, but then the mounted cannon on top of the destroyer is blown to small pieces, the destroyer's tentacles becoming limp and the Reaper monstrosity stumbles and collapses, legs no longer able to support its weight.

"I suggest we go... NOW!" Aria yells, as two banshees have nearly reached them, quickly catching up to their position with their biotic jumps.

"Go, go!" Shepard agrees by shouting her frantic order, herself not moving until she sees Liara leaving her position and dashing for safety, only then daring to follow, bringing up the rear. "Cortez, we need extraction, ASAP! Do you copy?"

"Got your position, Commander," comes the swift reply. "ETA less than a minute."

Running by and gunning down the last of the Reaper forces trapped between them and Team True Blue, Shepard ducks to avoid Grunt's attempt at an enthusiastic hug when he sees her dashing in his direction. Grunt actually manages to look a little like a kicked puppy, but Shepard doesn't allow herself to stop. "Fall back! Fall back to the shuttle!" she yells, ordering Kurin's squad to follow her back towards the Kodiak shuttle, appearing over the ruined buildings, on its way to pick them up.

The ravagers are already opening fire on the Kodiak by the time they have finished getting in, Morgan throwing herself into the co-pilot's seat and sending a little glance behind her to make sure that Liara hasn't been crushed by the overenthusiastic krogan. As the shuttle quickly lifts up and leaves, Shepard finally allows herself a little sigh of relief before turning to Cortez. "Any news from the other squads?" she asks.

"They haven't made contact yet, Commander, though the scans show that all the Hades cannons have been destroyed," Cortez replies. "Try contacting them, Shepard. If they have survived the assault, they would be moving towards the FOB as we speak."

"If they have survived... wash your mouth with soap, Steve!" Shepard reprimands the Lieutenant, before activating the comms and looking down the designated squad names still active on the channel. "Team... Dextro Love? Come in, Team Dextro Love, Garrus, do you copy?"

After a few agonizing moments, she hears the turian's voice, all crackly and quiet. "Copy that, Team Powerpuff Girls... spirits, who keeps coming up with those names?"

"I think EDI is making up for Joker's absence, there," Shepard sighs. "Anyway, report, Garrus."

"The cannon is cold, Shepard. Lost two of our shuttles though, one Alliance, the other turian. Our people are all good, Commander, only Javik took a shot in the shoulder, but that won't stop him."

"Alright, Garrus, I will see you at the FOB. Be ready to buy me those drinks," Morgan snickers, abruptly ending the conversation before Garrus can make a retort, fiddling around to select another channel with the intent to contact Kirrahe's squad. "Team Kermit? ...come in, Team Kermit... EDI, that is mean!" she growls, though inwardly she is laughing. "Major Kirrahe, do you copy?"

"Hearing you loud and clear, Powerpuff," Kirrahe responds swiftly. "Objective completed, proceeding to the rendezvous point."

"Good, good," Shepard says. "Casualties?"

"Rentola's squad was wiped out by the cannon. Lost two of mine to one of those banshees. Bad way to go."

"Okay, got that, Major. Bloss-... ugh, Shepard out." Sighing, she turns towards Cortez. "Right, time to send the order for the rest of the Hammer to move in," Shepard says, taking a deep breath. "And then hurry up to the FOB, Steve. If Garrus beats us there, I'm holding you personally responsible."


	118. We Face Our Enemy Together

**Chapter 117 - We Face Our Enemy Together**

"Admiral the geth flank is slowly beginning to collapse," Hackett hears the report from one of his aides, having already seen the evidence of it on the large interface before him, nodding absent-mindedly at Lieutenant-Commander Takashima.

"I see it," he barks gruffly. _Did I intentionally send the geth where the fighting is the thickest, sacrificing them to divert the Reapers away from the Citadel?_ "Order the salarians and the quarians to move in and support them." The plan hadn't even worked. The Reapers had retaliated to the geth incursion, but they hadn't withdrawn any ships from the vicinity of the Citadel.

"Sir... with all due respect, they don't have the kind of firepower to make a difference," Takashima replies, looking at him oddly.

At first, Hackett feels outraged at the impertinence of his subordinate, but it does not last long. _She is right. I cannot keep protecting the Alliance fleets and sacrifice our allies instead. Unless we all pitch in, we're not going to last long enough. _"Deploy the Sixth Fleet to geth support," he finally gives the order. "We need to break through, we need that distraction to work!"

"Sixth Fleet moving in to aid the geth," Takashima replies, having sent the orders.

_And now we only have the turians left to protect the Crucible,_ Hackett thinks grimly, staring at the battle grid, small cluster of ships floating well away from the main battle, the turian cruisers and frigates forming a tight defensive formation around their precious escort. _At least the Reapers have not caught up to just what they are protecting. Now we only need to clear a path through to the Citadel and pray that Hammer can do their part..._

* * *

"Hammer squads, get ready for deployment! I repeat, Hammer squads, get ready!" the Blue Suns team leader is shouting and Miranda reacts instinctively, the first one to throw herself into the shuttle, followed by a group of grizzled mercs, mostly human and turian. The Terminus Fleets have been asked to provide a number of ground forces, and Miranda had immediately put her name forward, feeling useless cooped up on the ship, her skill with biotics and field aid going to waste.

Securing a spot on a Blue Suns vessel had been easy enough. Darner Vosque owed her more than a few favors, but she hadn't even had to call in a single one of them, the man shrewd enough to realize what an asset she could be to his forces, happily inviting her to fly with the mercenary fleet, and now granting her request to accompany his people groundside, knowing that Miranda's biotics could make a hell of a difference.

It had been difficult to leave Oriana back on Discovery, the capital of Horizon, despite knowing that currently it was one of the safest places in the galaxy, now that most of the Reapers had swarmed to the Sol System. _It won't remain safe for long unless we prevail in this final battle,_ she constantly reminds herself, remembering the tears on her sister's face when they had hugged each other fiercely before parting. _It wasn't the last time we saw each other, despite what you thought, Ori, despite what I saw in your fear-filled eyes. I am coming back. I promise. _

They are swiftly approaching the devastated remains of London, Miranda trying to remember when was the last time she had visited the once magnificent metropolis. _I think it has been almost two years. I came here to recruit Dr. Carlyle for Project Lazarus. We went out for dinner at that wonderful restaurant on Piccadilly's. Not much left of it now... _

One of the younger Blue Suns mercs is not taking well the stress and anxiety of this almost certainly suicide mission, he looks pale and nauseous, and when the shuttle starts to swivel around as it is being fired upon by the Reaper forces, he fails to stop himself from throwing up on the floor, much to the ridicule of his more experienced comrades. Miranda allows herself only a small smirk, as her eyes slide across the rest of the team, her being the only female in the group. The turians treat her with complete indifference, while the humans still occasionally leer in her direction, even after she had smeared two of them against the wall back on the ship and stuck the heel of her boot into the third man's crotch. _Really makes me wonder why I once was such an advocate for humanity. I'm not doing any of this for these scum. I'm not doing this all for myself. I want to help save the galaxy just for one person... just for you, Ori. _

* * *

The flight to the FOB is a little bumpy, but otherwise uneventful, aside from having to dodge the occasional harvester and avoiding the ravager cannon fire, but the Reapers haven't truly caught on to what's happening groundside, which explains why the six surviving shuttles arrive at the FOB site mostly intact. Still, their casualties incurred while taking out the Hades cannons, tallying a little under 50%, simply reaffirm Shepard's fears about heading into a bloodbath of terrible proportions.

Cortez and Vega land their respective shuttles almost simultaneously, but Morgan is the first to leave the transport, sticking her tongue out at the grumbling Garrus, the turian cursing his defeat. All as one they pour out of the shuttles and head into the relative safety of the heavily fortified base, now all that's left to them is to wait until the rest of the Hammer forces land. Shepard is relieved to see that all her friends have made it, the Normandy crew look in good shape, Kirrahe also giving her a nod as he leads a small team of salarian specialists to safety, Lieutenant Kurin together with Grunt and remains of the Aralakh Company bringing up the rear.

Inside, they are met by a small welcoming committee, and Shepard fights the tears from forming in her eyes as she shakes hands with Admiral Anderson, then throwing all modesty and decorum aside, allowing herself to share a brief embrace with her old comrade-in-arms. "Damn it, David, you've lost a few dozen pounds, I barely recognize you!" she exclaims, feeling overwhelmed, happy to see Anderson again, even knowing that soon they both will be staring death in the face.

"You're a sight for sore eyes, Shepard," Anderson smiles at her, but the tender expression is quickly wiped away as he introduces his two assistants. Major Coats is a grim looking man who could play in zombie slasher movies without requiring any makeup. His pronounced British accent makes Morgan stare hard at Anderson, dubious at the admiral's earlier statement that he was born in London, certain that he has probably meant London, Ohio. Lastly, Commander Johnson is a thin, wiry blonde with an ugly scar on her left cheek, narrowly missing the pale green eye, the chief of the resistance engineering corps offering them a curt greeting.

"Now that the heavy air defenses have been dealt with, the Hammer forces have begun their landing," Anderson says. "Of course, while six shuttles could slip by without attracting much attention, getting several hundred transports through is an entirely different matter. The Reapers are sending swarms of harvesters to interrupt our shuttles and they are doing all they can to decimate the Hammer before our people can land."

"Most of the resistance is holed up here in the FOB, though we still maintain several dozen outposts across the city," Johnson tells them, the woman wincing when the nearby radio chimes in with a report about heavy Reaper forces sweeping across several zones, many outposts reporting heavy casualties, Kensington with the depressing 100% KIA.

"The fact that you have been able to survive here this long, cut off from the rest of the galaxy, is nothing short of miraculous," Morgan remarks, shaking her head in wonder and admiration.

"It wasn't so bad before they started to work on that blasted Citadel relay," Anderson shrugs. "Though, yes, it has been touch and go since day one, really. We could avoid them while they focused on the major centers, but now they have tipped our hand and forced this confrontation. You won't believe how many good men and women we have lost while setting up this base, sending out recon teams... it's been hell. Fortunately with soldiers like Coats and Johnson, and also knowing you'd bring help... well, we managed to hold on."

"Well, if you hadn't held on, we'd be pretty much fucked," Morgan says grimly. "No foothold groundside, and we could have kissed our plan goodbye."

"Agreed, the Admiral's being modest," Major Coats nods. "He's the reason any of us are still alive."

"How about we wait with handing out medals until we've actually done what we're supposed to do? We've only just about started on this task," Anderson shakes his head. "And if anyone here deserves a medal, it's you, Shepard. I know you hated to leave Earth, but just look at what you accomplished. Asari, turians, krogan, salarians, geth, quarians and more... and while Hackett and myself are leading this final charge, we know that they all follow us only because of you, only because of what you've done."

"Geez, David, don't make me blush now," Morgan feels a little embarrassed, also hearing the loud cheers and applause behind her as the advanced Hammer forces stand surrounding them.

"We have set up a Command Center in one of the buildings up ahead," Anderson says. "We have a plan for the upcoming attack, but we need to refine it depending on how much of the Hammer reach the FOB. It will be some time before they all arrive, so everyone take a breather, see what you can do to fortify the base, prepare yourselves for what comes ahead. Shepard, I'll need you and the rest of the squad leaders at the Command Center in thirty minutes."

"Roger that, Anderson, sir," Shepard salutes, watching the Admiral together with Coats and Johnson striding away purposefully. "Alright, people, break it up!" she turns around to shout at the others. "No sense standing around here, you'll only turn into a bundle of nerves! Find yourselves something meaningful to do, alright?" Eventually, everyone does as they are told, even Liara, brushing closely past her and she reaches out to catch her lover's arm briefly. "I'll come find you soon, I promise," she whispers, watching Liara nod and smile lightly.

The only ones who have lingered a little behind everyone are Kurin and Grunt, the asari first to speak, amusement in her eyes. "Grunt here thinks you owe him something," she chuckles, the krogan next to her giving a low growl as he stares at Shepard.

"Owe... something? God... you don't mean that hug I dodged back at the Hades cannon?" Morgan groans, mentally bracing herself. "Geez, you're going to crush me before the Reapers have a chance, won't you?"

Grunt gives a good natured roar and cheerfully crushes her against his chest, as Morgan holds her breath, desperately praying for her ribcage to endure this display of 'affection'. "Oh, and mom, I hope you approve of my girlfriend," he then growls, pointing at the asari.

"I thought something was up with that," Morgan says, looking at Kurin. "Well, she seems trustworthy enough. But Lieutenant, you are aware that Grunt isn't technically even a year old? I can't even begin to describe how wrong that sounds. And you're probably breaking several Galactic laws here..."

"People who bring that up, usually end up becoming small, wet spots on the ground," Grunt replies with that nasty little chuckle of his.

"Well, you two seem happy enough together, so... you have my blessing, kids," Morgan chuckles, even knowing that Kurin probably has at least three hundred years on her.

"The first time I saw her charging one of those banshees, I knew it was love," Grunt states, giving the asari a fond, approving look.

"Yes, I thought he would approve of that," Kurin smiles, then turning towards Grunt. "Why don't you join your pals, Grunt, I'll catch up with you in a moment," she says, the krogan strolling away, surprisingly obedient. Kurin immediately leans in closer to whisper to Shepard. "I have to admit, I know what you mean by saying he's only recently left the breeding pod. When we meld, his mind is just... well, there's a lot that feels like a blank slate, and it's a little disconcerting."

"Figured. Doesn't that take a lot of enjoyment out of it?" Morgan asks, curious.

"It's just... different. It's like being a sculptor, creating something beautiful out of a shapeless lump of clay... through our melds, I can mold him in so many ways," Kurin explains. "And don't worry, Shepard, I will not abuse this power," she adds, noticing Morgan's worried expression. "I am sharing my memories, experiences and accumulated knowledge, teaching him what little bits of wisdom I have accumulated over the years and tempering his violent urges through the bond."

"Well, doesn't look like he's going to start hugging Reapers, so looks like you're doing a damn good job, Kurin. But, I have to ask... what's the upside for you?" Shepard inquires.

"Grunt is just a great guy to hang out with, really. We both like to shoot bad guys, party hard and drink lots of ryncol," Kurin shrugs. "And, well... I've come to enjoy the private moments between us, awkward as they are. I was skeptical at first when Aethyta suggested that we asari start bonding more with the krogan, but... wow, the old girl might be onto something here!"

"I think the mere fact that you are still capable of walking is a scientific wonder," Morgan quips irreverently.

"I should have expected that comment," Kurin lets out a deep sigh. "I've had a human lover a decade or so ago. Seriously, it's all about penetration for your people, isn't it? Fortunately, not every species shares your disgusting mating habits, Commander."

"Err... uh, yeah, maybe that's enough general knowledge for one day," Morgan blushes, then apologizing and excusing herself as Kurin leaves to rejoin the krogan in a sprightly step. _Talk about an unlikely couple. Gods, I hope they make it. Even... even if know that most of those here will no longer be with us in mere hours... _

* * *

"Goddess, Rila, I don't know what to do!" Falere is panicking, tears streaming down her face as she stands in the middle of the room, wringing her hands. "They never taught us anything like this back at the monastery!"

"Yes... I am starting to realize that they never taught us anything that would help us survive in the outside world," Rila rolls her eyes, sitting on her knees next to a prone asari body, holding a cloth dabbed in medi-gel pressed against a deep, ugly wound in the other asari's chest. "Or that would help us save others..."

"Is she even still alive?" Falere sobs, watching Rila take Tevos' limp hand, feeling for the pulse and eventually finding it, frighteningly weak as it is. "Oh, goddess, why did she had to do that! Aria will be... oh, I don't even want to think what happens if Tevos dies, it's horrible!"

"I think she was trying to protect us from the creature that tried to get in here... husk, was it?" Rila ventures.

"Yes, but she is just so horrible at fighting!" Falere exclaims. "We might have stood a better chance with our biotics, weak as they are! When that monster plunged its claws through her chest... oh, I can't bear to think about it!"

"This isn't the time for hysterics, sister," Rila quietly reprimands her younger sibling. "Tevos is alive, but I'm not sure for how long, unless we can figure out a way to help her. Can we still go on the extranet?"

"No... most of the power is down, and there is some strange jamming... everything is almost completely dark outside," Falere sobs. "Tevos said that the station's arms have been closed after those Reaper creatures attacked... goddess, Rila, this is it, isn't it?"

"Will you stop that? Someone will come to save us, I'm sure. Aria will bring Commander Shepard, you'll see," Rila tries to answer confidently, even if she herself feels anything but reassured. At least this particular safe apartment secured by Aria is in a very remote location of the Tayseri Ward and not a few people wander into the area, and Rila quietly hopes that the Reapers will ignore it for a while as well, at least until some form of aid arrives. "Falere, can you check if maybe some of the datapads here have something on treating injuries?" a thought eventually occurs to the eldest of the Ardat-Yakshi sisters.

"Oh... I don't think so, Rila, but I'll check, give me a moment," Falere replies, hastily rushing to check some of the datapad filled shelves. "We can't let her die, Rila..." she mutters, busy searching. "We just can't..."

* * *

Staring through the port window of one of the science vessels accompanying the Crucible, Kasumi Goto is unable to stop her heart from skipping and jumping with angry nervousness, even if she has tried about dozen different forms of meditation to calm herself down. _Damn it, I promised myself that I wouldn't get involved in something like this again after the Collector base, and yet here I am. Kasumi Goto, you got suckered into another suicide mission, you fool. _

_Then again, if I weren't here, I'd probably be on the Citadel when the Reapers came... ugh, that might be even worse. I wonder if anyone there is still alive. Damn. Those poor people. _She squirms uneasily, trying to see just how the battle around the Citadel is going, but the frigates and cruisers of the Turian Seventh Fleet surround the Crucible and the science vessels so tightly that she can barely see anything but other ships. Now and then an errant red particle beam hits some of the turian ships, but if one is taken out, another is always ready to move into the vacant spot, protecting the Crucible with this living shield, keeping their sole ray of hope at winning this war alive.

Not to mention that Bau now being somewhere en route to London sends worried flutters through her stomach. I _wonder what would Keiji say if he knew I would end up with a salarian. He'd probably tease me relentlessly. And laugh. Point and laugh? But no... above all, he'd be happy for me. He was just... that kind of a person._

Sometimes just thinking about the unlikely, slightly odd relationship with the salarian Spectre makes her smile and giggle, but not this time. This time the only thing she can think of is how desperately she needs him to come back. _I already lost Keiji. I lost Jacob before I even truly knew whether I wanted him. But I'm not losing Bau... if I do, I'd have to start thinking I bring bad luck or something, and that can't be right, I'm too cute to bring bad luck!_

She smiles again, remembering Bau's face when they had parted less than an hour ago. The salarian has never been one to display a lot of emotion, but... she had sensed that what they shared between them was strong and genuine, even if not a lot was said, and truth be told, she preferred it this way. She loved her cheesy romance novels, certainly, but that didn't mean she wanted to be constantly treated like some kind of self-entitled princess. And there was a lot to like about Jondum, even if he wasn't the romantic prince from a silly fairytale. It wasn't even that she found salarians particularly attractive as species, more like oddly cute, but they did share a lot of professional admiration for each other, and the tales of her thieving exploits always helped to bring Bau into the right kind of mood... his keen intelligence and the cold, logical reasoning with which he solved riddles during his work as a Spectre, she found these traits far more attractive than the girth of one's biceps.

_He better come back in one piece,_ Kasumi thinks determinedly. _I'm going to smooch him like mad. And if my cute frog ever turns into a stupid, blonde-haired brawny prince from fairy tales, I'm going to be seriously pissed off..._

* * *

In the courtyard of the FOB, somewhere amongst the numerous Mako's, Shepard finds Lieutenant James Vega giving a motivational speech to some of the resistance fighters as well as the first marines who have arrived as part of the main Hammer force. Javik is standing nearby, leaning against the wall, allowing himself to be used as a demonstration object as a part of the speech. Shepard quietly approaches to stand next to the Prothean, a near perfect vantage spot from which to observe all the shuttles of the Hammer heading towards the base.

There are a great many harvesters swarming in the air, however, and increasingly heavy ground fire, coupled with a pair of destroyers slowly starting to move in to cut off the approach lanes to the base, and all too often Morgan sees yet another shuttle explode in bright flames, tumbling to the ground together with the hapless marines trapped inside. Slowly, it beings to appear that getting even half of the Hammer forces to the FOB would be considered a success in itself.

Soon enough, James cuts his inspirational speech short and walks over to her and Javik. "Damn it, Lola, I don't know what I expected coming back to Earth, but I certainly didn't expect this!" he exclaims, spreading his arms to point at the husk of a city around them.

"You saw Thessia, surely you knew this would be as bad if not worse?" Shepard shrugs. "But yeah... this makes me wonder whether it is even possible to rebuild from something like this."

"If we're not going to rebuild then what the hell are we fighting for?" James sounds a little incensed. "Let's grab everyone we can, get out of the system and toss an asteroid into the relay, leave those Reapers frying."

"Bit too late for that now, the Reapers are probably sitting tight around that relay and won't let anyone escape," Morgan replies. "But everyone fights for different reasons, James. I don't think I will be staying on Earth for too long, if I get out of this alive... never felt quite like I belonged here, but I still want to save the planet and as many people as I can."

"Fair enough, Lola," James nods. "Still, I'm proud to have served with you, Shepard. If there was anyone who could have led us through something like this... it was you, Commander."

"The 'James' human is correct," Javik cuts into their conversation. "Watching all these different races working together... Commander, you have made me into a believer. Now I wish that we had handled some things differently in our cycle. There was no rallying cry like this... instead we were fractured, scattered, trying in vain to survive every day as if it were our last."

"Rallying cry indeed, but our success is far from assured," Morgan says grimly.

"But at least you still have a fighting chance, Commander, even as you stand on the precipice of this final battle," Javik replies heatedly. "We never had that hope, we lost the war the very moment that the Reapers were allowed to pour in through the Citadel relay. From then on, we were facing an uphill struggle."

"Well, then I guess being able to take part in something like this must feel doubly satisfying for you," Morgan remarks.

"Yes, being granted an opportunity to fulfill my mission, to become the exemplar of vengeance that I was meant to be... I am grateful to you for providing me with this chance, Commander," Javik bows to her. "But you are now the avatar of this cycle. The exemplar of history. Not just for humanity, turians, asari or Protheans, but for all life. Every soul that has ever existed is watching this moment."

Shepard lets out a heavy sigh. "You know, I've been trying to think of something that would take the edge off and relax me, instead of putting on extra pressure," she chuckles darkly.

"Victory has never been achieved without difficult choices," Javik tells her. "Do not waver, and do not dwell upon them, for the doubts surrounding them will slow you down."

"Choices that I've already made or choices that I will be forced to make?"

"Both," comes the as always unhelpful reply. "In any case, Commander... it has been a privilege to serve alongside you, even if at times I considered your course of action to be destructive and foolish. Now I see that I might have been mistaken."

"You're forgiven, Prothy," Morgan manages a small smile. "Never thought I'd have a living Prothean on my squad... and though you were kind of pain in the ass most of the time, Javik, hearing you say what you just told me... well, it means a lot. It really does," she adds with a nod, turning around to look at how the Hammer shuttles are doing. They are still coming in, but less and less frequently, the Reapers laying down the pressure.

"It's getting brutal out there, Lola," James says. "Ten to fifteen minutes, and we can forget about getting any more Hammer through that deathtrap."

"Yeah, looks like you're right, James," Shepard nods. "I better start moving towards that CC... " _Must make sure not to ask EDI about our odds... because I fear they just took even more trashing... _


	119. The Time is Running Out

_A/N: This chapter can probably be taken as a huge middle finger to the whole Valentine's Day nonsense, and guess what... that's just fine with me. :D _

**Chapter 118 - The Time is Running Out**

The Forward Operations Base is by now filled with marines, soldiers of every species, awaiting further orders from their commanding officers, and Shepard squeezes herself past the crowds on her way to the CC, muffled whispers, praise and cheers always accompanying her passage. She sees some faces in the crowd that look familiar, Kirrahe speaking to a small group of salarians, one of them winking at her and she recognizes her fellow Spectre Jondum Bau, replying with a nod of the head.

As she enters the next room on her path to the CC, she immediately notices EDI, standing in the corner and speaking with someone very familiar looking. "Jack?" Morgan asks, grinning as she recognizes their old comrade, once a deranged and insane criminal, now occasionally responsible and dependable biotic instructor. "What are you doing here?"

"Jack has asked me to transmit a short message to the Normandy," EDI says before Jack has had a chance to open her mouth. "I'm afraid that my profanity protocols do not allow me to vocalize the content of this message."

"Now I have to demand an explanation," Shepard speaks, very curious.

"Ugh, Shep, I hate your timing," Jack groans, looking very unwilling to elaborate.

"I hate my timing as well, it's very lousy. Started off with being born clearly at the wrong time," Morgan sighs theatrically. "Now, I didn't think there was anyone left aboard the Normandy that you passionately disliked and wanted to rant at?"

"It was more... sexually explicit than outright offensive," EDI explains.

"Ah! I see... been thinking about Sam, eh, Jack? I've heard she's been wandering around lovesick after your encounter at the Purgatory," Shepard chuckles. "She was trying to get in touch with you as we were leaving the Normandy."

Jack looks a little embarrassed. "Eh... what can I say," she then shrugs. "She might be a keeper, really. Just sent her a few excerpts from the latest 'Bedroom Biotics', thought it might serve as incentive for her to survive this stupid war."

"Like I told James, we all have different reasons why we fight in this war. Some apparently do it to get laid after it's all over," Shepard rolls her eyes, but then her expression changes to a curious one. "Say, did I hear that right, there's a new edition of 'Bedroom Biotics' released?"

"Yup, a week or so ago," Jack nods. "You probably want to get a copy for your blue bitch so that she can fuck you even harder. Some tips in this one will make your eyes pop out when you try them, I swear."

"And here I thought that Aethyta was crude," Shepard mutters quietly, feeling her cheeks burning with heat, as EDI's platform makes several sharp jerks, the synthetic's eyes close tight and then open again, several seconds later. "Uh, EDI, you alright?"

"Yes, I should be fine now. My visualization matrix overloaded, forcing an unexpected system reboot," EDI explains. Shepard gives her a disbelieving stare, EDI managing to look both smug and amused. "That was a joke, Commander."

"So anyway, Jack, you're here with the 103rd? Alone, or did they send your students down as well?" Shepard asks.

"They're here, alright. Just saw Rodriguez sucking on some marine's face a little while ago, girl's a bit on edge. Can't believe the brass decided that this is a good idea, but I guess we're that desperate," Jack shrugs. "Heard something about Hammer heading out in waves. We'll be going with the last one, providing barriers and shit."

"Alright, I see," Morgan nods, then turning to EDI. "What about you, EDI? Any last lingering questions or issues?"

"Nothing that I need to burden you with, Commander," EDI replies.

"Are you keeping Joker up to date with what we are doing?"

"No. Knowing him, it would only make him more frantic. It is better that they keep him sedated on the hospital fleet."

Shepard sighs deeply. "Perhaps that is for the best. Listen, EDI..." she hesitates, feeling guilty and embarrassed. "I... I wish I had learned the things I found out on Cronos Station earlier. Then the way I treated you and Joker... might have been different. For what it's worth... I'm sorry for how things turned out."

"Your reaction was still far more accepting than that of an average organic, Commander," EDI replies. "You have nothing to apologize for. I greatly value my experiences working alongside you and your crew, Shepard. And now I look forward to defeating the Reapers by your side."

"Thanks, EDI..." Morgan smiles, then nodding as she is about to move on. "I better get going, they are slowly starting to gather at the CC," with that, she waves both EDI and Jack farewell, heading onwards into the next hall, this one having been claimed by the turian troops. She is very surprised and touched that Primarch Victus himself has joined the Hammer, ignoring the sizeable risks, now giving last instructions, shouting to some of the turian grunts.

Garrus is there as well, and so is Tali, the two of them standing a little ways off from the others, speaking amongst themselves. While Morgan is willing to give them a little bit of privacy in these last minutes, she also knows that this might be that last time she speaks with either of them, and so she swallows heavily and approaches two of her oldest friends.

"Shepard," Garrus notices her first. "So, I guess this is..."

"...just like old times?" Shepard musters a forced grin, then having to smile in earnest at the inappropriateness of her words. The madness and destruction surrounding them is not even remotely close to the 'good old times' that Garrus is so fond of recalling.

"Probably the last time we get to say that," the turian's voice is very strained, as if he was trying to sound cheerful, but the outcome is very unconvincing.

"Don't speak like that," Tali elbows him in the side, upset. "You just told me that we're going to kick the Reapers back to whatever black hole they crawled out of, don't tell me you just lied to make me feel better!"

"I absolutely did mean that, my Chiktikka," Garrus offers apologetically. "How else could we put the other part of my cunning plan into action, retiring somewhere warm and tropical to live off royalties from the vids."

"Oh, that sounds great, but only if I can bring Liara along for that," Shepard grins. "Damn, now I want to see her in a bathing suit."

"Of course, Shepard, it wouldn't be the same without Liara," Tali says. "But I hope it's not too warm, even with the environmental modules this suit can get very uncomfortable in the heat."

"I am very eager to say that I'm definitely going to retire after this is over, but... if you would have watched old Earth vids, you'd know that saying something like 'I am only a few days from my retirement' is a sure recipe to get myself killed," Shepard says, fully aware how tempting the thoughts of retirement are, but forcing herself not to think about that just yet.

"James told me of another old saying here on Earth. 'May you be in heaven half an hour before the devil knows you're dead'," Garrus says.

"That's pretty good, never heard that one. Maybe because I'm not a true Earthborn," Morgan shrugs.

"Well, I don't know if the turian heaven is the same as yours, but if this thing goes sideways and we both end up there... meet me at the bar," Garrus says grimly.

"Not sure I believe in the concept of afterlife, Garrus... but damn, I hope I'm wrong about that. And if there's a bar? Yeah, I'll be there," Shepard nods. _Not sure I'm going to heaven, though. Too much blood... regardless of reasons, way too much blood on my hands._

"Just make sure you leave some room there for me, Garrus," Tali tells him.

"Let's not plan that far ahead, though. Garrus, remember, we're the Normandy's sniper team," Morgan says. "King and Queen of the Bottle-Shooters, right? There's no Shepard without Vakarian, so you better remember to duck."

"We turians don't know how to do that," Garrus shrugs apologetically.

"I'll be sure to teach him before we head into the final battle, Shepard," Tali says resolutely.

"Ah, to hell with this," Morgan exclaims, swiftly pulling both Tali and Garrus into a group hug. "Guys, if I'm up there at that bar and you're not... just know that I'll be looking down. And I'll always have your backs."

"It has been a pleasure to serve with you, Captain Shepard vas Normandy," Tali says, her voice sounding strained to the point of breaking.

"It has been both a pleasure and honor to have you with me, Admiral Tali'Zorah vas Normandy," Morgan manages a smile, but then she has to swiftly turn around and walk away just to avoid breaking out in tears.

She quickly makes her way across a bridge connecting two buildings on the opposite sides of the street, the short walk offering her great view at the courtyard of the FOB. It would appear as if the last Hammer shuttles have landed, the sky is now filled only with swarming harvesters, not a single shuttle remaining in sight. Someone very familiar looking gets out of the last shuttle, and Morgan lets out a deep breath of relief, recognizing the black and white skin-tight 'armor' of Miranda Lawson. _She's holding true to her promise to stand with us in the last battle. I knew I could count on you, Miri,_ she thinks, entering the other building which also houses the CC somewhere deeper inside. _Now, let's just hope that she doesn't come across Jack and that they don't stage the most poorly timed catfight in the known galactic history. _

The part of the building that Morgan walks through now is partially collapsed, one wall completely giving way, and she sees her old friend Wrex standing there atop of a pile of rubble, bellowing orders at his troops below. On the other side of the room, Shepard spots Aria T'Loak, leaning against the wall close to a window, appearing to be listening to Wrex's shouting, but her eyes are always drawn skyward, towards the battlefield in space above, the sealed Citadel somewhere in the middle of it all.

"Impressive speech, isn't it?" the asari says, seeing Shepard approaching her. "If I were a krogan, I'm sure I'd have plenty of motivation to go out there and tear some Reaper asses apart."

"Didn't look like you were paying much attention, Aria," Shepard remarks, pointing at the sky above.

Aria sighs. "Another touchy-feely talk, Shepard? Not sure I can do one right now. Not really in the mood. Just... pissed off at it all."

"Pissed off is a good way to feel right about now," Morgan chuckles. "Say, Aria... I noticed something when we were fighting the Reapers at the Hades cannon. You certainly killed a lot of them, but... all that violence didn't have the same effect on you as on the Cronos Station."

Aria winces and utters a quiet swearword. "Yeah, back then I had no idea Tevos and the girls had been taken by the Reapers... nothing has felt the same ever since. Nothing has felt right, damn it." She sighs again, almost looking confused. "Go bother someone else, Shepard. I have only a few minutes left to get my shit together before they want us to go out there again."

"Aria, admitting to yourself who and what you're fighting for will give you all the focus that you need, trust me," Shepard offers one more encouraging smile. Aria looks at her, a little dubious, then slowly nodding. "And Aria... let me just say that I feel very honored by your presence here. Thank you."

"Shepard, stop embarrassing me, or I'll get really mad," Aria barks at her, but there is no true bite and venom in her words, she is simply on the verge of showing more emotion than she is accustomed to, not feeling ready to offer such display to Shepard. Morgan merely smiles and proceeds on towards Wrex, the leader of Clan Urdnot having concluded his fiery address to his troops.

"Shepard, damn it, you did it!" Wrex greets her as she climbs to the top of the pile of rubble he is standing upon. "You managed to unite the galaxy. Not sure why you bothered with some of the soft races, and I don't know about these geth... hate those things, but I trust you know what you're doing."

"Eh, I'm just making it up as I go, Wrex," Shepard shrugs, giving the old krogan a slightly lopsided grin. "Most of the time it even seems to work!"

"Well, it's going to work this time, Shepard, and do you know why?" she shakes her head at him. "Because you brought the krogan!" he adds with a roar. "Oh, and before I forget, Bakara sends her regards. She's already pregnant. Ah, the benefits of being a clan leader."

"I guess congratulations are in order," Morgan smiles, offering her hand and Wrex squeezes it, showing great care not to mangle her limbs.

"She's really serious about naming the firstborn 'Mordin'," Wrex says then. "I suppose I will have to go along with that."

"It would be fitting," Shepard nods.

"Yeah. Listen... Shepard," Wrex leans a little closer, whispering. "Liara's dad, she didn't come with you? Wondering if you've heard from her."

Shepard can't stop herself from chuckling. "We left Aethyta in the asari home system, she went to defend one of their colonies. Having seen her in action... I'm pretty sure she's going to be alright. She's not an easy lady to forget, is she?"

Wrex harrumphs uneasily. "Could say that, Shepard. Miss the drinking and the... well, you know. You're with Liara, you know perfectly well what the asari can do."

"Uh-huh... and I assume Bakara doesn't know anything about this?"

"We krogan don't really do all that marriage nonsense that I've seen humans get crazy about. We run things a little different back on Tuchanka... though Bakara is getting some ideas about changing that..." Wrex shrugs, then becoming a little more hesitant. "Still, best not to mention about Aethyta to her. She has developed an extremely good aim for flinging frying pans."

Shepard laughs, clapping Wrex on the shoulder. "If you want to risk your testicles getting violently removed, Wrex, go ahead, it won't be me who reveals your secrets," she says. "Anyway, we're moving out soon, my old friend and brother in arms. Give them hell out there, Wrex."

"You too, Shepard, sister mine," he replies as softly as a krogan is able, nodding at her as she turns to move away, towards the next part of the building, repurposed as an impromptu medical facility, already knowing that she will find Liara within, her beloved doing all she can to help the resistance doctors in providing for the injured who have somehow made it back to the FOB.

The many cots in the medical center are mostly empty, only a few patients present. One of the human doctors takes something away in a brown bag, disturbingly looking like an amputated leg, and as she sees Liara standing near a wash basin nearby, scrubbing her hands clean, Shepard cannot force away a light shudder running through her. The asari spots her almost immediately, wiping her hands clean and rejoining her, looking subdued.

"Not a lot of treatable flesh wounds," Liara says, shaking her head. "There is not much that can be done for these people."

"Yeah, seems to be a common case when fighting the Reapers," Shepard replies grimly. "It's almost time, Liara."

"I know..." the asari sighs, taking a step closer as they join hands. "I... I feel as if I'm supposed to say something deep and meaningful, but... I can't think of anything. All those little blue children will be disappointed that I didn't have a speech."

"We'll whip something really impressive sounding once we're done with this, alright?" Morgan tries to find the strength to summon one last encouraging smile, but it falls very flat. "Damn it, I don't know what to say either, Liara... this is it, but the words I have just seem so inadequate to describe how I feel..."

"I remember what I promised you Morgan, and I will hold that promise," Liara says quietly. "But I want you to know that regardless of what happens... I will never stop loving you. Because I am yours. Unconditionally yours."

Morgan tries to fight the sob that is tearing up her chest, trying to escape, and she pulls Liara in a tight embrace, hiding her face in Liara's shoulder, muffling the strangled noise that leaves her throat. "I can only offer you the same in return and hope that it is enough," she whispers, pulling away from Liara's shoulder and looking into the asari's face, a few errant tears running down her lover's cheeks. She leans closer and kisses Liara on the lips, savoring the bittersweet memory just in case these are their final kisses. "Thank you for everything, love. You helped me discover feelings I never thought I was capable of having."

"Those feelings transcended death once already," Liara whispers back. "They will guide us through this as well, I am sure of it. But now..."

"Yes... we're out of time. Just... this one last kiss..." she leans in, claiming Liara's lips one more time, almost unable to find the strength to turn around and walk away, even if she knows that there is no choice in the matter.

With heavy steps she makes her way out of the medical center, then through one last corridor on the way to the CC, struggling to reign in her raging emotions and hastily wiping at her cheeks to make herself a little more presentable when she enters the room ahead, facing Anderson, Coats and Johnson standing over holo displays of the terrain of the battlefield, debating something with several of the squad leaders.

"Shepard," Anderson notices her, waving for her to step forward and the others respectfully part, nodding as she walks past to take her place next to the Admiral. "We can't count on any more Hammer shuttles making it through. We have a little over 50% arriving at the FOB... not ideal, but it will have to do."

"Let's get the ball rolling then, Admiral," Morgan replies. "The more we wait, the more pounding our fleets are taking... speaking of which, do you have reports of how the battle above us is going?"

"I understand that the losses are devastating, but they have gained some foothold around the Citadel," Anderson replies grimly. "That is also why we must hurry, it is unclear how long the fleets can hold out. The task before them is desperate, but so is ours..." he points at the holo displays, motioning for Major Coats to start outlining their plan.

"You all understand the objective before us," Coats begins to explain, staring hard at all the squad leaders. "We have to push through the Reaper controlled territory here, break past their defenses and get to the relay beam leading up to the Citadel. The entire area is crawling with Reaper forces, not to mention the destroyers wandering in vicinity. One of them appears to have been assigned with the specific task of guarding the relay. We will need to take it out."

"Due to some kind of interference, we cannot bring in air support to deal with it," Johnson adds to answer the unspoken question on the minds of some of the gathered squad leaders. "We will need to take it out from the ground. Fortunately, we have a good supply of Thanix missiles to deal with that monstrosity."

"The Reapers have cut a swathe, a no-man's-land, through the city," Coats takes over again. "There will be some limited shelter on the other side, but we expect heavy ground resistance. We need to get our tanks across the no-man's-land and within the range of that destroyer, so that the Thanix missiles can do their job."

"But if we simply throw all our tanks out there at once, the Reapers will overrun us with brute force," Anderson says. "This is why we have decided to deploy the Hammer forces gradually, in four waves. The task of the first wave is... unenviable. There are literally no chances of survival, which is why I cannot ask this sacrifice for Earth to be made by our alien allies. However, some of our turian and krogan brothers have volunteered nonetheless. They will be joining the Alliance marine squads appointed for the first wave. It will be the smallest of the waves and will have the least amount of tanks, equipped with dud missiles, since we do not expect them to survive. We expect the first wave to be annihilated and thus give the Reapers the mistaken belief that our attack has failed. This is when we will begin deploying the second wave, twenty minutes after the first wave has engaged the enemy."

Anderson takes a deep breath before continuing. "The second wave will be made up of roughly 25% of the Hammer and 20% of the tanks. We expect the second wave to pass the no-man's-land while the remnants of the first wave are still engaged in fighting the Reapers, and make a deep push within the Reaper controlled territory towards the relay. But we do not realistically expect the second wave to bring the tanks into the firing range. The survival odds of the second wave are less than ten percent. This wave will have the majority of the krogan forces and several other heavy hitting squads."

_Damn it, I guess Wrex will be there as well. And I doubt I would be able to talk him out of it,_ Morgan thinks worriedly. _With these crap odds... if he doesn't make it, the political ramifications for the krogan... unpleasant, very unpleasant._

"Fifteen minutes after deploying the second wave, we will launch the third wave," Anderson continues to explain their tactics. "This will be the most numerous of the waves, with roughly 40% of both marines and artillery support. If everything goes according to plan, the third wave has a realistic chance of carving a path far enough to have a shot at that destroyer. Depending on how the battle is ongoing, we will release the fourth and final wave to reinforce the third wave whenever it is needed. We will begin launching the first wave in twenty minutes. We have an adequate supply of amphetamines and other drugs in the medical center for all the soldiers of the first wave, I would ask them to report to the medcenter immediately. Dismissed."

_Drugging them and sending them to slaughter, like kamikazes,_ Morgan feels sick to her stomach from the thought as Anderson turns to her. "Your people have sacrificed enough, Shepard. I do not want to see any of your crew in the first wave. Assign them to the other waves as you see fit, Commander."

"I will do so, Anderson," Morgan grinds out, turning around to leave. "Now if you will excuse me... I must speak with my people one last time."


	120. Journey Through the No-Man's-Land

**Chapter 119 - Journey Through the No-Man's-Land**

"Admiral, the Sixth Fleet is down to 60% of their ships," Lieutenant-Commander Takashima reports hurriedly, Admiral Hackett cringing inwardly as he sees the relevant information on the screens before him. "The geth are down to around 35% and are requesting permission to withdraw to support positions!"

_Damn it,_ Hackett curses inwardly. _If we pull the geth out, we need to plug that hole with something else, and we badly need the main fleets to push back the Reapers from the Citadel!_ "We need to take out one of those capital ships fast and then we can reroute some of the fleets to reinforce the flank," he barks in a way of answer to his assistant's unspoken question. "I need a report of the kinetic barriers on that thing!"

"Down to 20%, sir!" comes the swift reply.

"Twenty? This is our chance! Order the other fleets to focus on the capital ship, NOW! We need to take it out fast!"

"First and Third Fleets moving in. Asari fleets also targeting the capital ship. Turian Sixth holding flanks. Enemy kinetic barriers down to 8%."

The gigantic Reaper ship is fighting back desperately, but with so many dreadnaughts focusing their fire upon it, the barriers are dwindling fast. Its main cannon is firing with increasing intensity, blowing the Alliance ships to pieces one by one, as Hackett sees one of the First Fleet's dreadnaughts being targeted by the capital ship and two destroyers at once, the Alliance vessel unable to withstand that sort of assault and disintegrating in a bright explosion.

"SSV Aconcagua has been destroyed," Takashima reports, her voice dropping low as a feeling of cold dread grips Hackett's chest when he understands the implications. "No survivors reported, sir. Admiral Ines Lindholm presumed amongst the casualties."

"Link the First Fleet into our comm frequencies, they will be taking orders directly from me," Hackett bellows, clenching his fists. "Take out that capital ship, NOW!"

"Kinetic barriers... disabled, the ship is vulnerable, I repeat, the ship is vulnerable!"

"Give it all you've got, people! I want that thing gone!"

A massive dreadnaught, not too much smaller than the Reaper capital ship, appears in Hackett's field of vision to his right, its main gun powered up, opening fire on the enemy vessel. The impact is devastating, now that the kinetic barriers on the capital ship are disabled, the force of the blow rips off two of the Reaper's tentacles and ignites hundreds of small explosions along its hull.

_Just as well that Shepard chose to save them over our own people, all those years ago... god knows I resented her for that choice, but it appears she was right after all._ "Tell Matriarch Lidanya that I owe her one, Lieutenant-Commander," he says curtly, watching the Reaper ship slowly beginning to disintegrate under the heavy fire, the few destroyers who had supported it now falling a little back, giving the galactic fleets an opening to reach the Citadel.

"The fleets have a clear path to the Citadel," Takashima confirms. "But the geth are retreating, a part of the quarian fleet is following to escort their liveship to safety and the Sixth Fleet is taking considerable losses!"

"Tell Admiral Singh and the Third Fleet to aid them," Hackett orders urgently. _What else do we have to throw into the battle... damn it, we can't keep this up for much longer_! "Deploy Asari Second Fleet to protect the flank as well!"

"Sir, the newest projections have just come in," the Lieutenant-Commander reports. "The fleets can survive this for four hours before we will be forced to retreat."

"Immaterial, unless we can secure and hold space around the Citadel," Hackett barks back. _And hope that Anderson and Shepard can get those station arms open... if I was a man of faith, this would be a good time to start praying..._

* * *

Commander Morgan Shepard rejoins her crew in a small alcove near the medical center of the FOB. For a while she simply stands and watches the grim, dejected marines walking in to receive their injection of drugs, walking out roaring, shouting, all fired up and euphoric. _They no longer understand or care about being sent to die, _she realizes, again experiencing that sick, stomach-churning feeling from before. _They will shrug off all sorts of horrific injuries, fight on despite loss of limbs, completely numb to all pain. Until they die, not knowing what they have sacrificed themselves for. _

"I offered to go in the first wave, Lola, but they turned me down," James says quietly.

"I feel bad enough assigning you to the second, James," Shepard shakes her head. "But that's where our heavy hitters are needed. The odds are..."

"You don't need to tell me that, Commander. I don't even want to know. It's not important, anyway," Vega shrugs. "I'm just glad I could see Earth again, even like this. Do something, try to make a difference... so I'll go where I'm needed the most."

"Good man, James. And set up a private channel on your omni-tools, everyone, I want to keep in touch with all of you," Shepard says, clapping James on the shoulder, then turning to their Prothean comrade. "Javik, you're joining James in the second wave. You've been itching to give hell to the Reapers. You'll have plenty of chances to do that now."

"Understood, Commander," Javik nods, perhaps the only one amongst them who is truly calm under the most desperate of circumstances. "And Commander... thank you for this opportunity. "

"Powerpuff Girls, you're with me. We're going with the third wave," Shepard looks at Liara first, their eyes meeting and Morgan finds it very difficult to stop gazing into those deep blue pools of swirling emotion. Eventually, she breaks the stare and looks at Aria, the Pirate Queen looking almost bored and indifferent, but time and time again unable to stop herself from glancing overhead, suggesting that she too is deeply worried.

"Damn it, Shepard, don't you dare leaving me on the sidelines!" Garrus exclaims, looking annoyed, even as Tali elbows him hard in the midsection.

"Do you honestly believe that things will go so well that we won't need to deploy the fourth wave?" Shepard chuckles grimly. "Let's be realistic here. And I need someone to stay with EDI and Tali and provide cover for them, do you want me to leave someone else to that task?"

"Uh... okay, Shepard, I see your point," Garrus finally agrees with a shrug. "Fourth wave it is, Commander."

"Alright, that's us sorted out," Morgan nods, standing tall before the group of people together with whom she has gone through so much together already, friendships forged in blood and shared sorrow. "I guess this is the last time I have the opportunity to address you with a rousing, motivational speech... but, somehow I feel that everything that needed to be said, has been said already. You all know what's at stake and what we are fighting for. There's just one thing I want you to know, before we face the enemy one last time... I'm proud of having endured all this with you by my side, all of you. I'm proud of you, so very proud."

She turns away, looking down through a broken window at the FOB courtyard, swiftly filling with the roaring, drug-pumped marines, eager to throw themselves to the slaughter against overwhelming odds. The tanks roll out as well, and the gates are finally opened, the first wave pouring out to try and cross the no-man's-land and hopefully establish a bit of a foothold for the second wave to latch onto.

"It has started," Morgan says quietly, Liara and Aria coming to stand closer to her. "We have the unique opportunity to do what no cycle before us has achieved. The next few hours will determine the fate of the galaxy..."

* * *

"Have you found anything useful at all?" Rila's voice is filled with desperation as she turns to her sister, frantically browsing through the datapads. At least twice in the past half an hour they have been frightened out of their wits by someone scratching at the doors of their small apartment, letting out growling noises, but fortunately then shuffling off as they had sat silently, shivering while holding on to each other.

"There's nothing of use here," Falere sighs, her shoulders slumping in defeat. "Is she still alive? There's... so much blood everywhere..."

"Just barely, Falere... her pulse is definitely getting weaker," Rile replies, taking Tevos' hand in hers. "The medi-gel closed the wound and stopped the bleeding, but she looks to have lost so much blood... goddess, I hope Aria reaches us soon... we are... we are just useless!"

"Don't talk like that, Rila," Falere cuts her sister off sharply. "If not for us, she'd be long dead... hush! Quiet!" she suddenly hisses, Rila also hearing the footsteps outside the doors and pressing a palm against her mouth just to be sure she doesn't let out a traitorous gasp.

Oddly enough, there is a knock on the doors, which surprises them both, considering that the Reapers have not bothered with polite knocking before. Even more strangely, suddenly there is a voice on the other side of the doors. "Councilor Tevos? Councilor Tevos, we know you are inside," the voice belongs to man, but they do not recognize it, looking at each other fearfully. "Please, Councilor, open the doors, we are here to help!"

Rila slowly gets up and heads towards the door, ignoring Falere's desperate waving of the arms. "Look, I don't think the Reapers even know how to speak," she whispers to her sister urgently. "Maybe these people can save Tevos, we have to risk it!" Falere eventually nods in agreement and Rila carefully steps up to the doors to speak to those outside. "The Councilor is unable to reply right now... who are you and what do you want?"

"My name is Commander Armando Bailey of the Citadel Security, ma'am," the man replies. "We know that the Councilor is inside and that her life signs are approaching critical. We are here to help her, open the doors or we will be forced to blast our way in."

"Listen to Commander Bailey," another voice speaks up, this one sounding distinctly turian. "I am Councilor Sparatus of the Turian Hierarchy, we have been friends and colleagues with Tevos for many years. Let us save her."

"Alright... alright, I'm opening the doors," Rila finally says, letting the two men inside. They barge past her and immediately drop down on their knees next to Tevos' limp body.

"Critical, as we thought," Bailey states after a brief examination. "She needs blood transfusion, urgently. Let me see where is the nearest medical facility..." he begins to poke around his omni-tool.

"What happened here?" the turian turns towards Rila first, then Falere.

"We, ah..." Rila hesitates, completely unused to lying, but knowing that on this occasion she must hide the truth. "We were trying to flee back to our apartment when the attack began... and we came across this asari being attacked by a husk. We helped her fight it off, but she was terribly injured... so we carried her back to our apartment and tried to heal her the best we could."

"You probably saved her life, so I have to thank you for that," Sparatus says. "Though... what was Councilor Tevos doing at the very bottom of the Tayseri Ward?" he turns towards Falere, Rila feeling a surge of pride when her little sister holds the turian's stare.

"Why are you asking us?" Falere answers the turian's question. "We didn't even know she was the asari councilor until you mentioned it."

Sparatus shrugs his shoulders and mutters something about not caring whether Tevos is keeping secret lovers or not, turning to Bailey again. "The Tayseri medical facilities are directly two floors above us. Unfortunately, there might be a heavy Reaper presence in our way. I will try to redirect a group of C-Sec personnel to secure the place before we get there."

"One of us will have to carry her there," Sparatus says, the sound of his voice suggesting that he is not fancying their chances. "That will leave only one gun against all those Reapers crawling around. Even getting here was difficult... damn, I wish that coward Valern hadn't decided to hide under a table... he's very good at that, as we learned during the Cerberus coup..."

"Yeah, so I've heard..." Bailey looks a little ponderous, then glancing at Rila and Falere in turn. "Ladies, do you think you can help in any way? Can you fire a gun or use biotics?"

"I... I'm afraid we're quite useless in combat, Commander Bailey," Falere says apologetically.

"But... we could take turns carrying her!" Rila suggests, an idea suddenly occurring to her. "That would leave you both free to fight the Reapers."

"An excellent idea, young lady," Bailey nods, lifting Tevos' light frame from the ground and gently depositing it in Rila's arms.

"Now, let's go," Sparatus says, drawing his heavy pistol. "We have a lot of ground to cover, and the old girl doesn't have much time..."

* * *

The flattened squares of the no-man's-land are littered with torn and mangled bodies of the soldiers from the first wave, caught in the open with only the scarce cover of the tanks to protect them. Despite all that, roughly a third of them have made all the way across to engage the Reaper forces deeper in the ruined parts of the city, where partly collapsed buildings provide more cover. It takes considerable time for the Reaper ground troops to finally eliminate the first wave in its entirety, and by that time, the second wave has already almost made it across the no-man's-land, the plan working nearly perfectly so far.

In some sectors, they manage to take the Reapers by complete surprise, their monstrous opponents having already thought their opposition defeated, only to have another, much larger wave suddenly overwhelming them rapidly. However, the distribution of Reaper forces along the perimeter is very uneven, in some quadrants they advance very quickly, only to then find themselves trapped as the Reapers start to pour in from left and right, closing the trap behind the advancing army.

The unit comprising of Wrex, his elite forces together with Aralakh Company, accompanied by the asari Lieutenant Kurin, find themselves in that exact very unenviable situation, having made the biggest advance of the whole second wave, almost reaching the other side of the Reaper defended zone, which would give them a good shot at the destroyer... save for the fact that the artillery units have now been cut off from them, a Reaper squadron full of marauders and brutes having poured in from the right, while a pair of banshees snapped the trap shut on the left.

"Do we try to break through going forward, or do we fall back to reunite with the artillery, that is the question," Wrex muses, pressing with a shoulder against a block of concrete, gripping his shotgun tightly.

"Krogan only know one way to go, and that is to charge forward!" Grunt roars nearby, impatiently rearing to go.

"Charging ahead would be a little counterproductive when we don't have the tanks with us," the purple-hued asari commando with beautiful deep red markings on her face exclaims, standing next to Grunt. "I propose we help out the artillery units, trying to catch up to us."

"Yes, the asari would suggest retreat, no surprises there," Wrex chuckles, enjoying the expression of annoyance on the commando's face. "So, you're the one that the pup has claimed as his own, eh?" he grins, pointing at Grunt. "He could have done worse. You've got a spine, girl, I've seen you charge down ravagers and brutes, you wouldn't happen to have a krogan amongst your parents?"

Kurin smiles and shakes her head, leaning in closer to Grunt for a question. "Who's the old guy?" she asks, nodding at Wrex.

"Oh, the old guy is just my clan leader, Urdnot Wrex," Grunt explains loudly and helpfully, making Kurin slap an open palm against her face in embarrassment.

"Right, in that case, I better go and impress him," Kurin says with determination, pointing at a marauder on their left, thinking itself to be very sneaky and trying to get into a position from which to annoy them with his sniper rifle. "Just watch me charge that bastard!" she exclaims, her body starting to glow blue from biotics and then she flings herself across the battlefield, towards her target.

"Wait, girl, there's a-" Wrex shouts at the asari, but it is too late. A brute steps in her way and manages to catch her on the side, making Kurin lose control mid-charge and she misses her target completely, instead crashing heavily into a wall. "-brute in the way," Wrex finishes, as the asari struggles to remain upright... and then a section of the wall collapses, burying her.

Grunt lets out an angry roar, rushing the slightly surprised brute, tackling it and proceeding to make short work of it, then blowing the marauders head off its shoulders with his shotgun as he makes his way over to the pile of rubble that now covers Kurin's body.

"Don't be so upset, pup, we win this war and I promise, I'll find you a new asari to play with. Two, three of them if you want! Now let's go, the artillery squads apparently have decided to die without our support," Wrex orders, but Grunt isn't moving.

"Take the Aralakh and go!" Grunt snarls, ignoring Wrex and continuing to dig in the rubble. "I'm not leaving her!"

Wrex sighs, shaking his head. "Well, I don't have the time to stick around and get everyone under my command killed," he says, turning around and bellowing at the Aralakh Company to follow him as they begin cutting their way back to the artillery squads. "Once you're done here, just follow the path littered with corpses to catch up with us..."

* * *

"James? Javik? Any of you guys getting this?" Shepard frantically shakes her omni-tool, wondering if something is wrong with it, all she hears at first is static. Meanwhile, around her, the third wave of Hammer begin their advance across the no-man's-land. The Reapers are still battling the second wave deep into their entrenched positions, and this is the perfect time to cross the exposed fields, quickly bringing the tanks to relative safety in the cover of buildings.

"...Shepard, hear you..." she finally catches Vega's voice, barely able to make it out, the interference seems to be getting worse the closer they get to the relay beam. "...heavy fighting... comms often unreliable..."

"We've started our advance, James," she speaks, hoping her fellow N7 can hear it. Liara and Aria follow her closely as they swiftly march behind one of the tanks, carefully scanning the surroundings for enemies, but the most heated fighting is still a little ways ahead of them. Time and again harvesters show up to drop some ground troops behind their forces, she sees a trio of wormnecks flying over their heads just now, dropping the brutes and cannibals amongst their ranks somewhere way over to the left, out of range of their weapons. The harvesters decide to stick around after that, taking some potshots at the tanks, but the artillery fire quickly forces them to reconsider.

"Slowly getting overwhelmed," James speaks, some kind of break in the interference letting her receive him clearly for now. "Advance in most zones has ground to halt, Lola. The squads that pushed too deep too fast dug their own graves. They sprung traps on us, and they're definitely smart enough to target the tanks first, rotten Reaper bastards."

"Don't try to push if it's not looking good," Shepard replies, as they finally reach the cover provided by the ruined buildings, the tank ahead of them beginning to wobble as it climbs its way through the ruins. "We'll be catching up to you guys soon enough, James. Sit tight."

"Alright, Lola, but if there's a chance to make a push, we'll make a push. Didn't come here to dig in, you know that. Not enough time to do that. James out."

Shepard nods at herself, acknowledging the truth in Vega's words. There is the danger that by cutting through too swiftly, they could become trapped from all sides, but at the same time, clearing out all the Reaper forces across all sectors while the harvesters are continuously supplying them with new troops is not an option either. There is no other choice than to press the attack and hope for the best.

"Now the fun begins in earnest, girls," she says, turning to the two asari. "Get ready to kill a lot of Reapers without getting killed yourselves."

"I'm glad you added that last part, Shepard," Liara adds uneasily, looking a little rattled from the sheer amount of the dead they see with every step they take, mostly the marines from the first two waves, then lots and lots of Reaper corpses as they proceed deeper into the zone.

"So, that beam we're heading for, you're really sure that's a relay that will transport us to the Citadel, Shepard?" Aria asks, peering ahead.

"Yeah, everyone seems to think so, my lovely Buttercup. Why?"

"Just making sure, Shepard. I've got the target in my sights now," Aria says with a grim promise in her voice. "And anyone standing between me and my target is going down."

"They broke the 'don't fuck with Aria' rule?" Liara asks, managing a smile as she looks at the other asari.

"Exactly," Aria nods. "You know, if the Reapers have gotten to Tevos and the girls already and I've made it all this way for nothing, Shepard... I'll be so pissed, I might take my frustrations out on you and T'Soni."

"And by that you mean-" Shepard is about to ask, but gets sharply interrupted by Liara.

"Let's not discuss that right now, shall we?" she speaks quickly, looking a little distracted, but then snapping back into focus as the Reaper forces finally announce their presence, a pair of ravagers on the second floor of a nearby building opening fire at the tank they have been following.

"Good idea, babe," Morgan nods, dropping into cover and setting the sights of her Widow at the ravagers. "About time we got to work..."


	121. No Surrender, No Retreat

**Chapter 120 - No Surrender, No Retreat**

The remaining dreadnaughts of the Alliance, Turian and Asari fleets begin to move into positions surrounding the Citadel, finally having driven the last of the Reaper ships off, but the push has come with greater cost than they could have afforded, drastically reducing the time that they can sustain this war effort. Also, the lack of Reaper counterattack to retake the control of the space around the Citadel is worrying Hackett, especially considering that the largest of the capital ships that alone had taken out five or six dreadnaughts, has unexplainably disappeared from his screens. "Where the hell did that thing go?" he turns to look at Takashima, demanding answers.

"It appears that the Reaper capital ship has left the battle and is heading back towards the planet, sir," his aide replies immediately, and it is not an answer that he had been hoping to hear.

"Inform Anderson immediately, I don't want to have a nasty surprise dropping on the Hammer," Hackett orders. "Any news about their progress, Lieutenant-Commander?"

"Admiral Anderson reports that so far the attack is proceeding according to plan," comes the reply. "Estimated arrival at the relay, one hour and thirty minutes, sir."

"Let's just hope everything continues to go according to plan," Hackett sighs. "Can we get an update on the fleet status?"

"Right away, sir," Takashima says, sending the latest data feeds to display on the screens before Hackett. "Sir, when do we plan to bring the Crucible in?"

"Not until we know that someone has made it to the Citadel, Lieutenant-Commander," Hackett replies, starting to read the latest numbers of the fleet status. _Alliance First, 55%. Alliance Third 50%, Alliance Fifth 65%, Alliance Sixth 40%... damn, we'll have to reinforce the flanks again, but with what?_ Hackett thinks desperately.

_Asari Sixth still at 70%, thank god. Second Fleet down to 45%. Turian Sixth still at 67% and with two thirds of dreadnaughts, that's not so bad. Seventh at 98%, protecting the Crucible... we cannot throw them into the battle just yet. Quarians and Salarian Third down below 50%, geth around 30% and pretty much out of it... smaller fleets not worth considering for anything more than support... and the Terminus Fleets... at 80%? Damn slippery bastards, they probably realize that we'll try to put them in harm's way first and are ignoring our direct orders... complete and utter bastards! _

"Lieutenant-Commander?" he turns to Takashima again. "Ask the turians to send half of their dreadnaughts to reinforce our flanks. If the Sixth Fleet collapses, the core of our fleets will become trapped and we cannot allow that to happen!"

"Understood, sir. Orders have been sent."

_And now all we have to do is keep the path to the Citadel secure for two more hours... _Hackett thinks grimly, looking at the numbers of fleet strength before him and watching the projected time of how long they can hold out rapidly ticking down. _Damn it... Shepard, Anderson, you have to pull this thing off. This is going to be touch and go..._

* * *

"Damn it," Wrex curses, after he and the Aralakh Company have broken through the Reaper lines to reunite with the artillery units trailing behind, only to find the Alliance marines all as one slaughtered, the tanks turned into smoldering wrecks. "Stupid puny humans can't even survive a few minutes without krogan holding their hands!"

"Orders, clan leader?" one of the younger krogan steps closer to ask him.

Wrex ponders a little bit, realizing only too well that it is pointless to push ahead if they don't have any tanks with them, but also unwilling to retreat or wait for the third wave to catch up with them. "Stand your ground, krogan, while I speak with this human in charge!" he then bellows, switching on his omni-tool to link in to the channel assigned to the squad leaders.

"We have new orders," he yells, having spoken with Major Coats for a brief while. There are still Reapers pouring in and advancing, following the path of their retreat, a large group led by a banshee, and he quickly sends the Aralakh to wipe them out, smirking at himself as the foes fall swiftly, two of the krogan grabbing the banshee by its legs and arms and roaring like mad as they stretch the screeching creature to the point where its limbs and body comes apart, severed in disgusting, filthy pieces of black, rotting tech and biotic-infused flesh.

"Golf Company is traveling directly by our right flank," he shouts at his krogan once the last of the Reapers have been eliminated. "If we take a shortcut through these buildings, we should emerge right on top of them. Just... don't shoot them if they mistake us for the Reaper, got it? These humans are twitchy and frightened of their own shadows."

"There's a corridor here leading through the building, clan leader!" one of the Aralakh scouts points at a dark opening, excited look in his eyes.

"Alright, well spotted, Shurik," Wrex nods, leading his forces towards the entrance. The passageway is rather narrow and dark, and they are forced to move in single file through it.

For a while, they progress slowly and mostly in silence, which is then suddenly interrupted by a metallic bonking noise and someone giving a pained grunt of surprise directly behind Wrex.

"What is it, Shurik?" Wrex asks, not looking back.

"Something fell on me," the other krogan replies, switching on his omni-tool to provide some light. "Say, that almost looks like..."

Wrex turns around to stare at what has fascinated the younger krogan so much, but he doesn't much like the looks of the small, elongated object that Shurik is holding in his hand. "Yep, that's a grenade alright. Where did you find it?"

"Uh... someone threw it on me from above..."

Wrex looks upwards, only to see shadows of a group of cannibals on the wall above them, and suddenly there are many more grenades raining down towards them. "Ah, sod it! Get out, get out!" he bellows, starting to run towards the exit. "Run, run, r-" But he doesn't get to say much more as there is a deafening explosion behind him, and the last thing Wrex knows of is the entire building collapsing on top of him and the last of the Aralakh Company.

* * *

Miranda breathes heavily, throwing herself in the cover, coming under increasingly heavy Reaper fire. The situation in her sector is unenviable. The second wave has pushed in far too deep, and the third wave groups have proven to be completely incapable of reaching them quickly. Assembled mostly of the Blue Suns mercs, they had lost morale quickly and dropped like flies, leaving both Kilo and Delta artillery companies defenseless and the Reapers had pounced on the tanks quickly, destroying them without a moment's thought.

Now, Miranda Lawson finds herself to be the last person alive in the sector, completely cut off from the rest of the third wave and not feeling very positive about her chances. The Reapers are beginning to flood out of the zone and she is able to keep herself hidden for now, but she wants to contribute to the fight, instead of sitting tight and waiting for the last wave to arrive and relieve her position. The large supply of medi-gel she has brought with her so far only has been used to treat herself, having been shot several times already. The Blue Suns had proved to be so incompetent that she had realized very early on that trying to heal them would simply be a waste of resources.

Her current vantage point, hiding under one of the destroyed Kilo tanks, is hardly ideal, but at least it is safe, time and again she sees the disgusting gnarled feet of cannibals and marauders passing by, not sparing a second look at the smashed vehicle. Another Reaper group is passing her right now, and she instinctively holds her breath, until they have passed... but then, something unexpected happens. She sees the blinding blue light of biotics and suddenly powerful detonations not just simply rip the Reaper group to small pieces, it also flips over the damaged tank, leaving her dazed and exposed to the view of whoever have arrived to her rescue.

"Hold your fire, we have a friendly!" with her ears ringing, she hears a pleasant feminine voice, then feeling powerful hands grasping her by the shoulders and pulling her upright, finding herself staring in the face of a professional looking, narrow-eyed asari commando. "Coreen Lemaes, Special Commando Unit assigned to the Fifth Fleet," the asari introduces herself.

"Miranda Lawson... privateer, completely out of her depth," she mutters, drawing a chuckle from the asari and her fellow commandos. "What are you doing here, Lemaes? Don't you have enough Reapers to contend with in your own sector?"

"There's no shortage of Reapers everywhere you look, Lawson," the asari replies curtly. "But the command doesn't want to lose this zone, so they sent me and my girls to hold it until the fourth wave gets here. You're welcome to stick with us, human. You'll find us more competent than your mercenary colleagues," she adds, poking a corpse of one of the Blue Suns with disgust written all across her face.

"That sounds acceptable," Miranda agrees, looking over the commandos, noticing that one of them, the youngest looking one, seems to be struggling not to cry out in pain and no wonder, there is a sizeable shrapnel imbedded deep in her thigh, bleeding heavily. "I have a lot of medi-gel, Lemaes, and I'm a doctor of sorts. Let me help her," she points at the injured maiden.

Lemaes nods quickly. "Take defensive positions, people," she shouts out her orders. "Ginessia, come here and lay down, let the human fix that leg of yours," the commando leader helps her younger squadmate to get into the cover of heavy concrete blocks, Miranda quickly bringing her medkit over and starting to work on the injured leg.

"Appreciate it, Lawson," Lemaes nods, managing a curt smile. "We used a lot of our medi-gel on the survivors of the second wave and left some of it to the Alliance people with the Bravo company, so we're running low. It was lucky we ran into you when we did."

Miranda stops working on the wound and briefly raises her head to return the commando leader's smile. "I should thank you for the timely rescue, Lemaes. And if this isn't the time when we start looking out for each other... when else?" The answer to her rhetorical question is a nod and another smile from the asari commando leader Coreen Lemaes.

* * *

"Take that you bastards!" Aria T'Loak shouts, her biotic projectiles slamming into the group of marauders and cannibals trapped by Liara's singularities, shattering the foes to pieces, littering their body parts in every direction, the torso of one cannibal landing right on top of the collapsed concrete pillar behind which Commander Morgan Shepard has been trying to set up aim at one of the ravagers harassing them and the Able Company.

"Eww, disgusting," Morgan remarks, staring at the mangled body but then pushing the barrel of her sniper rifle through the large gaping hole in the cannibal's chest and resuming her fire behind the improvised Reaper barrier, quickly taking out two other cannibals, and then switching to hit the ravager, just as Liara's warp fields impact with the foe, destroying it for good and taking the pressure off them and the artillery unit, giving them an all too brief respite.

"That is a... rather novel way to shoot," Liara remarks, watching Morgan shake cannibal remains off from her bloody Widow, the tanks resuming their movement forward, slowly making inroads towards the destroyer and the relay beam.

"Hey, it worked," Morgan shrugs, mustering a small smile. _So far, so good. But progress on the other sectors is not as fast, if we push ahead too quickly, we might suffer the same fate as the second wave. _

"What are you two waiting for?" Aria shouts at them impatiently. "We need to move onwards, quickly, before they react!"

_And Aria rushing us is not helping matters. I know she wants to get to that relay, we all need to get to it, but I can't let blind haste kill us all._ "Aria, you're bleeding... again," Morgan says, spotting another fortunately shallow wound on Aria's left side. "You're not going anywhere until that is treated," she says sternly, the Pirate Queen looking as if she wants to snap back, then biting down her reply and starting to apply the medi-gel, quietly grumbling at herself.

"Everything alright, Morgan?" Liara asks, looking her over critically, and no wonder, Shepard has already managed to sustain several injuries, fortunately light ones that do not impair her significantly.

"Yeah, I'm fine, but you're not, babe, that gash upon your brow is still bleeding heavily," she says worriedly, watching drops of blood flowing down and getting into Liara's eyes and on her cheeks, making her lover's face a dirty mess. "You said you would take care of it, and you clearly didn't."

"I... fear this might not be the last injury I sustain," Liara replies quietly. "I am worried that if I use too much medi-gel now, my system might go into shock if I need to treat a more serious injury later."

"Yeah... I see your point," Morgan nods reluctantly, knowing that Liara is right. She has had to treat several bullet wounds already, two going through her thigh and one in the shoulder, the round fortunately passing straight through. All this has forced her to use far more medi-gel than she hoped she would require, and this does not bode well for her long term chances.

The caravan of tanks has by now moved a little ahead of them, then coming to a grinding halt, one of the engineers accompanying the Able Company running up to her. "The road ahead is out, Commander!" he reports urgently. "Looks like we need to backtrack, ma'am!"

_Oh, fucknuts,_ Morgan curses at herself silently. _Well, maybe it'll give the rest of the third wave the opportunity to catch up with us. _"Recommendations, Corporal?" she asks.

"Echo Company was just behind us on our left flank, but..." the young engineer hesitates. "They've dropped off the comms for some reason?"

"I believe that reason might just have revealed itself," Liara speaks with deceptive calm, pointing to the left, a pair of banshees and two brutes emerging from one of the ruined structures.

"Aria, hostiles at nine o'clock!" Shepard gives a shout to the other asari, the Pirate Queen staring at the relay ahead and looking very pissed off at the orders to turn back and seek another road, one that the tanks can navigate.

But the Queen of Omega immediately recognizes the danger that the incoming force poses, throwing herself behind a block of concrete. "This isn't going well, is it, Shepard?" she asks, leaning out of the cover to angrily fire her pistols at one of the brutes, then throwing a warp field at it, making the monstrous creature pause in its approach.

"Doesn't look very good, no," Shepard reluctantly admits. "Oh, by the way, Anderson just asked me on the channel whether they should deploy the fourth wave already..."

"Tell him not to bother, we've got this under control, don't we?" Aria grins, looking a bit manic as she watches Liara's biotic attacks twisting the brute's frame, following up with more weapons fire with incendiary ammo, watching the Reaper servant tumble to the ground lifeless, ducking aside to avoid its last desperate claw swipe.

"We don't have this under control!" Liara protests, looking close to losing her calm, nervously watching the banshees trying to flank them, as the remaining brute closes in through the middle. "Please, Morgan, tell me that your answer to the question of whether we need reinforcements was a resounding 'yes'!"

"It wasn't a 'yes', Liara," Morgan replies grimly, leaning out to unleash several quick and deadly shots at the brute, about to charge. "It was a resounding 'FUCK, YES'..."

* * *

"It appears as if you will get your chance to shoot some Reapers after all, Garrus," EDI remarks, watching the remaining Hammer tanks starting to move across the no-man's-land as the order for the deployment of the fourth wave comes in.

"Yeah," Garrus replies, clicking his mandibles nervously, despite his stated eagerness to get into the battle the turian is not looking terribly pleased now that the order has come. "Hope it's not because the third wave has been wiped out completely..."

"Shepard is still not answering the comms," Tali adds, sounding highly agitated as they follow the tanks very closely. "Maybe... maybe there's some interference... or she's too busy fighting to reply..."

"Shepard is alive and kicking, believe me, Tali," Garrus says, actually sounding confident, at least about this. "She's going to get to that relay, I'd bet my life on it." _It's the rest of our lives that I'm very worried about... _

"The Commander possesses an uncanny ability to defy impossible odds," EDI nods. "I am a little baffled that she would refuse to listen to the exact estimation regarding our odds of success. Perhaps I can enlighten you at least?"

"No thanks, EDI," Tali quickly shakes her head. "This seems desperate enough as it is, I'd rather hold on to some blind hope and optimism."

"Unfortunately, optimism is something that my core programming is violently incompatible with," EDI replies.

"We'd probably not like you as much if you'd become a shiny ray of goodwill and kindness, EDI," Garrus says, then instinctively ducking as a harvester flies low above their heads, looking for a spot where to unload its tiresome and dangerous cargo.

"Hey, you lied to Shepard, you do know how to duck, Garrus!" Tali exclaims, sounding a little relieved that her boyfriend possesses at least some survival instincts.

"Hmm, I guess I've spent too much time around humans and their bad habits are rubbing off on me," Garrus chuckles.

"Being able to save yourself from being shot in the head is NOT a bad habit!" Tali protests, as they see the harvester suddenly becoming ensnared by some kind of biotic bubble, almost like a gigantic stasis trap, result of several powerful biotics working together. Then, the bubble is violently destroyed, throwing pieces of harvester and the shattered troops still inside it all across the no-man's-land.

"I would extrapolate that we just saw the work of Jack and her biotic students," EDI concludes, looking almost admiring of the destruction caused by the human biotic squad.

"That was certainly impressive," Garrus admits. "Makes me wish we'd be positioned a little closer to Jack and her kids. She has trained them surprisingly well."

"Never would have believed that-" Tali starts, but then quickly stops herself, watching the blinking signal of an active channel popping open on her omni-tool. "Shepard's on the comms! Shepard! Commander, are you alright?" she shouts on the comms frantically, looking tense as she waits for a reply.

"What did she say? Did you get anything at all? Well?" Garrus demands of her frantically.

"I just overheard shouts and sounds of battle, Garrus... something like 'ow, shit, get that banshee away from me!'..." Tali replies in a shaky voice. "Keelah, I wish Anderson would have thrown us into the battle sooner... they're getting slaughtered out there..."

She feels the turian's hand closing around her shoulder and squeezing it tightly, Garrus looking at her, his eyes shining with rare compassion. "You must put everything else out of your mind, Tali, except only what we must do," he speaks softly. "I know it is hard, but it's the only way we can do this..."

Tali swallows heavily and nods. "I know, Garrus. I will be fine. Let's just... let's go and get it done. Let's help Shepard save the galaxy, so we can all go home..."

* * *

"Fuck... fucking piece of shit..." Morgan groans, waiting for Aria to finish working on applying medi-gel to her leg. "Don't tell me it's broken, please..." The last of the banshees had died just as it was releasing a powerful biotic nova right upon Shepard and Liara, sending them flying. Morgan had flown past one of the tanks to land heavily in the rubble, but her shins had smacked hard against the hull of the vehicle.

"Don't think so, Shepard, just very bruised and battered," Aria shrugs, finishing the application of medi-gel with a heavy slap that makes Morgan howl from pain. "Oh, just walk it off, you weakling," she grins cruelly, watching Shepard slowly getting back up to her feet and starting to take careful steps, walking up to Liara, her bondmate sitting propped up against the wheel of a badly damaged and already abandoned tank. Liara is holding a pack of medi-gel against her exposed shoulder, wincing in pain.

"Fractured," she grinds out the one word that Shepard hadn't wanted to hear. At least it is the left shoulder, letting Liara remain reasonably effective, even if Morgan fears whether her beloved will take the necessary precautions that someone with such an injury should consider.

"No more close up and personal heroics from you, missy," Morgan warns the asari seriously, then noticing that someone is trying to reach her on the comm channel reserved to the Normandy crew. "Wait, this might be important... Shepard here," she answers the call.

"Lola..." she barely recognizes the croaking voice, belonging to James Vega. "Lola... that you... needed to hear your voice... one last time..."

"Damn it, James, what's going on?" she demands urgently. _Fuck, he does sound in a bad way. Shit!_ "Talk to me, soldier!"

"They... they wiped out... Charlie company," comes the weak reply. "Javik and I... last ones left... was supposed to watch my back... left me to die... ambushed by Reapers from behind..."

"Javik left you to die? But... but why?" Morgan asks, bristling with anger and incomprehension.

"Don't... know..." James' voice is growing weaker and weaker with every word. "If meet him... shoot... for me. One last favor... _adios_, Lo-... Lola..."

"James! James! James, answer me!" Shepard shouts into the comms, but as her eyes meet with Liara's serene blue orbs, she recognizes the truth with a painful clarity. This is the last time she has heard the voice of Lieutenant James Vega.


	122. The Suicidal Relay Charge

_A/N: I have to apologize that the famous Extended Cut scene with the Normandy evac of injured Liara won't be included. While I liked it in the game, I wasn't certain there was much internal logic behind it. For one, the whole thing would have required significant time, which I really can't imagine them having at that point, with Harbinger constantly pewpewing at the Hammer forces. And while I like silly humor in my stories, I managed to successfully fight off the mental image of Harbinger being a good sport and standing there with a huge cigar in its firing chamber, taking a small ten minute breather for Normandy to swoop in, give Shepard and Liara time for more touching goodbyes and fly off again. _

_In the good news, it means that the Normandy won't somehow end up stranded on some garden world who knows where. I think I detest that nonsensical crap even more than I dislike the Star Brat. _

**Chapter 121 - The Suicidal Relay Charge**

"Spirits, it looks like all the companies preceding us in this sector have been completely wiped out," Garrus curses, as the fourth wave finally hits the residential district, where the carcasses of the remaining buildings provide them with a semblance of cover. "I hope somebody is up there ahead of us," he adds.

"At least we heard from Shepard," Tali exhales in relief. "And I think that the lack of Reapers charging us probably means someone is still holding the fort in front of us."

"Or perhaps the Reaper forces have simply moved to another flank having destroyed our ground forces in this sector," EDI cheerfully offers, making both Tali and Garrus stare at each other desperately.

"EDI, you really need those optimism protocols installed," Tali finally sighs.

"What did Shepard say, exactly?" Garrus asks again, even if Tali has relayed everything almost word for word a few minutes ago.

"They are going to reach the Thanix missile firing range in approximately six minutes," the quarian repeats herself again, smiling inwardly, realizing that knowledge of Commander Shepard still being alive and kicking ahead of them brings great reassurance to everyone around. "There are still six surviving artillery companies from the third wave, which should be enough to bring down that destroyer."

"Shepard will do it, she will find a way," Garrus mutters under his breath, but his shoulders straighten noticeably and he grips his sniper rifle with increased fervor and determination from the news.

For a while, they continue their slow progress through the difficult terrain uninterrupted, until EDI speaks up suddenly. "Warning, friendlies ahead!" she informs the others, being the first one to rush towards the survivors of the third wave. The square before them seems to have witnessed a massive battle, the ground having become several feet deep pool filled with Reaper remains, here and there also a few dead Alliance marines and asari commandos.

"Isn't that..." Tali speaks up, surprised, pointing at a familiar figure ahead, slumped against the wall, cradling the still shape of an asari in her lap.

Garrus recognizes her too, even if her black and white form-fitting suit is almost unrecognizable under the blood and grime, her long black hair stained and forming an ugly, dirty mop. "You're right! It's Miranda!"

EDI is already well on her way towards the former Cerberus operative. "Miss Lawson," she speaks, having reached her former 'boss' on the Normandy. "Miss Lawson, you require medical aid."

Tali drops on her knees next to the injured human and quickly administers a large dose of medi-gel, watching Miranda's bleary eyes quickly snapping back to life as she shakes her head. "Miranda, it's me, Tali. Garrus and EDI are with me," she speaks quickly. "What happened here?" Tali asks, pointing at the asari, Miranda's arms still wrapped around her torso, even if the commando has been dead for a while now.

"So now the cavalry arrives... a bit late for her..." Miranda manages, it looks as if talking takes her immense effort. She reaches down and brushes her bloody, swollen lips against the asari's brow before lowering the dead commando on the ground. "Her name was Coreen Lemaes. I had never met her before... and she sacrificed her life to save mine. She died for the sake of a Cerberus cheerleader... what a laugh..."

"Former Cerberus cheerleader, Miranda," Tali reminds her, kindly.

"Yeah, Lawson, you already made up for everything at the Sanctuary, remember?" Garrus tells Miranda.

"We have more survivors here, but they are close to critical," EDI informs them, having made a quick sweep of the area. "They all need urgent medical help."

"Some of the commandos survived?" Miranda asks, looking surprised, but also relieved as she grabs Garrus' shoulder. "Help me get up and I can save them. Now!" she shouts, seeing that the turian hesitates, eventually pulling Miranda up.

Ignoring her own considerable and painful injuries, Miranda quickly sets to work, first on the young commando that she had helped earlier, removing the shrapnel from her leg. The maiden does not appear to have any critical injuries, except being heavily concussed and sporting some mildly severe burns, courtesy of harvester attacks. She is back on her feet soon enough, following Miranda around like a lost puppy, doing all she can to help her fellow commandos. In the end, they manage to get two more asari back on their feet and slowly moving behind the row of tanks, but not really being able to contribute in any meaningful way, except some wild and unfocused suppressive fire.

"So, what happened here, Lawson?" Garrus asks, as Miranda has joined them at the front of the company, looking almost like her old, confident self. "Most of the third wave are reaching the outskirts of the sector by now. Seems like your unit wasn't so lucky."

"Perhaps I should have remained with the Normandy after Sanctuary," Miranda offers a wry smile. "But I couldn't drag Ori into all that," she points overhead. "I had to fly into this battle on some old Blue Suns fighter that was barely holding itself together. And their ground team didn't fare much better, we must have been the weakest link in the whole third wave. After they were wiped out and I was left on my own, these commandos showed up... but eventually the Reapers just wore us down while we waited for support."

"Blame Anderson, not us, if it had been up to me-" here Garrus gets himself interrupted by a frustrated sounding Tali.

"If it had been up to you, you'd probably have gone in one of the first two waves, and you would have been dead by now," she sighs. "So I'm very glad that it wasn't up to you."

"And what about Shepard?" Miranda asks.

"They should be arriving at their destination as we speak, setting up artillery strikes against the destroyer," EDI informs them. "Our projected time of arrival is ten minutes, miss Lawson."

"Thank you, EDI," Miranda nods. "Well, let's hurry it up then, after all this I don't want to miss the fireworks."

"Whoa, didn't take her long at all to take charge, did it?" Tali whispers, leaning closer to Garrus, the turian's only reply being an amused chuckle.

* * *

"Have all the companies reported in yet?" Shepard asks on the comms, watching the engineers of the Able company beginning to prepare the Thanix missiles for launch. "Okay, got it. Shepard out," she acknowledges the brief reply from Major Coats. "The others still need a maximum of two minutes to set up," she tells to Liara and Aria, both plopped down heavily on the ground, taking the opportunity to rest.

"At least the attacks of their ground forces have slowed," Liara says quietly, sounding very exhausted. Blood is still soaking from somewhere inside her armor, forming a small blue pool next to her as she sits, the same goes for Aria, and Shepard is aware that she too has several wounds that have not been treated properly, all three of them already swimming in medi-gel, battered and bruised.

"How far do you think it is to that relay?" Aria asks, peering over the concrete slab, across the almost level field with only minimal cover provided by some crashed skycars.

"Less than a mile, I think," Shepard says, also looking ahead, a little concerned about the Reaper destroyer, wandering around the relay and occasionally firing its red beam of death and destruction in seemingly random direction. "We need to squish that bug before we even try to make that run, though. I sure hope you're both still capable of running," she adds worriedly.

"That's what we packed these for," Liara manages a weak smile, throwing a pack of stims to Morgan, then another one to Aria, the Pirate Queen scowling at the supplies and almost considering throwing them away, but then she reconsiders, possibly remembering about her many niggling injuries. "Don't use them until we have the command to begin the charge," Liara adds.

"Speaking of which, where are our promised fireworks, Shepard," Aria growls impatiently. "Tell those incompetent fools to hurry the fuck up!"

Shepard is about to make a sharp retort to Aria, when the commlink suddenly comes to life with a buzz and Major Coats orders them to get ready to fire the missiles the next time the Reaper can be seen priming its firing chamber for another attack. The wait is agonizing, and Morgan almost begins to think that the destroyer somehow senses that it is being targeted, knowing not to open fire, but then the familiar angry red glow starts to develop around its firing chamber and with a loud bang the Thanix missiles are launched, Shepard being able to count at least dozen of them, heading towards their enemy. Some of the missiles begin to sway oddly during their flight, as if some kind of interference is messing up with their targeting, but it cannot counter them all, and at least three or four connect cleanly with the opened firing chamber, just as the destroyer is launching the particle beam. Accompanied by resounding cheers of the attacking force, the destroyer slumps forward and then slowly collapses into a heap.

"Let's go!" Aria shouts, about to jump over the concrete slab and charge ahead, looking furious when Liara catches her hand and holds it firmly.

"Wait, I've got Anderson linking in on the comms," Shepard speaks sharply, forcing to cut off her own inward cheering. "We go on his signal, and that includes you too, Aria."

"Ah... fuck this," for a moment, Aria looks like she's about to dart ahead on her own, but then the asari reconsiders, slumping down in cover, uttering a stream of obscenities.

Shepard is about to tell Aria to keep quiet, but at that moment she hears Anderson's voice on the comms. "Coats, Shepard, good job everyone," he speaks. "Reaching your position in thirty seconds."

"Sir, shouldn't we go now, before the Reapers have react-" Shepard's words are cut off, as a malevolent, dark and chilling shadow suddenly falls all over them, the giant black shape landing just behind the relay beam blocks out almost every scrap of light. Standing as tall as the Sovereign, the Reaper capital ship simply looms there, as if inviting them to approach and challenge it.

"I believe you just learned about their reaction, Shepard," Anderson says grimly. "Hackett reported a while ago that Harbinger and several destroyers left the fight above... he didn't know where they were heading, but I understood immediately."

"Fuck... this is bad, this is very bad!" Shepard exclaims desperately. "Even if we have some Thanix missiles left, they won't do much to that sodding Harbinger!"

"That's correct, Shepard," Anderson continues on the comms. "We have only one course of action left before us. We throw everything we have towards the relay beam and hope that someone gets through before Harbinger kills us all."

"Has anyone ever told you how much your plans suck, David?" Shepard cannot resist the jibe, even if her heart is skipping and bouncing at the idea of making this incredible suicide run.

"Do you have a better idea, Shepard?" Anderson asks. Morgan remains quiet, biting her lip until it begins to bleed. "I thought so. We are waiting another two minutes for more of the last wave to arrive. Then we will begin our final attack."

"Copy that, sir," Shepard replies curtly, immediately switching to the comm frequency of the Normandy squad, trying to reach the others, lagging behind. "Garrus, where are you? You're going to miss out on the best part, buddy?"

"Managed to find some Reaper stragglers here, Shepard, just our luck," Garrus sounds very frustrated and angry. "In the good news, we found Lawson and some asari commandos. They're tagging with us, but since they're really banged up, we're moving slowly."

"Miri's alive? Thank the gods," Shepard breathes out a sigh of relief. "And what's your ETA?"

"Five minutes, Shepard," EDI replies.

"Oh, by that time we'll already be away, charging towards the relay and Harbinger sitting next to it, protecting the beam," Shepard lets out a dry chuckle, suddenly feeling strangely relieved with the knowledge that in a few minutes they will all be dead, turned to dust and ashes. "I'll be sure to reserve the best spots at that bar for us, Garrus."

"Keelah... Harbinger is here..." Tali joins in with a desperate cry. "It's not fair, it's just not fair!"

"If I reach the bastard, I promise I'll lodge a complaint," Shepard replies. "Hug her from me, Garrus, one last time. Just in case."

"Understood, Commander," Garrus replies grimly. "Good luck out there. We'll follow you as soon as we are able."

_I almost want to tell him to grab Tali and get the hell out of here, but where would they run?_ Shepard thinks desperately. _That little ship that could get lost has sailed... there is no retreat, not anymore. _

"You two ready?" Morgan looks at Aria, then at a very gloomy looking Liara. "Oh, chin up, babe. We had a good run, didn't we? We nearly pulled this off, too. To fall just a sliver short... hurts, doesn't it?"

"We can still do it, Shepard," Liara says, quiet, subdued, but nevertheless determined.

"Foot race against Harbinger? I'd like to hope, but..."

"We can still do it, Shepard," the asari repeats stubbornly, before injecting herself with the stims, motioning for Aria and Morgan to do the same. "Believe until we're dead. While we breathe, we fight."

"T'Soni is right, I didn't come this far to stop, Shepard," Aria gives her a determined stare.

The stims in combination with the two asari expressing such faith in their success starts to slowly affect Morgan as well, making her forget all about their odds, once again bringing the objective of their mission back into the focus. _Relay. Get to the relay. At any cost, get to that relay!_

Anderson's order to begin the charge finally comes. The tanks advance first, the foot soldiers waiting for a few moments before leaving the cover and starting their mad dash towards the relay beam. They have gained perhaps a hundred yards at most when the Harbinger becomes aware of the movement, and the bone chilling thrumming sound of its death ray sweeps across the field, incinerating everything in its wide path.

Unlike in the case of the relatively smaller destroyers, Harbinger is able to fire its particle beam without any interruptions at all, and it sweeps across the battlefield, first aiming to target the tanks that have made the most inroads towards the relay, each blast of the beam taking at least one of the Mako's together with a dozen or so marines. Two from four of the Able company tanks have been destroyed already, the beam just narrowly missing Shepard, Liara and Aria, but many good marines running next to them have been vaporized, leaving behind nothing for burial, not even their tags.

"Don't run directly behind the tanks!" Shepard shouts on the comms, both to her group and Anderson, hoping that he will relay the information further. Fortunately, Liara and Aria are smart enough to have caught onto that already, running slightly behind Morgan. Despite the stims, Morgan is unable to run at full speed, the adrenal boost cannot overcome for the fact that some muscles in her legs simply are torn. Aria and Liara seem to be struggling behind as well, both running with a limp and wincing in pain.

At such close proximity to the particle beam, it is nearly impossible to dodge it if the Harbinger has already selected someone as its target, and the charge becomes a simple game of chance. The apparent leader of the Reaper forces, however, is very methodical in its attacks, removing all the tanks first, and now the beam shoots at another one of the Able company's vehicles, the violent explosion throwing it high in the air and over Shepard's head. Morgan continues to run like mad, knowing that she cannot stop during her charge, for the slightest hesitation could mean instant death, but suddenly, without even being able to see it, she simply feels that Liara and Aria are no longer running behind her. There is only the black smoking wreck of the destroyed tank behind her, where the two asari should be.

This sight does cause her to freeze in her tracks, despite her better judgment, as she switches on the comms. "Liara? Aria? Report... goddamnit, report!" she shouts. "Liara! Liara, are you alright, please report!"

"Shepard... I'm okay... I think..." comes the reply, but it is not the voice she is desperate to hear, instead it is Aria. "Damn, hurts all over... fucking tank buried T'Soni and myself, barely had time to put up our barriers, not that they did much!"

"Liara, what of her, do you see her, is she alright?" Shepard mutters frantically, continuing to move ahead, but without much focus or purpose, her attention solely on the wellbeing of her beloved.

"We're pinned under the tank... can't see much, got hit in the face... argh! Damn it, my eye, they took out my eye!" Aria screams on the comms, pain and anger in equal measure. "They... they will pay for this... T'Soni... I can touch her... seems out cold."

"Aria... so help me god, I'm going to..."

"She just groaned when I punched her, Shepard, she'll be alright unless that fucker fires on us again," if Aria's words are intended to bring reassurance, they fail horribly.

"That's it, I'm coming back for her," Shepard growls, stopping her run, about to turn back.

"No! No, don't you dare, Shepard!" Aria hisses. "You will keep running for the relay, you will get to the Citadel, do what the fuck you need to do, and you'll save Tevos and the girls. If you don't do that... I'm going to take my pistol and blow T'Soni's brains out, I swear!"

"Fuck... you wouldn't... fuck!" Morgan hesitates, unsure whether Aria is bluffing or not, then deciding that the Pirate Queen doesn't really have anything to lose anymore at this point, so she might as well be telling the truth. "Aria, you're a complete bitch, do you know that?" she shouts on the comms. "I'm running! You take care of Liara, you hear?"

"I will, just get going, Shepard!" Aria yells back.

Shepard's renewed charge proves very short-lived, however. The particle beam that now takes out the last of the Able Company tanks passes very close to her, the searing heat catching Morgan even despite her best attempts to dodge it. Her entire right side feels as if it has been dipped in boiling lava, the armor damaged from the brief impact, melting and cracking together with her raw and blistering skin now fused to the hardsuit, forcing her to scream in agonizing pain, the intense spike almost making her pass out. Screaming obscenities, tears streaming down her blood soaked face, Shepard pulls herself towards the wreck of a gunship ahead of her, with her last vestiges of strength throwing herself in the cover, resting with her back against the burned hull and continuing to time and time again cry out from the terrible pain of her burns.

"Has anyone made it through yet?" she hears Anderson's voice on the comms, just barely recognizing it, her senses too dulled from the pain.

"Negative, sir!" it sounds like the voice of Major Coats, though she is not completely sure. "We are not getting nowhere near! Permission to retreat and link up with the fourth wave?"

"Permission denied!" Anderson shouts, his reply predictable. "It's now or never, soldiers! We need to get to that relay, and we need to do it now! The fleets are counting on it!"

_Well... I can hardly move... someone else will just have to do it,_ Morgan thinks, even as she begins to propel herself back to her feet, every little movement making her wince in pain. She grabs another pack of stims, injecting it without much thought about consequences of overdose, chuckling darkly as the conviction of her own inevitable death grows stronger again. _It's not that far... _she thinks, peering out from behind the gunship. There are some husks and marauders crowding the relay as well, but nothing too bad._ Less than two hundred yards. Will probably take me thirty seconds or so, maybe more... damn, that's too much, the Harbinger will get me for sure... _

As she is about to leave her cover and resume her stumbling towards the relay, the comm link comes to life again. She blinks her tired eyes, struggling to believe just who is trying to contact her. "Javik, you bastard... I know what you did to James... how could you?" she blurts out, not letting the Prothean say a word.

"Irrelevant. James had to be sacrificed. I had to slip away from the battle undetected, Commander," Javik speaks quickly. "I evaded the Reapers to reach the tanks of this Foxtrot Company. They were wiped out, but I managed to kill the remaining Reapers before they destroyed the tanks. I have six Thanix missiles primed to launch at the Harbinger."

"They won't even make a dent, you know that!"

"That is not my intention, Commander. But it might distract the Reaper long enough to give some of the troops time to reach the relay," Javik says.

Shepard ponders the idea quietly. "He will target your position, Javik. The chances of survival are... minimal," she finally speaks.

"Don't waste your time explaining the obvious, Commander," she can hear Javik snorting on the comms. "I am prepared to sacrifice everything to see the Reapers destroyed. Tell me that you are committed to do so as well, and I will launch the missiles."

"I am ready, Javik," Morgan replies without much thought. _Farewell, Liara. Perhaps I can at least save this galaxy for you to be happy in, even if it won't be with me... that's not even important. Only you are._ "You're a hell of a soldier, Prothy. I'm sorry it took me so long to realize it."

"Appreciate it, Commander," Javik replies. "Now start running, you useless human! Launching missiles in five!"

Shepard smiles inwardly at Javik's final attempt to motivate her, jumping out of her cover well before the first missiles have been fired and beginning to charge. Harbinger is currently busy blasting something on the wing in which Major Coats is leading his attack, and it seems as if the monstrous capital ship is about to turn towards her, but at that exact moment, the first missiles reach the giant Reaper, managing something akin a light tickle through its impressive kinetic barriers, but it is enough to capture Harbinger's attention. The other missiles are well on their way by the time the Reaper opens fire at Javik's position, and Shepard hears a quiet grunt and sounds of violent explosions on the still open comms.

However, the plan appears to be working, Harbinger fires several more particle beams at the Foxtrot Company position and Morgan is already well on her way sprinting towards the relay, less than fifty yards remaining. Holding the Carnifex in her left hand and shooting wildly at the swarm or Reaper troops spreading loosely around the relay, she withdraws grenades with her right hand and tosses them at the cluster of marauders, watching with satisfaction as they drop like flies.

But even if the Harbinger does not manage to get a shot at her, the sheer numbers of the cannibals and marauders surrounding the relay prove too much for her. Harbinger's particle ray has not only ruined her armor, it has destroyed her field generator, meaning that her tech barriers have failed. She is completely defenseless against the barrage of shots, striking her chest, legs, barrage of bullets ripping her midsection open as she falls towards the relay, grievously injured, darkness taking her and she does not even feel her tortured body getting pulled into the relay and propelled towards the Citadel, in the sky above...


	123. The End of the Cycle

_A/N: So, uh... this is where I would like to remind everyone that there isn't a big 'THE END' caption at the bottom of the page. And the credits aren't rolling either. Like they would do if this was the goddamn game. _

**Chapter 122 - The End of the Cycle**

"What's happening, Garrus?" Tali asks anxiously, hiding behind one of the destroyed tanks from the companies of the third wave, nervously staring at the turian. Garrus does not answer immediately, observing the field of corpses ahead of them, planning on how to best advance across this battleground of death.

"Not sure..." the turian replies, sounding ponderous. "Harbinger is still there, but it doesn't seem to be firing anymore... maybe it wiped out everyone around the relay?"

"Do we still advance? What are the orders?" Tali asks again, her voice rising a pitch higher with nervousness.

"Let's see if I can... no wait, there's a signal coming in from the command," Garrus speaks, reading the incoming message on his omni-tool. "It's Major Coats. He claims that someone has made it through to the relay and taken the beam to the Citadel."

"It was Shepard... I'm sure it was her," Tali breathes out in relief.

"According to the reports, it was Admiral Anderson," Garrus grinds out. "We have our orders to retreat back to safety."

"I am no longer receiving biometric readings from Commander Shepard's hardsuit," EDI reports, forcing both Tali and Garrus to face her with shocked, disbelieving stares. "It is possible that her armor is too severely damaged or she has taken the relay to the Citadel and some kind of interference is preventing me from receiving her readings."

"It's probably the last, EDI," Garrus sighs. "Shepard just has to have made it up there, after having brought the entire galaxy together for this final push."

"Her vital readings were decreasing rapidly before I lost them completely," EDI elaborates, and this time Tali and Garrus do not reply with a single word, only exchanging gloomy stares, forced to face the very real possibility that their dearest friend might not have survived this final assault.

"What... what about the others?" Tali eventually manages.

"Lieutenant Vega and Javik are amongst the casualties. I am still detecting life signs of Dr. T'Soni and Aria T'Loak not far from our position. The readings are weak, but stable," EDI reports.

"Screw these orders to retreat, I'm going after our friends!" Garrus exclaims, about to dart forward, throwing all caution to the wind. "And look!" he then points ahead, towards the relay. The Harbinger is not only no longer firing at them, it is preparing to leave the field of battle, floating upwards and retreating. "That bastard is fleeing, now's our chance to get to Liara and Aria!"

"Damn it, I bet it's going back up there to stop the Crucible from docking..." Tali sighs, getting up and about to follow Garrus. "Just because Anderson got to the relay doesn't mean we've won yet..."

"Nor does it mean that the Reapers have given up on the battle here," EDI remarks, pointing to their left. The thrumming roar of a Reaper particle beam being fired resounds close by, red wave of destruction surging through the battlefield and catching one of the salarian specialists, choosing to retreat at the wrong time. There is a destroyer very close to their positions, with another giant tentacle monster a little behind the first one. "That is no doubt the reason why Major Coats has ordered a retreat."

"Well, I don't care about his orders, our friends are still out there, injured!" Garrus exclaims defiantly. "If there's one thing I have learned from Shepard, it's that we don't leave anyone behind. Now, who's with me?"

Tali nods immediately, even if her posture is full of fear as she looks at the advancing destroyers. "You need not ask, Garrus, I will follow you," she adds, both then looking at EDI.

"My potential non-functionality could only be caused by the destruction of the Normandy, and my hardware aboard the ship," their synthetic friend replies. "The destruction of this platform would be unfortunate, but it would not threaten my core systems."

"Well, just because you can't die like we can, we're not going to deliberately throw you in harm's way to increase our own survival odds, EDI," Tali says softly. "You are our friend."

"I thank you for your words, Tali'Zorah," EDI replies, bowing her head. "But time is of essence if we wish to rescue Dr. T'Soni and the esteemed Queen of Omega..."

* * *

"All ships, this is Admiral Hackett. The Crucible is on the move. I repeat, the Crucible is on the move," hearing Hackett's voice on the comms makes Lia'Vael tremble with chills of anticipation, goose bumps breaking all over her skin under the tightly clinging suit. "All fleets converge on the Crucible! Protect it at all costs. Everyone... this is it!"

"Keelah... look at that thing..." the young quarian gasps, seeing the massive ancient super-weapon, result of cooperation between the brightest minds of the entire galaxy slowly being escorted towards the Citadel, protected by the already fairly depleted Turian Seventh Fleet. The Normandy, along with some of the human and asari fleets have moved to aid them, leaving the rest of their ships behind to protect the space around the Citadel.

"We have reports that someone has made it to the Citadel," Samantha Traynor's voice cuts in on the comms. "It's... Admiral Anderson? I... but..." The young specialist falls silent for a moment, struggling to speak. "As... as soon as he opens the station's arms, we will need to make sure that... that the Crucible can be docked."

"What... what happened to the Commander? And the others?" Lia'Vael asks in a trembling voice, sparing a brief look at the holographic orb representing EDI, appearing next to her.

"Commander Shepard is currently MIA," EDI replies, perhaps it is some glitch in her protocols and algorithms that prevents her from stating the logical extrapolation that Shepard has more than likely perished. "I can confirm that Lieutenant James Vega and Javik have been killed in action. The others have suffered various injuries, and at my request, Dr. Michel stands ready in the medbay."

"This can't be... Shepard was supposed to make it to the Citadel and save us all, not Anderson!" Traynor still sounds distraught on the comms. "I... refuse to accept this."

"I can't believe it either... but we must focus on doing our part and hope that the others do theirs," Lia'Vael speaks, activating the firing controls as the Normandy joins a dozen of other frigates and cruisers currently targeting one of the destroyers that had approached the Crucible too close for comfort. After managing to take out several frigates, the destroyer is finally blown to bits, and both Lia'Vael and Samantha breathe heavily in relief, but their joy is short-lived.

"Several destroyers and a Sovereign-class capital ship incoming on the Crucible position!" EDI informs them sharply, the fleets immediately scrambling to counter. "All fleets have been recalled to prevent them from destroying the Crucible!"

The red particle beams light up the sky once again, most of them aimed at the Crucible, but each and every shot hitting the defending ships of the galactic fleet, entire crews sacrificing themselves just to preserve the Crucible. The Destiny's Ascension is there as well, acting like a massive shield, absorbing the attacks of three destroyers at once, and beginning to feel it, the surface of the super-dreadnaught beginning to rock with explosions as its kinetic barriers fail.

But now the fleets arrive in full strength, as much as remains of them, barely counting over six thousand ships. The Destiny's Ascension limps to safety as other ships take its place in the firing line, all humans, asari, turians, quarians, equally ready to throw their lives away for the sake of preserving their one chance at victory. And under the assault of six thousand ships, the Reaper forces are starting to crumble as well, the destroyers falling one by one, however, the capital ship is an entirely different matter. It has already destroyed close to three dozens of ships, meticulously punching its way through to the Crucible, and about to get a clear shot at the super-weapon.

"Get the Crucible out of there, NOW!" they can hear Hackett screaming on the comms. "Any available ships, block their attacks or everything is lost!"

In horror, Lia'Vael and Samantha Traynor watch as the capital ship's firing chamber ignites, about to destroy the Crucible and with it the last chance for this galaxy, when suddenly an Alliance dreadnaught appears as if out of nowhere, putting itself in the line of fire. It takes several beams from the capital ship's firing chamber to eventually destroy the Alliance vessel, the massive dreadnaught bursting in a fiery bright explosion, but by that time, the Crucible is well out of the capital ship's firing range, in relative safety, about to reach the Citadel.

"I... we seem to have received a burst transmission from the dreadnaught before it was destroyed..." Lia'Vael says quietly.

"What was it, tell us," Samantha demands urgently.

"'Tell my child that I love her...' and nothing else after that..."

"That was the SSV Orizaba," EDI informs them tonelessly, Traynor turning pale as chalk from realization. "The ship was under the command of Rear Admiral Hannah Shepard."

* * *

When Shepard finally snaps back to consciousness, she is unsure what has awakened her and how much time she has spent passed out. She remembers having plunged her mangled frame into the relay, and so she assumes that she has arrived on the Citadel, but after opening her eyes she is not certain just where on the Citadel she finds herself now. The room is sinking in darkness, and she can sense grotesque shapes moving about, instinctive shudder passing through her as she assumes them to be Reapers, but upon further inspection she realizes that they are the harmless and benevolent keepers of the Citadel.

_What the hell are they doing..._ she ponders, trying to focus on something else, her surroundings, instead of thinking about the terrible, sharp pain coursing through her ruined shape. _They seem to be dragging something... my god... corpses, those are human corpses... all these piles around me, dead bodies transported here from London... _

_Can't do anything for them, though. But there was something I was supposed to do... damn, wish I could remember what... oh right, I do remember. Opening the arms of the station! _She gingerly tries to move her head, then her arms, both responding though the pain that even the slightest movement causes her is excruciating. _Those implants are probably hard at work... but I'm not sure they can fix all this... don't feel so good, really. Wonder if I can even rise... _

"Shepard!" suddenly she hears a whisper, it feels so pervasive as if it was originating within her own mind, even if the voice is oddly recognizable. "Shepard! Do you read me, soldier?"

There's no doubt anymore. It is Anderson, up here on the Citadel as well. _Good. If I don't make it, and I don't think I will, at least he can get those arms open._ "David... you made it too?" she asks, not recognizing her own voice, weak and raspy.

"Yes, but I must have come up in a different place, I don't see you anywhere, Shepard," Anderson responds. "Are you alright, Commander? You don't sound too good."

"They got me, David. They got me real bad," she replies quietly. "I... I'll try to get up... see if I can walk..." The next half-minute is spent in desperate struggles to first propel herself up on her knees, grunting and struggling not to scream, finally being able to observe the punishment she has taken just prior to jumping through the relay. There is not an inch of her body that doesn't look to be coated with blood, and her stomach has been ripped open in a way that makes her want to throw up as she sees something sticky and disgusting poking out of her belly, being forced to press her left hand against the repugnant, slippery... thing trying to escape from the wound, pushing it back in where it belongs.

"Shepard... gods, don't you have any medi-gel?" Anderson asks, sounding distraught as he is forced to listen to her screams on the comm link as she finally pushes herself up on her feet, taking the first slow step, trying not to fall on the human remains scattered throughout the chamber.

"Too late for that David... swimming in medi-gel and stims already..." she croaks on the comms. "I'm moving, though. Think I... see the exit. We need to hurry up, sir. I... don't have much time left to me..."

"Don't think like that, soldier!" Anderson tells her, trying to urge her on by sounding stern, but his voice carries to much concern and sorrow to be effective. "I just reached the exit of a dark hallway, full of human remains."

"I'm in... one like that... looks like... Collector base. Making Reaper here... I think..." Shepard grunts out the words.

"Whoa... one of the walls here just realigned itself," Anderson reports. "The whole place is... shifting, changing. I can see chasm here, and more hallways like the one I was in."

"Try to... get to... Citadel control..." Shepard breathes, each step taken a sheer agony. "...open arms..."

"Take your time, soldier," Anderson replies softly. "I'm crossing that chasm now, Shepard... there's something up ahead, might be the Citadel controls."

"Don't wait... will take... a while..." Morgan croaks, fighting waves of weakness and nausea, as blood and perhaps something more than just blood slips through her palm pressed against the abdominal wound and sloshes on the ground below, as she continues to drag herself forward one step at a time, finally arriving at the chasm that Anderson had described a while ago.

"I think I see it, Shepard, there's some sort of control panel here... let me check it out." There's a brief pause in the communications, while Shepard continues to pull herself forward, the injuries likely too severe for her implants to compensate for. "I've got it, Shepard!" Anderson exclaims after a while, sounding relieved, almost triumphant. "The arms are opening! God, this is-"

Suddenly, his voice is cut off and static becomes the only noise she hears on the comms. "Anderson?" Shepard croaks, for a moment forgetting to keep moving, worried at this sudden break in broadcast. "Damn it," she swears, resuming moving and trying to drag herself forward slightly faster, feeling loss of consciousness approaching rapidly as a result of her increased effort. _Not that I can do much to help Anderson if he has ran into some kind of trouble..._ she realizes, still using her free right hand to draw her Carnifex, ineffectually continuing to press the left hand against the gaping wound.

She finally crosses the chasm and begins to climb up, towards a platform that Anderson had described before, and where the control panel should be located. The sights that open to her eyes as she climbs are breathtaking and frightening, but her current condition does not allow her to focus much on the way the Citadel arms are slowly parting, revealing the space battle taking place around the Citadel, the sky littered with debris from destroyed ships, fiery explosions and weapons fire lighting up the sky, and below them, there is Earth, still burning, still devastated.

The few final steps until she reaches the edge of the platform are the most difficult, Morgan is staggering heavily, about to fall over from the effort. Slowly, she looks up to see Anderson standing next to the control panel, not moving a muscle, not saying a word, and the reason for his lack of reaction reveals itself shortly. Another man steps out from behind Anderson, pointing a heavy pistol against the admiral's temples, giving Morgan a stare full of smug condescension before he begins to speak.

"It appears I almost underestimated you, Shepard," The Illusive Man, or what has been left of him, addresses her. In his current state, he looks almost like Saren did shortly before he met his demise, the Reaper influence and corruption spreading along with the cybernetics the Illusive Man has implanted himself with. _Shit, we forgot all about Cerberus again! I should have expected this from the way he hadn't showed up until now..._

"I had to wait considerable time for you to get here and open these arms for me. If I had done it myself before someone else had made it to the Citadel, the Alliance would have become suspicious," Tim explains, looking very satisfied with himself. "As for now... the Crucible is about to begin docking."

The intense hatred for the Illusive Man for a moment seems to blind Shepard's pain, and she cranes her head just a little to the side to see that indeed, the Prothean super-weapon is slowly being moved into position, the smaller research vessels with scientists and engineers swarming around it, ensuring that the docking procedure is completed smoothly, while what remains of the galactic fleets continues to hold one last desperate line of defense.

"And once I have access to the Crucible... our research shows that reconfiguring it to do exactly what I want it to do is a very simple process," the Illusive Man continues, no doubt eager to continue with his villain's exposure, his vanity seeking to receive admiration from his adversaries even at a moment like this.

"What is he talking about, Shepard?" Anderson asks, glancing briefly at the Illusive Man, considering his chances to break free, but Tim is careful enough not to give him the opportunity.

"He wants to... control the Reapers..." Morgan grinds out.

"Is... that even possible?" Anderson looks and sounds positively shocked.

"It is..." Shepard replies, staggering again, falling on her knee, feeling something slip through the fingers of her left hand again and she briefly wonders just how she is still able to function.

"Controlling the Reapers is the only way we should stop this war," Tim speaks again, eager to elaborate on his grand and yet deeply flawed designs for humanity. "Having the Reapers under our control will allow us to make another technological leap, there will be no limits to what the humanity could achieve!"

"He needs to be stopped, Shepard," Anderson says firmly.

"I do not think Shepard is in a state to stop me, Admiral," Tim replies confidently. "She is clinging to the last shreds of life, about to expire. A pity, I had hoped that she would be around to witness my vision for humanity being fulfilled."

"He's right..." Shepard manages. "Not... much time..."

"Then do it, Shepard," Anderson speaks, looking grim and resolute. "In fact, I order you to."

"You... can't ask me to..." Morgan replies, still holding her Carnifex raised, even if she knows that her aim is seriously impaired. _I know what he's suggesting... he's telling me to risk and take the shot... _

"I don't know what you two are talking about, but I think you might want to lower that weapon, Shepard, or the admiral here will meet with an unfortunate accident. He is inconsequential to my plans anyway," Tim threatens them.

"Shoot your hostage... and there will be nothing... left stopping me... from shooting you," Morgan croaks, exhausted from having to put together such a long sentence.

"What are you waiting for, Shepard! Do it!" Anderson exclaims, frustrated.

_I'm dying, I know that for certain. But I can help save the galaxy before I die. Just this one more sacrifice..._ "I'm sorry, David..." she whispers.

"Don't be. You did good, child," he only smiles warmly in reply.

And then she is firing shot after shot, the Carnifex threatening to jump out of her trembling hands, Anderson and the Illusive Man caught in a struggle, before Tim's pistol goes off as well, first aimed at Anderson, then he slowly turns it towards her, but one of the many shots unloaded by her Carnifex catches Tim in his cybernetic-covered forehead. _In success, redemption. In death, release._

Two bodies slump on the floor and she struggles back to her feet, towards them and the control panel. The Crucible seems to be in position by now, and the Citadel arms fully opened. Everything appears to be ready to fire the ancient super-weapon, but Morgan is not sure whether she should make the attempt before getting the all clear from someone in charge. And then there's the matter of figuring out the controls... _I guess including a manual would have been too much to ask,_ she grumbles at herself, looking for a 'Press This To Save The Galaxy' button.

"Citadel Control, is anyone there? Citadel Control?" she suddenly hears Admiral Hackett's voice. "Come in, Citadel Control! Anderson, are you there?"

"Sir? This is... Shepard," she manages weakly. "I regret to inform... Anderson is dead..."

"Dead? Damn it! We thought you had perished, Shepard," Hackett sounds distraught. "But you do sound badly injured, Commander. How are you?"

"...not so good, Steven," Morgan replies, feeling more and more contents of her bowels slipping through her fingers and escaping, not daring to look below at the bloody mess. "Not so good."

"There's just one final thing I need to ask of you, Shepard," Hackett tells her. "The Crucible is ready to fire, Commander. I am uploading the instructions on how to activate it. While you do so, I will be ordering the ships to retreat to a safe distance... just in case."

"Yeah... good idea..." Morgan agrees, starting to look over the instructions being forwarded by Hackett. Fortunately they are simple enough, and she quickly presses the correct combination of commands to reroute Citadel's power to combine it with the Crucible. _Even if by some miracle this thing doesn't blow the whole Citadel up, I know I'm done for... just a shame about all those good people stuck here... Bailey, Rila, Falere, Tevos and the other councilors... and millions others... if there had been a way to save them, but... it seems we're bound to rely on blind luck..._

"The fleets have retreated, Shepard," Hackett informs her a few minutes later, as she patiently waits and hopes that she doesn't pass out in the very last moment before activating the Prothean super-weapon. "You may fire when ready, Commander. And Shepard... if this thing backfires... I want you to know, I couldn't have been more proud having served alongside you. Despite our differences, there is nobody else I admire as I admire you."

"Thank you... sir. The feeling is... mutual..." Morgan manages, entering the last of the commands, immediately feeling a steady, low hum echoing through the entire space station, slowly beginning to charge up its energy before transmitting it through the Crucible.

Her job finally complete, Commander Morgan Shepard gently lowers herself on the ground, next to Anderson's body, reaching out to take his limp hand, one of the bullets of her Carnifex probably having killed her old friend, but so close to death, she cannot feel any guilt or remorse, knowing that in a matter of moments she will be relieved of all her horrible decisions, along with their weight and the guilt they have burdened her with.

No, her thoughts are elsewhere, as she lays on the floor, watching the Crucible slowly starting to glow as the energy builds up. _Liara, light of my life, this is for you. I give my life so that you can continue to live out yours... and I hope you will make the most of it, my love. Remember me, and what we shared... but don't let the memories drag you down, learn to love and be loved again..._

The Crucible is starting to shake, emanating with pure, cleansing red light, the energy about to be released and Morgan Shepard closes her eyes, anticipating the inevitable explosion with one last thought.

_I didn't do this for Earth, for the galaxy, or just because it was the right thing to do. _

_No... I did this all for you, Liara._


	124. Compassion of the Queen

_Caution: The effects of the RED BEAM may vary from the game to the way it is presented in this story. I think that in my story it is actually slightly more ORANGE than RED. _

**Chapter 123 - Compassion of the Queen**

"We've got reports of a strong Reaper force preparing to make one final push," Samantha Traynor urgently announces from the Normandy CIC. "The Hammer command post informs us that the Harbinger has left London to rejoin attack on the Crucible, and it is accompanied by a dozen more Reaper ships!"

"Keelah, oh why is that thing not firing yet!" Lia'Vael exclaims, staring at the Citadel, and the Crucible attached to it, like a tiny glowing spider in the middle of a large web.

"Energy spike from the Crucible power relays detected," EDI reports suddenly, the ancient super-weapon together with the rest of the Citadel slowly beginning to bask in a warning red glow. "Discharge in approximately forty-five seconds."

"Should we... I don't know, be here, when it fires?" Lia'Vael asks, unable to keep a little hint of panic from creeping into her voice, especially as she sees the Harbinger and the other Reapers drawing closer, soon to reach the firing range from which they can begin targeting the Crucible and the Citadel.

As if on cue, Admiral Hackett's orders come loud and clear on the comms. "All fleets except the Alliance First, drop to the safe zone immediately! First Fleet, protect the Crucible at all costs! Everyone else, retreat immediately!"

"I guess that answers our questions," Samantha mutters hurriedly. "Lia, get us out of here, now!"

"On it!" Lia'Vael shouts back, quickly getting the Normandy ready for a short range FTL jump. The last thing she sees before the ship escapes the close proximity of the Crucible, is the red glow around the Citadel intensifying and Harbinger and the other Reapers opening their fire, but the Alliance ships throw themselves in their path again, one last sacrifice before the Crucible is able to discharge the accumulated energy.

For a while, everything is silent and calm. "Well... did it work?" Traynor finally asks, holding her breath.

"Yes, it worked. The Crucible has fired. The energy beam appears to be aimed towards the Charon Relay," EDI reports. "I would extrapolate that it is intended to use the relay system to amplify and discharge the energy through the entire network of relays."

"But what about the Reapers, have they been..." Lia'Vael's question is cut short, as suddenly a strange surge of bright red energy is upon them, rocking the Normandy as it passes through and by them, spreading across the entire Sol System. "Keelah... what was that?"

"I think that wave was supposed to have wiped out the Reapers..." Samantha replies slowly. "Not sure if it worked, I'm trying to raise the fleet command... did it cause any damage to the Normandy, Lia?"

"I'm... uncertain..." Lia'Vael nar Ulnay replies, slowly and hesitantly. "Everything seems fine, however... I have lost control of several systems, and... EDI, could you check whether... uh, EDI?"

Samantha suddenly feels herself gripped by cold fear. "Don't tell me, Lia... EDI appears offline..."

"Yes... EDI is offline. Do you know why?"

"She was created while being heavily based on Reaper code, so... if the Crucible was supposed to destroy the Reapers, it might have not... made the distinction between EDI and... our enemies," Traynor replies slowly, trying hard not to break out in sobs.

"I... I had no idea... oh no, I can't believe this..." Lia'Vael is not doing as good a job at controlling her emotions and Samantha Traynor quickly abandons the CIC, rushing to the bridge, moments later pulling the distraught quarian into her embrace, finally allowing her own tears to fall.

* * *

"This is madness, you know that, Garrus?" Tali asks, as they gently edge forward to where according to EDI's reports, Liara and Aria lay injured, the two nearby destroyers still continuing to aim their particle beams at anyone moving towards the Citadel relay.

"Perhaps you should have retreated to safety," EDI nods in agreement. "As I told you before, the destruction of this platform would not equal my non-functionality, unlike if you were to be blasted by the Reaper beam."

"A little pointless to debate about that now," the turian replies, watching the destroyer movement warily. Both sentient machines of destruction have started to move across the battlefield, leaving them trapped in the middle between the two Reapers, and they patiently wait for the giant monstrosities to pass on by before they begin their sprint onwards.

"I believe our friends have been trapped under that tank directly ahead of us," EDI says, pointing ahead.

"Still not getting anything from Liara on the comms," Tali says, shrugging. "At least the life signs are still stable... I hope?"

"They are," EDI replies. "You may wish to look directly above us. I believe the sight might be considered as an... encouraging sign."

"Keelah! The Citadel's arms are opening!" Tali breathes out. "The Admiral has done it! They can dock the Crucible now!"

"Or Shepard has done it... I refuse to believe that she is dead," Garrus says sternly. "Anyway, Tali, have you tried reaching Aria on the comms?"

"I, err, haven't tried, but... uh, could you, Garrus?" Tali asks hesitantly. "She's a little..."

"Oh... scary and intimidating?" Garrus chuckles, watching his lover reply with an embarrassed nod. "It's okay, Tali, I'll handle it," he says, activating the comms. "Aria? Aria, do you copy? This is Archangel, coming to valiantly rescue you!"

The first few sentences that Garrus hears in reply are composed entirely out of swearwords, and he winces just from listening to the long and colorful litany. "Ah, you're alright then, Aria, my dear," he chuckles in reply. "We see the tank you're slacking under, don't worry. What about Liara, is she unconscious? We can't raise her on the comms." There is more buzz on the comms as Aria elaborates, this time using less swearing. "Right, I see. We're on our way as soon as the destroyers move past our position. Just sit tight and don't make a lot of noise." More and more swearing accompanies that last message, Garrus rolling his eyes as he listens to Aria's outbreak. "That was definitely a lot of noise, Aria. See you in five, darling."

"Garrus, do you want to die?" Tali hisses, her posture radiating incredulity. "Speaking with Aria T'Loak like that, are you mad?"

"Eh, I'm sure she won't mind after we've rescued her," Garrus replies, shrugging his shoulders.

After a few more minutes of agonizing waiting, the destroyers finally do move past and they break out of their cover and begin sprinting towards the destroyed tank, Garrus and EDI grabbing a loose piece of the hull and trying to lift the vehicle, while Tali stands by ready to pull the two injured asari from their entrapment under the tank. After a lot of huffing and puffing from Garrus, but mostly due to EDI's actual effort, the tank is slowly lifted off the ground and Tali peers under it, first noticing Aria, curled in a tight little ball, reaching a hand out to the Pirate Queen but finding it batted away angrily. "Get T'Soni out, I can help myself," Aria exclaims, pulling herself out from under the ruined vehicle.

Tali squeezes almost completely under the damaged tank, praying to the ancestors that her friends do not let the vehicle drop, grabbing Liara by her shoulders and beginning to pull her out, slowly, trying not to worsen her friend's considerable injuries. Liara responds to her efforts with a series of groans, eventually being pulled out to safety, but her condition makes for a sad sight, the asari is almost entirely coated in a mix of blood and mud, clearly requiring more serious medical attention than they are able to provide on the spot.

"Spirits, Aria... your face," Garrus manages, looking at the Pirate Queen, the asari remaining to sit on her knees and breathing heavily, trying to gather her bearings and recover her strength. There's a deep scar across the left side of her face, something has cut her and also taken out her eye in the process, her cheek and chin all coated in blood.

"Yes, I'm aware of that. I won't be winning any more Miss Omega contests, that's a given," she snaps back, irritated, then looking up skywards, letting out a small gasp at the sight before her. "What the fuck is going on up there?" she asks, seeing that the Citadel's arms are now opened wide, the entire space station bathed in bright red glow.

"I am receiving constant updates from the fleet command," EDI replies, scanning Liara for injuries, the asari drifting in and out of consciousness as Tali does her best to clean and dress her injuries to prevent any chance of infection. "The Crucible has docked on the Citadel and is ready to be activated."

"Don't like the looks of that glow," Aria mutters, keeping her sole healthy eye at the Citadel, anticipating the moment of the activation of the Prothean super-weapon.

"That red glow certainly looks ominous, but I am more concerned about Liara," Garrus turns towards EDI and Tali.

"I detect multiple complicated fractures and heavy concussion, but there is nothing life-threatening, no internal bleeding," EDI replies. "She needs proper medical care to avoid infection from setting in. Perhaps we will be able to call in the Normandy for extraction if the Crucible performs according to its specification."

Liara groans once more, finally opening her eyes, the asari appears to be in a lot of pain. "...Shepard..." she breathes out only one word.

Garrus and Tali exchange quick glances, nobody responding immediately. "Someone made it to the Citadel and opened its arms, Liara," finally Garrus speaks. "We think it might have been Shepard."

EDI turns her head towards Garrus, and it looks like the AI is about to correct him, but then deciding to remain silent, almost as if she would have finally understood the importance of hope. "Knew... she would..." Liara manages, despite Tali hushing her, trying to tell her not to overexert her strength.

"The Crucible has been protected from the last attack by the Reapers, and it is about to fire," EDI reports tonelessly, as they all abandon what they have been doing, eyes peeled at the Citadel above, even Liara managing to keep her eyes open, quietly praying that Shepard would survive what is to come.

"...what the fuck is that?" Aria gasps as for a moment the whole giant structure glows bright orange, before firing a massive red beam somewhere into the space. "Was that supposed to hit all the Reapers? Lousy aim if you ask me!" she gesticulates wildly at the nearby destroyers, continuing to stroll around as if nothing had happened.

"That beam was aimed at the Charon Relay," EDI explains. "I believe there is also a secondary wave of energy released by the Crucible that is about to reach us... now."

Suddenly everything around them glows bright red, the feeling as if some kind of unperceivable cleansing wave blows by them, but it lasts only a few seconds and then it is gone, moving on, sweeping across the surface of the entire planet. Realizing that he has instinctively taken Tali's hand in his, fearing that this wave would vaporize them all, Garrus releases his lover's hand, turning towards the destroyers and watching them both stagger, unable to walk, ripples of bright red lightning crackling across the surface of the monstrous creatures, before they topple over and collapse unmoving, one of them nearly falling backwards and on top of them.

"Bloody hell, I didn't believe it would work," Aria says, her sole healthy eye blinking in surprise.

"They've done it... spirits, they've done it..." Garrus exclaims, unable to believe his eyes.

While everyone's attention is on watching the destroyers crumbling to the ground lifeless, Liara's eyes are chained on EDI. Their synthetic friend has gone completely silent after the red energy pulse blew by them. Her eyes have closed and while she remains standing upright, there seems to be something wrong with her. "EDI!" Liara lets out a scream as she finally sees the AI's platform slowly toppling forward and collapsing heavily in the mud, unmoving, rendered completely inactive.

"Keelah... EDI, what is wrong with EDI?" Tali gasps, abandoning Liara for a moment and jumping to EDI's side, bringing up her omni-tool to make some quick scans, but they all show the same thing, EDI is offline and unresponsive. "...she was built using the Reaper code, wasn't she? Oh... oh, no... that means the Crucible would have..."

"Destroyed her..." Liara whispers, tears starting to flow across her cheeks freely.

"Perhaps we will find a way to bring her back?" Garrus asks, trying to remain hopeful, but Tali shakes her head.

"I doubt that, Garrus. Her personality matrix was so deeply engrained within the Reaper code that if we did reactivate it, she would retain very few of the traits that... made her the EDI we knew and loved..." she explains, her heart breaking in sorrow as she moves back to sit next to Liara, pulling her asari friend to rest in her lap, soothingly wrapping her arms around Liara.

As they are still overcome by shock and grief of EDI's sudden collapse, Aria lets out a scream of rage and anguish. Knowing that the Pirate Queen clearly would not be so upset over EDI's demise, the others notice that she is still looking skyward, also raising their faces towards the sky, shuddering from the view opening before their eyes. The Citadel is rocking with explosions following the discharge of the Crucible beam, and one of the arms has already shattered into millions of pieces, the whole structure looking as if it is about to come apart.

"No... no, this cannot be happening!" Tali exclaims, horrified. "All those people!"

"Shepard..." Liara manages, shivering frantically. "Get to her... please... save her..."

"For once you have the right idea, T'Soni!" Aria jumps to her feet, shrugging off the pain that grips her damaged frame. "Where the fuck is that relay? I've got to get up there!"

"Are you crazy, Aria? The whole thing is coming apart!" Garrus rises with her, giving the asari an incredulous stare.

"Don't even try to stop me, Vakarian," Aria snarls at him, enraged that he would attempt to stop or discourage her. "I came here with the sole purpose to save those few I care about, and if I give up on them now, this whole venture would have been a complete waste. So stay out of my way, or I swear I am going to give you the beating you deserve for crossing me back on Omega!"

"Go with her, Garrus..." Liara speaks quietly. "Get Shepard out of there... please..."

Garrus hesitates for a moment, but Tali speaks up for him before the turian can reply. "Liara, I need him to remain here with us, we can't abandon you in the state you're in."

"Aria... Aria, you'll look for Shepard too... won't you?" Liara then faces the other asari with a desperate stare. "Please... I beg you..."

"She's not my priority, T'Soni," Aria replies sharply, but then her features soften a little. "But... I will try to do what I can," she adds, throwing another uncomfortable look at the sky above her where the Citadel is still being wracked by explosions, the tip of another arm slowly starting to disintegrate.

"Please..." Liara manages once more, starting to shake in choking sobs, Tali hugging her tighter and Aria withdraws, before anyone can notice the shadow of emotions, sorrow and sympathy, quickly crossing her face, turning around and starting to run towards the relay leading up towards the Citadel.

* * *

The experience of being pulled through the relay beam, in a matter of moments finding herself in some dark hallway of the Citadel is not something that Aria T'Loak wishes to repeat. Her stomach is heaving violently, and the sights that open before her eyes do not help when she is already feeling ill, barely keeping herself from vomiting. The chamber she has landed in appears to be filled with corpses of humans, but she does not stop to wonder about their purpose of being here, immediately starting to look for an exit out of the chamber.

The Citadel is still being rocked by violent shakes and explosions, but at least the part of the station she has ended up in appears to be sturdy and undamaged, which does not hold true for the next system of walkways she emerges onto, they are partially collapsed and filled with rubble. While walking and jumping across the obstacles in her way, she attempts to contact Tevos on her omni-tool, but there is no response no matter how many times she tries to get through.

Dark thoughts begin to cloud her head, of Tevos possibly having been in the section of the Citadel that had disintegrated following the explosion or of them all having been killed by the Reaper ground forces that would have tried to seize control of the station after its capture. Aria is desperate to make contact with the councilor, but lacking options of how to reach Tevos, she eventually decides to link into the C-Sec comm channel, hoping that one of her many stolen access codes are still working.

There is some chatter on the channel between several officers, and for a while she simply listens, hoping that perhaps the topic of the Council and therefore Tevos will come up, but they never do mention her. Once or twice, she thinks that she recognizes the voice of that insufferable Commander of the C-Sec. _What's his name... Bailey, something? I think. Don't care, really, but if anyone would know about Tevos and the Council, it would be him..._

She stops, deciding to risk it, speaking on the comms. "Commander Bailey of the C-Sec, please respond. This is Aria T'Loak, I must speak with you at once."

The chatter on the channel ceases instantly and for several moments there is a deadly silence, until she hears Bailey's voice, the man sounding rather surprised. "Miss T'Loak, it is certainly unexpected to hear your voice on this channel... if I may inquire, how did you get the access codes to tap into C-Sec communications?"

"Is this really your biggest concern right now, Bailey?" she snarls angrily, unwilling to waste time on trivialities. "Also, engage privacy mode, what I have to say is not for everyone to hear."

"I'm sorry, miss T'Loak, but having a private conversation on the C-Sec channel with someone of your chequered reputation... I'm afraid it is quite impossible. If you have something to say, do so quickly before I have locked you out of this channel," comes the frustrating reply.

Aria grinds her teeth, feeling herself backed into the corner. "Fine. Do you know of the whereabouts of the Council, Commander Bailey?"

"Yes, I do, as a matter of fact," Bailey's reply is prompt. "I am currently together with two of them. Councilor Sparatus assisted me in getting Councilor Tevos to the medical facilities on the Level 33 of Tayseri Ward."

Aria feels her body becoming a little numb from fear she is not accustomed to feeling. "Is she going to make it? I'd hate for the asari to get some new councilor, this bitch owes me a lot of favors," she bluffs, hoping to hide her true interest in Tevos' wellbeing.

"She appears to be in a stable condition for now. Unless the Citadel arm housing the Tayseri Ward is destroyed, we should be fine here," Bailey replies. "That said, the explosions have been growing less frequent... I hope that means that the Citadel is safe once again..."

"Thank you for the information, Commander Bailey," she replies, feeling a great weight falling off her shoulders. "Another question, if I may?"

"Err... sure, miss T'Loak," Bailey replies, sounding a little stunned by how cordial she is being.

"Did you happen to encounter two young asari together with Councilor Tevos?" Aria asks, holding her breath for Rila and Falere.

"Yes... yes, as a matter of fact, we did. They assisted us in the councilor's rescue," Bailey replies. "We have been unable to pull any ID on them. Who are they to you, miss T'Loak?"

_Damn it,_ Aria swears inwardly. _I have exposed myself too much. But I just had to know, it was killing me inside. Damn that Shepard, with her nonsense that these feelings make you stronger, the shit they do! _

_Shepard._ Suddenly her thoughts are drawn to the human woman who has done so much for her in the short amount of time they have known each other. She remembers Liara's face when she begged for her to find the Commander, her lover, her bondmate. The urgency of needing to get to Tevos and the girls is gone, she knows that they are safe with Bailey. _I could try to find and save her, if she's still alive. I... I owe that much to her and T'Soni... they have been... decent to me, even when I hadn't done much to deserve it. They have been... friends. _

"Bailey?" she calls out on the comms. "What is the place from which you can open and close the arms of the Citadel? And how can I get there?"

"Citadel Control... why would you want to go there, miss T'Loak?" comes the suspicious reply.

"Because that's where Shepard must have headed," Aria speaks curtly. "I want to save her if I can."

"That's... very noble of you," Bailey sounds part disbelieving, part shocked. "Allow me to check your coordinates in relation to... heh, would you look at that? You're directly under the platform that houses the control cluster. Good luck, miss T'Loak."

"Thanks, Bailey," she summons her last vestiges of politeness, starting to look around and upwards, seeing the platform that Bailey has referred to, but the connecting walkways are a little too high up to attempt a jump. There is a lot of debris, however, also large metal parts and crates, and with creative use of biotic pulls, Aria quickly arranges the rubble to form a wobbly pyramid, running up it and then launching herself in the air as she reaches the top, shooting out her arms and just about managing to catch the edge of the walkway, leading to the control cluster.

Groaning from the effort, Aria T'Loak pulls herself up on the walkway and then without hesitation quickly runs towards the central platform. The asari's breath catches in her chest as she sees three bodies lying there, unmoving. The first one she comes across is the corpse of the Illusive Man, even if she barely recognizes him, features twisted by the Reaper implants and cybernetics. Seething in anger, she treats the corpse to several savage kicks, tossing it over the edge of the platform and somewhere into the depths, a wet squelchy splatter echoing from deep below.

The next body she comes across is the corpse of Admiral David Anderson, multiple shot wounds in his chest and temples, but Aria is not interested in him, moving towards the last of the bodies... and as soon as she lays her eyes on Shepard's frame, her stomach lurches with disgust and revulsion, the Commander looks more like a shapeless lump of bloodied flesh than a human, all soaked in dark, congealing blood, both her hands pressed against her stomach, but failing to stop its contents from escaping, strewn out over what remains of her armor.

_Nobody can survive that, not even the great Commander Shepard,_ Aria thinks to herself, surprised at the feelings of sorrow and regret washing over her, but then... even if she can hardly believe it, she senses the slightest, most infinitesimal movement of Shepard's chest, dropping down next to the human, startled, shocked that she might not be dead yet. Looking for a pulse she has to search long and hard to finally detect a beat, slow and labored, but at least it is there, even if she shudders to guess for how long.

"Bailey, I don't suppose you could get some med squad to my position, immediately?" she butts into the conversations on the C-Sec channel again, pleasantly surprised that Bailey hasn't locked her access codes out yet.

"Not unless you tell me what's going on," Bailey replies.

"I found Shepard," she says plainly. "I'm not sure how much time she has, her injuries look horrific."

"Gods... I'm sending a team out immediately!"

"Tell them to bring a lot of buckets," Aria says grimly, giving Shepard a sympathetic stare. "There's a lot of her spread out across the floor here... talk about being all over the place..."


	125. Search and Rescue

**Chapter 124 - Search and Rescue**

_We have won this war... but now a different challenge stands before us. To count our losses __and to understand just how much has been sacrificed to ensure this victory,_ Admiral Hackett thinks, standing on the bridge of the SSV Fuji, deep in thought. _To begin rebuilding all that has been destroyed... which in this case is close to starting completely anew, from the scratch..._

The stream of incoming information appears to be never-ending, and his aides do their best to filter out and combine the crucial intel into easily digestible reports. The state of the fleets is the only thing they have a good idea about right now, the Crucible beam that has apparently destroyed all the Reapers, has proved to be harmless to the ships of the galactic fleets, save for those few who happened to be in the direct path of the beam as the energy pulse was being directed towards the Charon Relay.

Hackett feels his brow creasing with worry as he reads the reports that there might be some issues with the relay itself, after it has channeled this powerful surge of energy, sending a request that any research vessels with the Crucible scientists onboard that find themselves near the relay, proceed directly towards it to investigate. The situation groundside is a complete mystery as well, the few reports sent by Major Coats shedding only a brief glimpse of light about the fate of the Hammer forces, and the estimated survival rate below 20% proves difficult for Hackett to stomach. But Earth is more than just London, and they have absolutely zero knowledge of what the situation may be elsewhere.

Reports from the Citadel are becoming more frequent, and it seems as if the massive space station has somehow endured the terrible blast of the Crucible. Between the Reaper invasion and the damage wrought by explosions, the casualties reported are in the millions, and the only thing to console themselves with is the knowledge that it could have been so much worse had the Citadel been destroyed outright. _Our scientists definitely deserve a huge pat on their backs for the Crucible job... the Citadel endured, and the released energy was discharged safely... and we even have reports that Shepard might have survived... _

"Who do we have on the comms, Lieutenant-Commander?" he turns to Takashima, his second in command.

"Rear Admiral Nitesh Singh of the Third Fleet," the small-statured but plucky officer of Japanese ancestry replies immediately. "The First and the Sixth Fleets are currently left without commanding officers, following the deaths of Admiral Ines Lindholm and Rear Admiral Boris Mikhailovich."

Hackett sighs. _Mikhailovich, he was always such a pain in the ass. So eager to lead his own fleet in the final battle... maybe if he hadn't prodded me to give him the command of the Sixth, he would have still been alive now. And Ines... I will miss your wise counsel and quiet insight. May you rest in peace, my friend..._ "Go on, LC," he then urges his XO.

"According to the latest reports, Ambassador Dominic Osoba was killed by... batarian looters on the Citadel," Takashima continues, Hackett admiring her self-control as she reads this frustrating bit of news. "Sir, at this point, we are not certain about the chain of succession, it would appear that all the diplomats still on the Citadel who could have stepped in for Ambassador Osoba are either dead or missing."

"The political structure of the Alliance was all but ruined after we lost Arcturus," Hackett mutters angrily. "Looks like the Reapers just wiped out the last of our politicians on the Citadel, after having indoctrinated all the regional leaders on Earth. Brilliant... just brilliant."

"What is to be done, sir?" Takashima asks.

"The military will simply need to take greater control to make sure that chaos does not break out," Hackett replies sternly. "Our own ambassador murdered by looters... a clear example why we need to remain involved, until order is restored." Takashima simply nods in return, and Hackett continues. "Do we have anyone from the Council or our allied fleets available?"

"Yes, Councilors Valern of the Salarian Union and Sparatus of the Turian Hierarchy are available on the QEC," comes the reply. "Councilor Tevos of the Asari Republics remains in critical condition in a Citadel hospital, and her place will be taken by Matriarch Lidanya, commander of the asari fleets."

"Very well, link them all in," Hackett says, and moments later faces of the other four appear on the screens before him, there is Singh, the small and wiry Indian, looking a bit like a scrawny rat, but there is no mistaking the man's keen intelligence and his legendary ruthlessness, often necessary, but sometimes making Hackett feel rather uncomfortable. Sparatus and Valern appear on the screen together, in the Council chambers, the turian making some kind of insulting remark about the salarian having only just now crawled out from under the desk, to which Valern replies with indignant sputtering. And finally, there is Lidanya, looking grim, regal and wise at once, something about her posture radiating trust and protection.

"My friends, before we begin, allow me to congratulate us all with what seems to be a decisive victory," Hackett begins. "The Reapers are no more, and we have done what hundreds of other cycles before us failed to accomplish. While our losses have been terrible, we can now rebuild this galaxy as we wish, free of fear from this dark legacy of the past."

The others nod grimly, Lidanya the only one to speak up. "A terrible cost indeed, Admiral Hackett. Absorbing the Reaper attacks on the Crucible have crippled the Destiny's Ascension, and killed well over a thousand of my staff... including two lieutenants with whom I had served for over three decades. But at least now we can look forward to returning home and rebuilding our homeworld."

"Ah... there might be a problem with that, Matriarch," Hackett says uncomfortably, hating to disappoint Lidanya in particular. "We are receiving reports that the Crucible beam has left the mass relays damaged... our scientists have been sent to investigate."

Lidanya pales slightly and Valern is left shaking his head, as Sparatus takes up the conversation. "This could be disastrous for our people, if the relays cannot be repaired and we have to remain in Sol System for a prolonged period of time. I do not think we have brought enough food supplies for this kind of contingency... perhaps with the supplies left on the Citadel it will not become a problem."

"We expect you to provide us with more intel as soon as it becomes available, Admiral," Valern adds quickly, looking equally concerned.

"Repairing the relay should be our greatest priority, equal to that of search and rescue of the survivors," Lidanya speaks again, having recovered slightly. "These news will be another blow to the morale of our troops, but the knowledge that we have been victorious should make it bearable."

"Speaking of search and rescue of the injured, can the Citadel accommodate any more patients?" Hackett asks. "The groundside hospitals lack both specialists and supplies, and we are looking to bring those people either to the hospital fleet or the Citadel."

"I believe we have capacity to house extra patients, but we lack the specialists who could treat them. Many on the staff of our hospitals perished during the Reaper invasion," Valern replies. "If there is a surplus of doctors on the hospital fleet, we would appreciate if some of them could be relocated to the Citadel."

"I wouldn't call it a surplus, but we'll see what we can do, Councilor," Lidanya replies.

"In the meantime, I would appreciate if you could confirm the status of your fleets," Hackett then continues. "The Systems Alliance forces have been reduced to 34% of our total strength. 935 ships remain intact. I understand that the asari and the turians have fared slightly better."

"There's not much difference between 34% and 35%, Admiral Hackett. But the 1035 ships left at our disposal are badly damaged," Sparatus shrugs his shoulders numbly. "We will have fewer mouths to feed, which means that perhaps the food supplies will not become such an issue. A terrible thought."

"The asari fleets are at 41% strength, boasting 1025 ships," Lidanya says. "Should we call ourselves fortunate?"

Valern can be seen shifting nervously. "The Third Fleet is still at 47% with 580 ships... of course, considering that the dalatrass did not see fit to assign more dreadnaughts to our fleet, the Reapers understandably ignored the salarian ships."

"One day your dalatrass will answer for her crimes," Admiral Singh, having kept quiet for now, finally joins the discussion, Valern wincing from the comment.

"This is not the topic for this discussion, Admiral Singh," Hackett reminds to his colleague, even if he quietly agrees with the sentiment. "Now, I also have reports of the other fleets, which have not been confirmed yet, but our estimates so far have proven fairly accurate. The hanar, drell, volus and elcor have roughly one hundred and fifty ships remaining between them. The geth have suffered the worst, down to 26% of their capacity, 585 ships remaining. However... they report no casualties as such, insisting that all their programs have been preserved, and the destruction has occurred only on hardware level... whatever that means..."

"They can simply rebuild their platforms and repopulate them with the stored programs, Admiral," Lidanya explains, Hackett wondering just how she has gained such insight into the geth. "Unless they are... removed on a software level, they cannot be destroyed as such."

"Lucky bastards," Sparatus sighs, clearly wishing that his people would also have such a convenient option of resurrection.

"Meanwhile, the quarians have suffered greatly as well," Hackett continues. "Only 1040 ships remain from the over three thousand that left Rannoch, down to 32% of their strength. On top of that, they report severe damage to their sole liveship, the Rayya, which is the reason why Admiral Shala'Raan has not graced us with her presence."

"Damnation," Sparatus curses. "If they lose that ship, then... then we might truly encounter some serious issues with supplies!"

"I'm sure it will not come to that, Councilor," Hackett says. "They denied our offer of assistance, claiming that they can contain the situation on their own. Well... I believe that is the most crucial information I had to share with you at this moment, so let us focus on the most important issues at hand, SAR and investigating the relay."

"There is another issue that will need to be addressed soon, Admiral," Sparatus continues. "Not all the krogan forces we brought here on our ships from Palaven were deployed with the Hammer ground squads. Plenty were held back in reserve, and they are now stuck onboard of our vessels. We are running out of sedatives to keep them under control. I would respectfully request you to assign a territory for some sort of... groundside enclave, where they could be shipped to."

"Why would we want them on Earth where they can terrorize what is left of our population?" Singh protests with his usual tact and charm. "You brought them, they're your problem to deal with."

"...we will discuss your request, Councilor Sparatus," Hackett replies, grinding his teeth at Singh's untimely comment. While the krogan might pose certain dangers, simply dumping all responsibility on the turians isn't something that Hackett finds himself agreeing with. "Now, if there's nothing else, I propose we reconvene in four hours... and hopefully we can get more leaders involved in the decision making. Fly safe, my friends."

* * *

"Finally. He's on his way," Garrus lets out a heavy sigh of relief, watching with concern as Liara again begins to slip into unconsciousness. "The comms are just an insane mess right now, impossible to get through to anyone."

"Did he give any ETA?" Tali asks, still sitting on her knees, Liara pulled up in her lap, the quarian gently cradling her friend.

"Three minutes," Garrus replies, watching the sky in the direction of the FOB in anticipation for the appearance of the Kodiak shuttle. Reaching Lieutenant Steve Cortez had been almost impossible, but once he had gotten through, Cortez had abandoned everything to hurry to Liara's aid.

"Where are we supposed to take her, do you know? The Normandy? Citadel? Some asari cruiser?"

"Sent the request ten minutes ago, as you well know, Tali," Garrus shrugs. "Still waiting for a reply."

"Then try again," Tali states, frustrated.

"Fine, fine, anything for you, Chiktikka," the turian grumbles, then starting to type another message on his omni-tool. "Oh wait... how typical, getting a response just as I had finished typing the second message," he sighs, looking at the reply. "Right, the asari High Command wants us to bring her to Level 28 of Shalta Ward on the Citadel. And... right on cue, there's our ride, too," he adds as the familiar, comfortingly dark blue shuttle lands, Cortez leaping out of the pilot's seat and rushing over to them.

"How is she?" he drops down on his knees next to Tali.

"She'll be alright, we think, but you need to take her to the Citadel. Hospital on Level 28 of Shalta Ward," Tali tells the pilot.

"Got it," Cortez nods, moving to softly gather the groaning asari in his arms, carrying her towards the shuttle. "God, I thought that the Citadel was about to come apart, when that one arm broke off... still, dreadful to see, all those people..."

"Know what you mean," Garrus says, following Cortez towards the shuttle, then stopping and giving a curious stare to Tali when she is not moving to go with them. "You're not coming, or do you want me to carry you in my arms, too?"

"Don't be ridiculous," Tali shakes her head. "I'm just thinking, Steve will get Liara to safety on his own, there's no need for us to go with them. There could be more injured soldiers down here that we can help, instead of sitting by Liara's side at the hospital. Don't you think that is what she would want, too?"

"Yes... you're damn right, Tali, that is what she would want, and that is what I want as well," Garrus nods firmly, then turning to Cortez. "Steve, you'll handle this on your own, right? We'll see if we can rescue anyone else."

"Got it, Garrus," Cortez replies. "Don't worry, people, I'll keep Blue safe."

"Wait up, though," Garrus speaks up as Steve carries Liara inside the cargo space of the shuttle and gently lays her down on a pair of soft blankets stretched over a row of seats. "There's more for you to bring back to the Normandy, Cortez..."

"Garrus... please, I told you that we won't be able to bring her back," Tali says softly, barely able to hold back her sorrow as she watches her turian boyfriend picking up EDI's deactivated platform from the mud and carrying the pile of metallic limbs towards the shuttle.

"Even if we can't, it's just... not right to leave her here," Garrus mutters, placing EDI's body down at Liara's feet, Cortez looking a little stunned as he sees their synthetic friend disabled, likely forever.

"I... got a message from the Normandy a while ago, saying that EDI was offline..." Steve says, sounding dejected. "I will... take her back there, I think. Perhaps someone will figure out what to do," he adds, ignoring Tali's sad shake of the head.

For a while, Tali and Garrus simply watch as the Kodiak shuttle finally lifts off and escapes into the sky, watching as it becomes a small dot and eventually leaves their view, finding that they have inexplicably moved to stand side by side while watching. They share a brief hug, before turning around and beginning to search through the fields of the death, but not finding much, those in the path of Harbinger's particle weapon dying instantly, without leaving even a corpse behind.

"I'm thinking we should fall back to the previous sector if we want to find any survivors, where we fought their ground forces. I'm sure we'd have a better luck back there," Garrus suggests.

"That's a good idea, Garrus," the quarian agrees, and they begin the long trek back to the ruins of the residential area. Now and then, they encounter other Hammer marines, searching the rubble for survivors, exchanging grim nods, pleased about their victory, but unable to truly celebrate in the face of all this death and devastation.

Crossing a square that is littered with a particularly thick layer of Reaper corpses, and the occasional dead krogan, Garrus for a moment finds himself hearing a soft, mournful growl coming from somewhere ahead. "Do you hear that, Tali?" he asks the quarian, his lover also looking as if she has heard something.

"Yes, I think it's coming from over there," she points to a spot ahead of them, amongst the rubble and they hurry towards it, coming upon a most surprising sight. A krogan is sitting amongst the debris, gently rocking the limp body of an asari commando, continuing with his sad, inconsolable growl.

"Keelah... is that... is that Grunt?" Tali gasps, coming closer to the sad sight.

"Grunt, old friend, what happened here?" Garrus asks, as they both rush towards their krogan friend, slowly turning his massive head to face them, looking sad and dejected.

"She won't wake up," he says simply, continuing to hold the asari.

Fearing the worst, Tali begins to scan the commando's badly mangled body with her omni-tool. Blood is slowly dribbling from her mouth and nose, and Tali finds herself mildly shocked, having detected minimal life signs, but the prospect is not rosy at all. There is severe internal bleeding combined with complicated fractures, punctured lung and a myriad of other injuries.

"What happened to her?" Garrus asks, watching as Tali works quickly, activating the asari's suit commands to inject her with medi-gel and at least stabilize her condition somewhat.

"A wall fell on her," Grunt explains simply, the turian wincing from the very idea of the relatively fragile asari getting trapped under such tremendous weight.

"It's a wonder she's alive, Grunt. If we can get her to a hospital, she might just make it," Tali says. "Why didn't you administer some medi-gel to her?"

"I'm good at causing injuries... not so good at healing them..." Grunt replies, a little helplessly.

"Trying to get through to Cortez again," Garrus says quickly, starting his attempts to get in touch with the shuttle pilot on the comms. "Cortez? Steve, do you copy? Lt. Steve Cortez, please answer! Yeah, okay, hear you! Listen... listen, Steve, once you drop off Liara, how do you feel about one more trip down here? Yeah? Alright, we'll wait... no, thank you... on my coordinates, yes, that'll work... great, that's great, Steve. Garrus out."

"Well?" Tali asks, not daring to tear her eyes away from the asari patient.

"He's about to reach the Citadel. Will take about forty minutes for him to get back," Garrus answers. "Hope she has that much time."

"She has... now that she got some medi-gel. If we hadn't come..."

"Thank you... both of you," Grunt speaks, surprisingly politely. "Wrex told me to forget about her. Kurin is tougher than he thought. Shows what the old man knows."

"Wrex? You were fighting alongside Wrex?" Garrus asks. "We haven't heard anything from him for a long time, any idea which way he was heading when you parted?"

"Sure. He was going back to catch up with the artillery squads," Grunt says.

"Alright, in that case that's where we're going," Tali rises from the ground, motioning for Grunt to pick the asari back up in his arms again. "Grab her and follow us, but gently, try not to move her too much." Much to the surprise of them both, Grunt actually manages to lift Kurin's body from the ground with such tenderness that they haven't thought a krogan to be capable of.

Trying to retrace the steps of Wrex and the Aralakh Company is not a very difficult task, they simply need to follow the thickest piles of Reaper corpses, and the occasional dead krogan amongst them confirms that they are on the right path. At some point, however, there are no longer any signs of Wrex and his people having wandered even further back, leaving them a little clueless, until Garrus spots a krogan footprint in the mud leading towards a complex of partly collapsed buildings.

"Did they try to move to a different sector to link up with another group?" Garrus asks.

"Don't know, I stayed behind to dig her out," Grunt returns.

"There's... something ahead of us... I can hear voices!" Tali exclaims, increasing her pace, leading them towards a pile of rubble between two once connecting buildings, now having collapsed in a violent explosion. Someone is there already, having climbed atop the rubble and beginning to dig there, as if hoping to extract some survivors trapped underneath.

"Hey, do you need assistance?" Garrus shouts out to the others, a pair of soldiers already working hard to remove large parts of the wall, bricks and chunks of mortar.

"We certainly would appreciate it," one of the two men replies, a rather familiar looking salarian. "Ah... Vakarian, good to see you!" he adds, jumping down from the rubble and rushing to greet them. "And miss Tali'Zorah, too!"

"Major Kirrahe!" Tali squeals with joy, which only increases tenfold when she notices the other figure approaching them, this one a quarian. "Oh... Keelah, it can't be... Kal'Reegar! You're alive!" she immediately throws herself into the marine's embrace with such force that she almost bowls Kal over, the gesture sending flutters of jealousy through Garrus' chest, but he swallows it quickly, knowing that Tali is simply relieved that an old friend has survived this slaughter.

"It is good to see you too, Admiral Tali'Zorah," Kal'Reegar returns a little awkwardly, moving to shake Garrus' hand. "Vakarian."

"What's the situation?" Garrus asks. "Don't tell me you're just digging for buried treasure?"

"Hardly. There's a krogan squad buried under all that rubble," Kirrahe replies quickly. "Normally we would have given up, because surely nobody can survive that, but... you know how tough those krogan are. Besides... we're certain of having felt some movement down there. Someone amongst them is still alive."

"Well, what are we waiting for, then?" Garrus asks, rubbing his hands and turning back to Grunt. "You'll have to put your girlfriend down for a bit now, Grunt. We'll need some of that famous krogan heavy lifting, my friend."

It takes about ten minutes of frantic work to reach the first of the trapped krogan. He is bleeding severely from his terrible wounds and unfortunately expires while they pull him out of his entrapment. The next two that they dig out are already dead, but luck begins to smile on them afterwards, managing to pull out a young krogan who while badly injured by what looks like heavy explosives, will live despite his horrific injuries. And then, finally, they reach the leader of the krogan squad, Wrex himself, covered in blood from head to toes and breathing shallowly, but still alive, and they take great care to extract him from the rubble.

"I think that's the last of them," Kal'Reegar says, poking his head into the tunnel they have dug out just to make sure they haven't left anyone behind.

"Urdnot Wrex, a fortunate rescue," Kirrahe nods thoughtfully, watching Tali and Garrus fussing over Wrex's injured shape, the large krogan unconscious and for once unable to respond with one of his trademark surly growls. "His survival would be very much preferable in terms of galactic stability. Should we ensure transportation to the nearest medical facilities?"

"It's been taken care of, Major, shuttle is already on its way," Garrus says, pulling back up, keeping his eyes locked at Tali. "What do you think? He should be alright, yes?"

"I think so, though my knowledge of krogan physiology is sorely lacking," Tali shrugs. "Cortez should be arriving soon, shouldn't he? It feels like it's over the forty minutes from the last talk you had with him."

"Yeah... and I bet it's him who's calling me right now," Garrus replies, switching his comms back on to answer. "Copy that, Steve. Sending my coordinates... okay, that's good. By the way, you'll be picking up not just one asari, but also a few krogan. We've been busy, and we found Wrex."

"Hopefully there'll be enough room for them all," Kal'Reegar remarks thoughtfully.

"What? No... I don't think Wrex will want to fly your shuttle, he's kind of unconscious, Steve. Yeah... hurt quite badly, so we need you to hurry. Five minutes, copy that, should be fine. Yep, that's fine, Garrus ou-... say that again? Shepard?"

Tali literally jumps a feet up in the air from hearing the name of her closest friend. "Shepard, what's going on with Shepard, did they find her, how is she, is she alright?" questions pour forth from the excited and nervous quarian.

"They moved her to the same Shalta hospital as Liara? That's good, isn't it? You saw her?" There is a very unpleasantly long pause after this last question that makes Tali shiver from toes to the tips of her hair. When Garrus speaks again, his voice sounds grim and depressed. "Oh. I... see. Are they certain? I... no... it's okay, Steve... waiting for your arrival."

"What, what did he say! What did he say about Shepard?" Tali almost pounces on Garrus, demanding that he explains himself immediately, but the turian continues to stare numbly at the wall in front of himself.

"Aria found Shepard, alright," he says eventually. "But she found her too late. Her injuries are too severe. Shepard is dying."


	126. Last Chance Saloon

** Chapter 125 - Last Chance Saloon**

_That... does not look good... _Kasumi remarks to herself as one of the small research vessels begins its approach towards the Charon Relay. The comforting and healthy blue glow of the relay's element zero core is gone, the core now appears to be emitting some kind of reddish fluctuation at irregular intervals, making the master thief feel a little cold from fear that the massive structure could collapse in a spectacular explosion. One of the great revolving rings around the relay arms seems to have splintered beyond repair, and one of the arms itself looks to be slightly bent and not in the best of shapes.

All the scientists on the vessel are already abuzz with excitement in the face of another challenge before them. Dr. Brynn Cole is currently deep in debate with the asari lead scientist, Dr. Jelize, two volus engineers and a salarian offering their opinions now and then. _I don't think they even realize that this might keep all the ships of the galactic fleet from returning home, to their families and loved ones, they just see it as their scientific problem to solve, _Kasumi thinks. _And by the looks of things, this is going to take a while..._

"Could a Prothean beacon have information that might possibly help us repair a mass relay?" the asari, Dr. Jelize, asks.

"I find that quite likely," Brynn replies. "I have heard that the Crucible blueprints came from the Prothean archives on Mars. Perhaps that would be a good place to start looking."

"Hey, Dr. Cole, that sounds like a job for me!" Kasumi exclaims, sensing an opportunity. "I could drop by Mars, sneak into the archives and snatch whatever you need. Heck, maybe I can even pickpocket a brand new eezo core for the relay. This one seems broken!"

"While that would be convenient, it is also quite impossible," the asari says, smiling a little. "How much do you know about mass relays, miss Goto?"

"Uh... not too much, Doc," Kasumi grins. "Can't steal a relay, so, never had the motivation to learn more about them."

"Well, we built the Crucible, and improved its designs greatly to make it safe for operation, freeing the galaxy from the Reapers and saving the good people on the Citadel," Dr. Cole speaks proudly. "If we could achieve that, repairing a mass relay should not pose more problems for the greatest minds of the galaxy." Her speech is met with loud cheers from everyone present on the deck.

"I agree with your sentiments wholeheartedly, Dr. Cole," the asari matron speaks. "But I would also like to draw your attention towards these energy readings from the eezo core. The fluctuations here... and also here..."

"Yes, I see, most interesting... core instability, perhaps... could indicate a bleed of sorts..." Brynn and the other scientists immediately surround Jelize near the consoles, leaving Kasumi alone and ignored, but that suits her just fine when she realizes that the scientists will now be going on for hours and hours, taking more and more scans, discussing them until they are blue in the face. _Well, I guess that doesn't apply to Jelize, she's blue in the face to begin with, _she snickers at herself.

"Incoming transmission for Specialist Goto," she hears the pilot calling out to her from his small cabin, there is no need to use intercom on the ship of this tiny size. "You can take it up here with me, Kasumi!"

"Anything to get me in that co-pilot's seat, huh, Sebastian?" she replies flirtatiously, sauntering up to the pilot's cabin and settling into the seat next to the grizzled once-hotshot pilot, now at the age where he could very likely pass for Kasumi's father. _Well, if he was Asian, anyways._

"Let's see who thinks it's a good idea to interrupt me on this ever important task of playing a nanny to the galaxy's top scientists," she says before activating the comm link, grumbling a little about the poor signal quality until the static clears, the small screen of the tiny console revealing the face of a certain salarian, someone she had so desperately hoped to see alive and well after the Reapers were defeated. "Spectre Bau," she manages to keep her face neutral, knowing that Sebastian is observing their exchange very keenly. "To what do I owe this pleasure?"

"Specialist Goto," Bau nods, correctly guessing that circumstances have not granted them the much desired privacy. "Merely thought it would be an excellent idea to update you on the situation groundside. I am pleased to report that our victory is decisive, though losses have been catastrophic."

"I am pleased to hear that, Spectre," Kasumi replies, then trying to summon a stern facial expression, aware that she is probably failing terribly at it. "I am less pleased that this report did not reach me any sooner."

"Communications have been difficult to establish. I hope there will be no repercussions for this negligence in my duties."

"I will think on the most suitable punishment, but perhaps this should be discussed later and in private," Kasumi replies, chuckling inwardly as she hears the pilot groan, smacking his forehead against the consoles in mock frustration. "Are your orders to remain groundside, Spectre Bau?"

"We will continue our SAR mission for several more hours, miss Goto," comes the polite, controlled answer. "I have rejoined Major Kirrahe and some other survivors under his command. He managed to save my life on at least two occasions in the battle. I would like to repay some of that debt by aiding him now."

"I heard it was very bad down there. Survival rate below 20% sounds awful."

"Yes, no survivors from the first wave and a few of the krogan from the second wave," Bau shakes his head, managing to look a little sad, difficult feat for a salarian. "The most important asset in this battle certainly was our ability to duck. Shame about all those turians."

"It's not looking so good up here either. The relay is completely buggered," Kasumi sighs. "It'll take some time to get it back together again, I suspect. Speaking of which... I might need a lift to Mars, we need to check out the Prothean archives there to see if they have any handy 'How To Repair Borked Mass Relays In Three Easy Steps' manuals. Could even do with some assist on the mission!"

Bau's head horns are twitching very slightly from excitement as he hears that. "That would be... a very interesting experience, I'm sure. We will try to wrap up SAR as quick as we can, and I'll get in touch as soon as we're done."

"Right, I guess I'll go play the charming hostess to the scientists and listen to some more rousing mass relay theory," Kasumi gripes some more, before grinning broadly. "Oh, the sacrifices I take for the galaxy... they go completely unappreciated!"

"Insinuation has been detected. Preparations will be made," Bau replies with just a hint of a knowing smile. "Expect another call soon."

"Oh... and now I'm suddenly all intrigued..." Kasumi's smile broadens even more as the call is disconnected and she turns to the long-suffering pilot who has been forced to listen to their disguised verbal love-play. "Seb, you really should get a girlfriend of your own, then you wouldn't react like this to some innocent chatting. Want me to put in a word with some salarian girl?" Her innocent question is answered with more frustrated moans.

* * *

"Miss T'Loak?" the human nurse addresses her intimidating patient with exaggerated humility. "Miss T'Loak, here at the Shalta Wards, we are capable of supplying you with the latest, state-of-art cybernetic implants. Your vision would be at least 90% of what it was, and visually we can make the difference nearly impossible to detect."

"I'll give it a thought," Aria replies impatiently, looking in the mirror, carefully adjusting the black eye-patch covering the empty socket. _This looks pretty impressive, actually... dangerous, thrilling. I should have worn one of these even when both my eyes were in their sockets. Hell, Tevos might even like it, she gets turned on by the strangest of things. _

"Off course, miss T'Loak," the nurse bows her head. "The operation is very simple and completely painless, and can be performed at any time you wish it." She hesitates a little. "Now... is there anything else I can do for you, ma'am?"

"No, that will be all," Aria shakes her head. "I imagine you need this space for patients that are actually injured, not just a little scratched like I was."

"Uh... ma'am, I wouldn't have called your injuries light, but... the doctor claims that you can be released, yes."

"Good," Aria walks up to a glass pane, separating the hallway from the operating room on the other side of the window. Two doctors, an asari and a salarian, are working to reset T'Soni's fractured left shoulder, then moving to her other numerous and less serious injuries, the young asari maiden blissfully unconscious under sedation. The other operating room next to Liara's has its blinds closed, making it impossible to see what's going on inside, although Aria has a reasonably good idea. A whole army of doctors had rushed in after they had delivered Shepard, lead by the red-haired human female from the Normandy.

_If they manage to salvage anything from that pile of shredded meat and bones, I'll call that an even bigger miracle than the demise of the Reapers,_ Aria thinks at herself, remembering how it had felt to sit next to Shepard's body in the shuttle. One of the younger assistant doctors on the scene had completely lost his cool when they arrived to retrieve what was left of the galaxy's most famous hero, the young human male becoming green in the face like his salarian colleague, nearly vomiting all over Shepard. _Then again, she came back from the dead, and this isn't as bad as that time... so, maybe I shouldn't write her off too soon._

_And as much as I'm... curious whether she survives or not, I have my own matters to attend to,_ Aria decides, her eyes lingering on Liara's face one more time. _Need to get to the Tayseri Ward and catch up with the girls... and see how Tevos is doing. Now... there should be some free skycars out there that I could borrow..._

Walking out of the hospital with a slight limp, Aria takes in the sights of massive destruction everywhere she looks, fires breaking out across several levels of the wards, keepers moving around and trying to fix the damage, but with the demise of their Reaper masters, their actions seem a little confused and lack the purposefulness and determination that is usually present in everything they do. Aria, however, cares little about such details, simply jumping into the first available skycar she can find, assuming that its owner is likely dead, quickly lifting off and then trying to remember what is the quickest path from Shalta to Tayseri Ward.

The enormity of the damage that the Citadel has suffered becomes truly apparent only when Aria sees the remains of the destroyed arm of the station, thousands and thousands of small chunks of rubble slowly dispersing through space, taking countless unfortunate victims with them, people guilty only of being at the wrong place at the wrong time. _Damn it, that was the arm of Zakera Ward, wasn't it? Shit, it had some of the best shops on the Citadel... all my favorite liquor stores! Shit..._

Finding Level 33 of Tayseri Ward is an adventure in itself for Aria, but not of the kind that she ever wishes to repeat, hating to feel useless in not knowing her way around, thinking back to Omega where she always felt as if knowing every nook and cranny. The med facility on this level is rather small compared to the hospital on Shalta Ward, but it is still very busy with doctors and nurses charging about, several asari specialists surrounding one of the tables in the operating room, the body on the table presumably belonging to Tevos.

_Why haven't they moved her to some better equipped hospital,_ Aria fumes, desperately wishing that she could approach that table, push all those stupid doctors away and just take Tevos' hand, to hold it for a brief moment at least. _Maybe she's still too weak to be moved? Shit... if those incompetent idiots let her die, I'm going to kill each and every of them! Then again... perhaps best not to mention these threats to the doctors, not everyone performs better under duress. _

With a corner of her eye she finally spots the two asari girls, sitting in the corner of a sofa in one of the two small waiting rooms, looking frightened and deeply worried. There is a C-Sec officer, a female human with light golden hair sitting on the other sofa across to them, time and time again asking some questions of the two girls. Both Rila and Falere look extremely relieved when Aria finally reveals herself, trying to motion for the girls to remain calm and avoid displaying any emotions, and the Pirate Queen feels proud to see that the two Ardat-Yakshi just about manage to hold their nerve as she approaches them.

"Is there a problem, officer?" she asks deliberately harshly, trying to throw the human off-balance immediately.

"Hmm... ah, the illustrious miss Omega," the human sneers in reply. "Commander Bailey asked me to keep an eye on these two asari, not that it is any of your business."

"But it **is** my business, you little C-Sec bitch," Aria snarls. "These girls belong to me."

"Where are their immigration permits and ID's?" the officer presses, trying not to appear intimidated.

"I had them brought in from Omega quiet-like, fool," Aria snaps. "Do you really think I care whether my dancers on Omega have proper ID's or not? And there are people dying on the Citadel, you idiot! Does your boss truly think that your time is best spent harassing my employees than actually aiding people that need help out there?"

The human blanches a little, swallowing uncomfortably. "I'm just... doing my job. I can tell Bailey that it has been settled if you promise to sort out their ID's and immigration permits."

"The councilor will sort that out for me as soon as she comes to," Aria smirks confidently, pointing at the operating room. "She's been enjoying their performance too much to see the girls actually thrown off the station by some zealous clerk."

"Ah..." the human smirks before retreating. "So Bailey was right with his theory about how you've got the councilor in your pocket... supplying her with whores, now isn't that nice?"

Aria resists the urge to splatter the irritating human against the nearby wall, watching her leave and then quickly sitting next to Rila and Falere. "You handled that well, girls," she says approvingly. "I'm... relieved to see you two alive."

"Goddess, Aria, your eye..." Falere, ever the compassionate, exclaims.

"Don't worry about it, young one, I'm quickly becoming fond of my new look," Aria chuckles in reply.

"They thought we were Tevos' lovers," Rila whispers. "Won't that cause problems for her?"

"It was unavoidable... and I think that this is something those idiots on Thessia might stomach better than if they knew the full truth," Aria says. "But still, it would be preferable if I could get you two away, somewhere far from prying eyes. Questions will be asked, and I don't want you two to be exposed to reporters and their ilk... there's only so many of them I can kill, before the C-Sec will decide to come after me."

"Can we go to your apartment on Kithoi?" Falere asks. "I still feel a little shocked, and my violin is there... I think playing some music might help me to calm down."

"I agree..." Rila sighs, wringing her hands. "I can't forget the sight of Tevos throwing herself in front of that husk, and the way it plunged its claw deep into her chest... goddess, it was horrible!"

"What possessed that crazy matron to do something as stupid as that, she knows that she couldn't fight her way out of a paper bag," Aria sighs, shaking her head. "I guess she was just trying to protect you, even if you would have been able to deal with that husk using your weak biotics. She really picked the wrong time for her heroics."

"You worry about her, don't you?" Falere asks.

"Let's just get you two out of here for now," Aria replies evasively, pulling Rila and Falere up, but as she is about to leave the medical facilities, the doors of the operating room are thrown open and one of the asari doctors rushes out, following them.

"Excuse me... excuse me, but you are Aria T'Loak, aren't you?" the doctor asks, looking grim and fearful.

"Yes, is there something you need?" she asks, managing to avoid sounding completely unkind, considering that the asari in front of her has been busy working to keep her secret lover from expiring from her injuries.

"You were... leaving, yes?" the doctor asks again, receiving Aria's nod in reply, the Pirate Queen starting to wonder what exactly is going on. "Could I... humbly request that you return to this medcenter after you have finished your... undoubtedly important business?"

"I can be back in thirty minutes, if you would explain to me what's this all about?" Aria growls impatiently.

"Councilor Tevos' condition is still... very unstable," the doctor explains nervously. "We think that... perhaps your presence... might help."

"And why the hell would the presence of a glorified criminal warlord help an esteemed and respected asari councilor?" Aria demands angrily.

"I don't know, miss T'Loak," the doctor replies quietly. "But the first word she spoke after regaining consciousness... was your name."

* * *

Liara lets out a quiet groan as she finally opens her eyes, feeling the room still spinning a little, her head feeling a bit dizzy from the sedatives. _Shepard!_ That one single thought rushes through her head, and she tries to pull herself up in the bed, immediately crying out in pain.

"Dr. Chakwas warned me that you would try to do something like that," the woman's voice she hears is familiar, even if it speaks something that has to be complete nonsense.

Liara blinks, shaking her head, trying to clear it until her vision can properly focus in on the woman standing by her bed. "...Dr. Michel!" she exclaims in a weak voice. "They brought you in from the Normandy..."

"Yes, I came as soon as they told us where they were bringing you and Shepard," Michel replies. "Please, Liara, do not move too much. Your injuries were rather unpleasant, and my colleagues spent four hours putting your shoulder back together again."

"Oh..." Liara finally realizes that there is a complicated brace encasing her left shoulder and hand down to the elbow. There is something restrictive pressing tightly around her right leg below the knee, and her entire body makes her feel as if she has been ran over by a heavy tank... and now that her memories come back in a flood, she realizes that it was exactly what had happened. "Dr. Michel... you learned of my condition back during the Cerberus coup..." the asari speaks hesitantly. "Can you tell me whether... everything is alright?"

"That was my first concern when Cortez brought you before us. I consulted with several asari specialists about your condition, and several of them advised me to terminate your pregnancy," Chloe Michel shakes her head, looking exasperated and a little accusing when she stares at Liara. "While physically the child appears to have miraculously escaped any harm, the asari doctors are more worried about the implications that your physical and mental state and exhaustion can have on the development of the child. They claim that your actions in taking part in heavy combat have been incredibly irresponsible."

"I... did what I had to do. Shepard needed me down there, if she was to succeed and save us all," Liara replies, a little defensively.

"And you were willing to risk the life of your unborn child just to see Shepard succeed?" Michel's tone expresses clear disapproval. "I... wish I had not honored the confidence between a doctor and a patient, and simply told Shepard the whole truth, she would have brought you to your senses. God is my witness, I was tempted, so tempted to just tell her..."

"It was not your decision! I had my reasons, and I will take responsibility for them, they are not yours or anyone else's to discuss!" Liara snaps a little harshly, trying to glare at Dr. Michel, failing when her face becomes contorted with pain again.

Instead of appearing angered by Liara's outburst, Chloe steps a little closer and puts her hand over Liara's and gently strokes it, the asari too surprised to pull away. "I feel terrible, knowing what you must be going through, Liara. To be saddled with such guilt, it must feel overwhelming. I wish there was more I could do for you..."

"Please, Chloe... I... I can't speak of it anymore... please," tears begin to fall down Liara's cheeks, the asari desperate to change the topic of conversation. "Did... did you mention Dr. Chakwas earlier? She... she is out of her coma?"

"That is correct," Michel nods. "I regret that I had to call upon her assistance immediately, but the issue could not wait."

"And Shepard... Morgan, how is she, did Aria find her on the Citadel?" Liara rambles nervously. "Of course she found her or we wouldn't be talking about her! Tell me, Chloe!"

"Liara... the Commander was in a very bad shape when they brought her in," Michel speaks quietly. "Her injuries were horrific and she had lost so much blood... nevertheless, we have worked eight hours straight, and we have done all that we could..."

"Is she alive?" Liara demands, her voice growing stern, sharp.

"Yes, but..."

"You know about her implants, I assume," Liara speaks, looking relieved. "If she is alive, they will help her pull through... they always do."

"Liara... that is why I had to call in Dr. Chakwas," Michel speaks, lowering her eyes. "The Crucible beam that destroyed the Reapers... it did a little more than just that. EDI... is gone, because of the Reaper code she was created with..."

"Yes..." Liara feels a tremor passing through her chest, terrible, agonizing pain from the memory of EDI's lifeless frame tumbling into the mud. "I... saw her... die."

"We think that the same beam might have done something to... Shepard's implants," Michel swallows heavily. "Because... they just do not seem to respond... as if they have been switched off, the nanites are not rebuilding her, and... Shepard's body is too badly damaged to recover without the help of the implants."

"What... no... no!" Liara lets out a sharp cry of dismay. "To... to die because of... of something like this? After everything she has sacrificed? No! No, I will not allow it, I will not stand by idly and... and let her expire! There must be something we can do!"

"Karin and I spoke at length about the issue... we could think of nothing that could reactivate her implants," Michel sighs. "I'm sorry, Liara."

"Don't be sorry, Dr. Michel! Be useful!" Liara snarls, her attitude startling the good-natured human. "I know what we can do. Is anyone from the Normandy still groundside?"

"I... I believe that Garrus and Tali brought up Grunt, Wrex and several other injured, before returning to London... they were hoping to find more survivors. Why do you ask, Liara?" Dr. Chloe Michel inquires.

"There's someone who might know how to jump-start Shepard's implants... the woman who put her together after the Collector attack," Liara speaks quickly, all dizziness and confusion gone, the young asari completely and utterly focused when faced with the almost certain possibility of losing her bondmate. "Dr. Miranda Lawson. And if I know her at least a little, Miranda will be groundside somewhere in London, trying to put her medical training to use and save as many survivors as she can, aching to make up for her Cerberus past."

"I will pass this information along immediately, Liara, you can rely on me," Chloe Michel nods.

"And make sure it is marked as extremely urgent," Liara demands. "We must find Miranda Lawson at all costs. Oh, and Dr. Michel?"

"Yes, Liara?"

"How much time does Morgan have?" she asks. "Give me an honest answer. I don't want you to... as she would say, sugar-coat it for me..."

"I can give her thirty-six hours at maximum, Liara, I'm sorry," Michel replies, sad look on her face. "The injuries are so severe that it is a small wonder she survived the transportation to the hospital."

"I... see," Liara nods, biting her lower lip so hard that she can feel the taste of her own blood seeping into her mouth. "Thank you, Dr. Michel. Now please... go and pass along that information with all haste. I... I wish to be alone."


	127. Crumbling Hopes

_A/R (Author's Rant): So, the Citadel DLC comes out later today, and while I'm really hyped about the last adventure with the beloved Mass Effect characters, Bioware managed to annoy me with the released DLC trailer. FemShep has what, a single two second snippet while dancing with Garrus, while the rest of the time we have to stare at the slack-jawed Sheploo? Urgh. Seriously. :P _

**Chapter 126 - Crumbling Hopes**

"Where, did you say? Northeastern perimeter? Can you narrow it down for us?" Garrus speaks on the comms hastily, standing next to a large, ruined column. Tali is busy brushing the dirt and mud away from the plaque at the base of the column, revealing that it had once supported a statue to someone called Admiral Nelson. As she briefly wonders whether the human in question was anything like the admirals of her people, her turian boyfriend continues to speak urgently into the open comm link, trying to find someone who has recently seen the ex-Cerberus agent Miranda Lawson.

"Nine-Seven-Four? Gah, that's... quite a distance from where we are now. Are you sure it was her?" Garrus continues his inquiries. "Okay, okay, I didn't ask for a candid description of her generous buttocks! Yeah... sure does sound like her, though. Well, if anyone can get to her before we do, link her in with Coats... she came in with Blue Suns, probably doesn't have full comm access as a result. I know... alright, Garrus out."

"They've seen her?" Tali asks quickly after the turian has switched off the comms.

"Yeah, almost at the other end of the city!" Garrus sighs in reply. "She was limping behind us when we started our charge towards the relay, barely managing to stand on her feet... how the hell did she get to the other side of the city?"

"Maybe she found an intact skycar or shuttle..." Tali muses. "Wouldn't mind having access to one of those myself."

"Tired?" Garrus' eyes soften with concern as he looks at his lover.

Tali nods wordlessly. "Two packs of stims are starting to catch up with me, Garrus. Thirty six hours straight... after we find Miranda..."

"We're going back to the Normandy, I promise," Garrus nods. "Damn, there's so much to do, though... I need to get in contact with whoever is left in charge of my people... still don't know if Victus made out alright. At least I have heard that Councilor Sparatus is still alive on the Citadel. And you will want to check in on your people, I'm sure."

"I can't stop shaking every time I think back on Auntie Raan and our fleets," Tali confesses. "But at the same time, I'm terrified about the possibility of losing Shepard... damn it, Garrus, enough is enough... Javik, James, EDI... Shepard can't join that list! We must not allow it to happen!"

"Still can't believe what's happening..." Garrus says quietly, his shoulders slumping. "Liara must be going mad."

"I don't think I will be able to return to the Normandy after we find Miranda, no matter how tired I am. I need to stand by Liara and Shepard through this, or at least until I collapse from exhaustion."

"I know what you mean," Garrus nods. "And I feel the same way. But come on, let's hurry up. We need to start walking."

Feeling slightly refreshed after the brief respite, Tali and Garrus resume their path through the rubble, time from time again checking the map on their omni-tools to make sure they are on the right track. "Did they... tell you any details about Shepard? Exactly what's wrong with her?"

"They have been operating on her for eight hours straight, Tali. With those Cerberus implants, she should have been able to pull through, but..."

"Same thing as with EDI..." Tali sighs sadly. "All Reaper based tech failed... that's why Liara wants us to find Miranda, isn't it... in hopes that she can do something to repair Shepard's implants. Garrus... do I need to tell you how-"

"How unlikely it is?" Garrus cuts her off dryly. "No. You don't need to tell me that. This just shows how... desperate Liara is. Damn... I really feel for her, having to go through Alchera all over again."

"...don't remind me. I hated those days, the way she kept herself together... it was more depressing than if she would have just vented her grief. And now this... I can't imagine looking her in the eyes, trying to offer some consolation... everything will feel so... horribly inadequate."

"I have never been good at this comforting someone thing," Garrus grumbles unhappily. "Always just feel awkward and horrib-" there he cuts himself off, sharply turning around to see a banged up skycar slowly approaching them from the way they have just traversed. The vehicle's state is incredibly shoddy, all paint peeled off and parts of it blackened by fire, but amazingly it is somehow holding itself together and up in the air, even if its pilot is keeping it as low as possible, not feeling very confident about the state of the skycar.

"Is that someone looking for us?" Tali asks hopefully, sensing an opportunity to rest her badly aching legs.

"I'm not sure I'd dare to climb into that..." Garrus looks at the hobbling skycar, emitting the occasional puff of black smoke.

"Well, you can walk the rest of the way, I'll risk just about anything to catch a break!" the quarian exclaims, starting to wave her arms frantically to attract the pilot's attention.

"Hmm, good point," Garrus finally admits, feeling his own feet burning and feeling sore, beginning to signal to the incoming skycar and it appears to have noticed them, slowly starting to descend.

Once the rickety thing has landed, its side doors gingerly open and they are both surprised to see the figure of another quarian emerging from the skycar. "About time I found you two," Kal'Reegar speaks, letting out a brief chuckle at how Garrus and Tali have both frozen from surprise. "So, do you want a lift or not?"

"...yes! Keelah, yes!" Tali exclaims, momentarily forgetting her tiredness and bouncing happily. "How did you know to look for us, Kal?"

"I was listening in on the comms while working on getting this thing airborne," Kal'Reegar explains. "I gather you're doing something that might save Commander Shepard's life, so I figured that I'll see if I can help you two out. Now... hop on in, and tell me where exactly do you want me to take this flying pile of scrap metal."

"Good old quarian engineering ingenuity," Garrus chuckles as he gets into the back of the skycar, admiring some of the frighteningly creative repairs Kal'Reegar has managed on the vehicle.

Tali quickly uploads the coordinates of their location to the skycar's onboard computer, and after a few little hiccups, Kal'Reegar finally gets the stubborn vehicle back up in the air, and away they go, slowly floating above the ruined landscape of London, not a single building left untouched in the city. "Do you think it's even possible to rebuild from something like this?" Tali asks, feeling depressed from the morbid sights. "I'm starting to think it might be easier to just begin anew somewhere else..."

"I'm not sure this is salvageable," Garrus shrugs his shoulders. "The industry is completely destroyed. The economy... there's no economy to speak of, really. I'm not sure where to begin... but I think that other places on Earth might have fared better. London was the theater for the worst fighting on the planet, I believe."

"Reminds me how our people just started everything anew on Rannoch. But there was hope everywhere you looked... while here, I just don't know," Kal'Reegar also doesn't sound very optimistic. "Perhaps the geth might help out on Earth as well, if they decide to stick around, and we have no idea what their plans might be..."

"And then there are the broken relays... damn, it will be a while before I can let my family know that I'm alright," Garrus sighs. "I feel terrible for Sol, mom and dad."

"Your councilor must have QEC access to Palaven up on the Citadel, I'm sure. Maybe he will allow you to use it?" Tali asks.

"Oh... of course..." Garrus slaps his forehead as he realizes that Tali is correct, brightening up with this realization. "Yeah, I think I have earned a few favors from Sparatus, surely."

"Have you been in contact with our fleet, Kal?" Tali then asks worriedly. "I still know very little... they weren't even sure if auntie... uh, Admiral Raan had survived..."

"Admiral Raan is fine, however, I believe she is quite busy, trying to contain the situation on the Rayya," Kal'Reegar replies, then quickly elaborating after Tali turns towards him, her entire shape radiating nervousness. "Our sole liveship is badly damaged, Tali. It will be repaired, but it's capacity to provide supplies for us apparently will be crippled. Captain Kar'Danna is a good friend of mine... and he was forced to speak the unpleasant truth that if two thirds of our people hadn't perished in the fighting, they would probably starve while waiting for the relays to be repaired..."

"Err... there might be a problem here..." Garrus begins to speak uncomfortably. "I'm pretty sure that the turian plan of how not to starve while stranded in Sol System hinged on the whole 'oh, the quarians will have dextro supplies to share, no need to worry' angle. With the state of our fleets and available supplies, FTL flight back to Palaven is not an option."

"I... damn, of course, you would not have brought enough supplies with you for that," Tali sighs. "Perhaps the Citadel reserves will help... but Zakera had most of the warehouses, didn't it? This... is not good. Not good at all."

"Let's just concentrate on saving Commander Shepard first, shall we?" Kal'Reegar suggests. "We are coming up on our coordinates."

At this reminder, Tali and Garrus begin to stare in the distance, trying to spot something amongst the ruined landscape that might provide a clue why Miranda Lawson might have retreated to this remote corner of the city. The answer appears before their eyes soon, a large camp of hastily set up tents, and even more simple cots spread on the ground, most occupied by the injured patients of this emergency field hospital.

"Everything makes sense now," Garrus says. "She's got to be here. Feel free to set us down, Kal, my friend." Kal'Reegar does as he is told and together with Tali they are the first to leave the skycar, Garrus following them, electing to stay a little behind and send a quick report on the comms again. "Yeah, we've got her," he speaks into the comm link. "Coordinates are away, send in shuttle, quick. Okay, got it. Appreciate the assist. Garrus out."

"We haven't even found her and you're calling in the shuttle?" Tali asks in disbelief, as they approach the field hospital.

"She's got to be here, you know it," Garrus replies confidently, then pointing ahead. "Look, there! I'll recognize that ass... -ertive stature anywhere," the turian quickly adds, as Tali gives him a stern look.

But soon enough Tali is forced to bow to the superiority of Garrus' keen observation skills, also recognizing Miranda Lawson, sitting on her knees next to an unconscious salarian patient, scanning the unfortunate war victim's chest with her omni-tool and scowling deeply at the readings. "Miranda?" the quarian doesn't mince any words once they get closer. "Miranda, we need to speak with you, it is urgent."

Miranda turns around slowly, not looking very pleased about getting interrupted. "More urgent than figuring out just what's wrong with this unlucky sod?" she asks, pointing at the salarian. "Well, let's hear it, you two," she crosses her arms on her chest challengingly.

"That Crucible beam which fried Reapers and all their tech?" Garrus speaks up. "It messed up with Shepard's implants. She's on the Citadel, dying. We need you to come with us and see if you can figure out if there's a way to get her implants working again."

Lawson's scowl only deepens from hearing the news. "That is a load of nonsense. I have been telling you countless times, Shepard has no Reaper tech inside her. The implants are _based_ on Reaper tech, but they're **not** Reaper tech as such! We built everything exclusively from the scratch."

"Maybe... I don't know, the Crucible beam mistook them for Reaper tech, they were so similar?" Garrus shrugs, annoyed at Miranda's resistance.

"Impossible," Miranda shakes her head. "It shouldn't have had any effect on Shepard's implants."

"Won't you at least come with us and see if there's anything that can be done?" Tali asks desperately. "Shuttle is already on its way... please? We owe it to the Commander... don't you agree?"

Miranda gives one final look at her salarian patient, shaking her head sadly before rising from the ground. "Yes, I suppose I do agree," she finally says. "I will go with you. If Shepard can still be saved, then I will do all I can to do just that..."

* * *

"My fellow admirals, I'll get right down to business," Steven Hackett opens the first of what will undoubtedly be many vid conferences with what' remains of the Alliance military leadership. Aside from Singh, he is joined by six other admirals, Chen and Mayorov of the First Fleet, Kormilko of the Third, LeClerc from Fifth and McIllis and Willoughby from the Sixth Fleet. "We have the preliminary assessments of the damage done to the mass relays. Research teams are already on their way to the Mars Archives to look for additional information that might hasten the process of the repairs, and the scientists already have some ideas on just what needs to be done. But their estimates vary somewhere between six months and a year, so we better get used to having neighbors in the Sol System, and possibly on Earth."

"The turians have been pushing about the krogan issue again?" Singh asks.

"I'd rather give them our sedative supplies to keep the krogan calm than see those monsters released to roam Earth," Admiral Mayorov, a thin, gangly man with pale blue eyes and straw colored hair, speaks.

"That's not going to work for long," Hackett replies. "Besides, those 'monsters' helped us save the galaxy as much as anyone else here. As long as they are stuck in the Sol System, they might also be willing to help us rebuild... and there is much to do."

"The turians and the krogan aren't the only ones with demands if I understand correctly, though?" Singh asks. "I gather that they are all asking to have some space allocated for their needs... something like enclaves. Except the quarians, they seem content with staying on their ships, thank god."

"If we're going to give in to their demands, it would be better to keep them all together somewhere," Admiral Chen, small and in Hackett's opinion, poisonous and unpleasant man, speaks. "When the inevitable violence breaks out, at least they'll be killing each other."

"We just need to speed up the rate at which we're sending our own marines back down to Earth," Admiral Sarah Willoughby, square-jawed blonde with listless look in her grey eyes, joins the conversation. "We need to put down more and more prefab shelters and get our troops down there to restore some order. I have reports coming in from Chicago, New York, Los Angeles... the situation is utter chaos. There is looting going on everywhere, people are panicking and trying to hoard what little precious supplies have not been destroyed by the Reapers."

Sophie LeClerc draws herself up proudly, the deep scar across her left cheek marring her otherwise pleasant face. "I'm getting the same reports from the major cities in Canada," she says grimly. "Local gangs are on the rise and doomsday cults are spreading like mushrooms after the rain. The regional law enforcement structures have collapsed almost entirely, and the local resistance is not numerous enough to now effectively deal with gangs and rising crime."

"It seems as if even during the time when we should all stand together, too many people out there are still thinking only for themselves," Hackett sighs, his more cynical, bitter side already having expected something like this. "The Systems Alliance will get involved, obviously, but we will need to encourage civilians to form their own local militia and work with us."

"We have been discussing a few more steps we might want to take," Singh states, remaining composed as Hackett faces him with a firm stare. "There's nothing left of the industry and we will need to rebuild our factories to help with the relay repairs. The last thing we need is some greedy pig claiming ownership rights to these factories and seeking to make a tidy profit from our desperation. The Alliance should simply nationalize all industrial sites that could have military or other strategic importance."

"You have really thought it over, haven't you?" Hackett asks, looking at the admirals one by one, wondering just who are in with Singh in this little agreement made behind his back. _That said, it's not like what they suggest is without merit. If we don't stomp our foot down firmly, the situation will deteriorate, and humanity will find itself spiraling back into the stone age._

"Consider it carefully, Steven," Willoughby says. "I suggest we do the same with the food supply chains and processing plants, what little still exists. Furthermore, the northern hemisphere has been left without any harvests this summer, meaning that we could face food shortages during winter, unless the Alliance seizes control of storage and distribution of the goods. That includes confiscating unreasonably large supplies gathered by civilians... we cannot allow some greedy individuals to go around hoarding precious resources while innocents starve."

"Earth is currently still under martial law and I suggest that it remains so, until we can restore a semblance of order," Chen nods, agreeing with the other admirals. "We have not shed our blood just to allow Earth be taken from us by the dregs of our society and the darker side of humanity's own nature. If certain civil liberties must be curtailed to ensure this, then so be it."

"As long as we remember to restore these basic rights to our people once the situation is back under control," Hackett says, still feeling a little uncomfortable, the vid conference has not gone nearly how he imagined it would go. "I will agree with everything proposed here, if we resolve to also do everything to strengthen the civilian agencies and any surviving local governments, so that once the Alliance has restored order, they are ready to take things back under control from the military."

"Of course," Admiral Mayorov speaks, smiling, but to Hackett his expression feels a little off-putting. "Steven, you've known us all for many years. Don't make it sound as if we're trying to create some kind of military dictatorship here. You're a shrewd man, you must realize that this is all done for the greater good of our people."

"I know, Alexei. We all have only the best intentions for humanity. And with that, I would like to call an end to this conference. I expect to hear from you all again in exactly forty-eight hours," Hackett says, nodding curtly before disconnecting the call. _I know that it might be what you believe, my old friend... but too often the road to hell is paved with good intentions..._

* * *

"Liara? Liara, can you hear me?" the asari shakes herself awake at the sound of Dr. Michel's voice. Even if she remains absolutely terrified about her bondmate's fate, she still feels weak after the surgeries, the meds having overpowered her for a minute or two, causing her to fall into a slight slumber. "Liara, I just got the news. Our friends have found Dr. Lawson and they are bringing her to the Citadel. They will arrive in less than an hour."

"...thank the goddess," Liara breathes, feeling tears rolling down her cheeks, barely able to raise her hand to brush them off, feeling foolishly weak as Dr. Michel brings up a piece of cloth to wipe the wetness away.

"That's not all I wanted to tell you, Liara," Chloe Michel continues. "Commander Shepard has regained consciousness. We are going to sedate her again to limit the pain she is exposed to, but... I can delay it for a minute or two, if you wish to speak with her..."

"Morgan... oh goddess, yes... yes, please," Liara begins to frantically struggle in order to get up and Chloe is forced to restrain her from hurting herself or the baby.

"Allow me to help you, Liara," Dr. Michel smiles serenely, waving to a nearby nurse and between the two of them they manage to settle Liara into a wheelchair. Chloe waves the nurse away again before beginning to push Liara towards Shepard's operating room. "Before I bring you to Shepard, however, you must promise me that you will do everything you can to avoid upsetting her. Her life is hanging in a thread, and any emotional distress could worsen her condition. Do not speak of the war, or the casualties we have suffered, or-"

"-or my pregnancy?" Liara asks, her voice barely a whisper. "Chloe... I must tell her! I... don't think I would be able to live with myself if she... if she... oh goddess, what have I done..."

"Then perhaps you should have told her the truth earlier, Liara," Dr. Michel say, shaking her head sadly. "But what is done, is done. Liara, I promise that I will give you a chance to tell Shepard the truth. But in turn, you must promise me not to tell Shepard anything just now, until Dr. Lawson has examined the Commander. Do we have an agreement, Liara?"

"I... very well... if you promise to give me the opportunity to tell her later..." Liara manages, struggling to hold her tears back and failing miserably.

"Like I said, I promise that, Liara. Trust me," Chloe says gently, bending down a little to wipe Liara's face clean again before finally bringing Liara through the doors, the two doctors standing next to Shepard's bed looking up to face the asari with glum stares that speak volumes. "Please, if we could have a few minutes of privacy," Chloe motions to her colleagues who immediately leave the room. Dr. Michel helps Liara get out of the wheelchair and steady herself against Shepard's operating table, allowing her to be closer to her beloved. Chloe takes another reading of Shepard's vitals, leaning lower and whispering something to the Commander, then following the other doctors out of the room, leaving Liara and Morgan alone.

The sight of her bondmate in such a state seems to have robbed Liara of any ability to speak. With eyes wide from horror she watches the countless tubes running under the sheets and disappearing somewhere into the Commander's body, IV drips and whatever else, replacing some of her systems that have already failed. Liara herself feels like part geth with her two braces, but Morgan is literally covered with them, beginning with an ugly neck brace to keep her head steady and immobile, that and the dreadful suffusion of her cheeks and all around her eyes not allowing Shepard to see just who her guest is.

_The only thing that I recognize about her is the hair... that beautiful red mop of hair is the same as it used to be,_ Liara thinks desperately, pulling herself a little closer so that Morgan can see her through the narrow slits of her eyes. "Hey..." Shepard is the first to speak, but she does so in a voice that Liara fails to recognize, deep, broken and every word needing to be pushed through a shudder of pain.

The floodgates open immediately, Liara not even bothering to stop herself. "...hey, yourself..." she somehow manages through the tears.

For a while Shepard doesn't say anything, and Liara begins to fear that she has passed out again, quickly drying her tears, but then Morgan attempts to speak again. "We... got them. Didn't... we?"

Liara feels the overwhelming need to touch her bondmate, but every part of her body, hands included, are hidden under the sheets and she is afraid to reach down there, in case of disturbing the delicate pieces of equipment and thus making Morgan's condition worse. In the end, she tries to move even more closely to where Morgan's head rests, brushing her fingers gently across her bondmate's swollen cheeks. "Yes... we got them, alright," she speaks softly. "And we'll make you better too. Miranda is already on her way, she'll fix your implants, you'll see..."

"No... won't... work..." Shepard grinds out, clearly in agony as Liara feels heavy tremors accompanying every word. "Know... it. Implants... broken. Liara?"

"Yes? What is it, Morgan?" the asari bends slightly over her bondmate, her tears starting to fall on Shepard's cheeks.

"Michel won't... tell me... the truth. But... you will. You... must. I'm... not going to... make it, am I?"

Liara wants to scream, shout in anger, cry to the heavens, do anything but to give her bondmate the answer... but there is no way around it, she can not bring herself to lie to Morgan, not here, not now, not about this. "Without the implants? No..." she whispers, hating the unfairness of the universe. "No, the doctors say the damage is too severe..."

"How... how long?" a few tears now also escape Shepard's eyes.

"They... they can only promise twenty four hours... not more," Liara says quietly, feeling the life she has imagined them both building together after the war, fracturing and crumbling to pieces at her feet, making it difficult for her to remain standing.

"That's... not so bad..." Shepard manages, Liara shaking her head in disbelief that Morgan would try to remain flippant even in the face of death. "Sorry, babe... hate... making you... cry..."

"I can't just give up on you like that... I just can't..." Liara whispers, reaching out to touch Shepard's cheek again, her bondmate starting to slip away and the asari is completely powerless to stop her, to do anything about it. "Miranda will get here... we'll think of something!"

"Remember... your promise..." those are Morgan's last words, and then Michel and her squad of doctors rush in again, putting Liara back into the wheelchair and escorting her away as they resume their work to prolong the last hours in the life of the galaxy's savior...


	128. The Truth Laid Bare

**Chapter 127 - The Truth Laid Bare**

Dr. Miranda Lawson is hovering over Commander Morgan Shepard's still, unconscious frame, double-checking the readings she receives on the scanners and comparing them with the readouts provided by Dr. Chloe Michel. Liara is standing by the doors to the operating room, struggling with the effort that is taking her to remain upright in her condition, but she shows no intention in responding to the offer of a chair that Dr. Michel is subtly pushing towards her. Garrus, Cortez, Tali and the other quarian, Kal'Reegar, who had helped locate Miranda, remain outside, time and again peering through the gap in the blinds on the window to see the irritated expression on Lawson's scrunched up face.

Finally, after what feels like an eternity, but clock betrays as merely twenty minutes, Miranda straightens up and puts the scanners away. "Can you fix her?" Liara doesn't mince words, asking urgently.

Miranda Lawson walks up to Liara, looking her in the eyes before she begins to speak, the human's words are far from what the asari had expected. "Dr. T'Soni, I did not think I would be the one to say this, but you are an utter idiot," for some reason Miranda looks incredibly annoyed.

"...what? I... I don't understand," Liara manages, stunned.

"Dr. Lawson, I'm sure there's no reason to-" Michel tries to interfere, but Miranda cuts her off sharply.

"I told them that Shepard's implants could not have been harmed by the Crucible beam. They're not Reaper tech, they're not even close enough to be recognized as Reaper tech. I tried to tell you, but you still insisted to drag me here and waste my time, when there are a lot of people down on Earth who need my help right now!"

"Shepard needs your help too..." Liara whispers, unable to comprehend just what Miranda is saying.

"I can't help someone who doesn't want to be helped," Miranda speaks, her voice losing a little of its angry edge. "T'Soni, her implants are perfectly fine. I don't know how, but she is actively blocking them from working, herself. It's as if she has given up."

"Why... why would she not want to live?" Liara speaks, fighting back the tightness squeezing her chest, not wanting to break into sobs in front of the ex-Cerberus operative. _Is that why she said that Miranda won't be able to help her? She knew what was going on? But... I don't understand..._

"That's the question you should be asking her," Miranda says, pointing at Shepard's limp body. "I can't answer you. And I can't do anything else for her. I'm sorry."

"There is an ever increasing chance that the Commander will not regain consciousness," Michel's voice is barely a whisper, too.

"I know," Miranda sighs. "But like I said, there is nothing I can do unless she resumes fighting herself. Please... I'm sorry, Liara, but I wish to return to London and continue helping those that do wish to survive."

"Of course..." Liara says as Miranda opens the doors of the operating room, about to step through. "Steve," the asari calls out softly to Lieutenant Cortez. "Please, bring miss Lawson back groundside." The grim-faced shuttle pilot nods at that, wordlessly following Miranda out of the hospital.

Garrus and Tali immediately step forth, sensing their chance to learn more, the other quarian respectfully remaining behind. "Did she-" Garrus starts, but Liara feels too tired to explain now, as if the weight of the entire universe would be resting on her shoulders.

"No," she replies curtly. "But I will not give up. She said that Shepard's implants are still showing signs of activity... we simply need to figure out how to get them to work..."

"If there's any way to help-" Tali starts, but Liara doesn't give her a chance to finish either.

"I know you both are dying to help, but Shepard is in the hands of the doctors now and we must trust them," Liara lies without any shame, trying to calm her friends, and Chloe looks understanding as well, nodding in agreement. "Please... you both look terribly exhausted," the asari says then. "You can find the Normandy in our old docking bay, I want you both to go there and get at least a few hours of rest... her condition will not change this quickly. And you have my promise that I will call the Normandy if there are any new developments."

"I have a feeling that we won't be able to change your mind about this, Liara," Garrus grumbles, then throwing a quick glance at Tali, his girlfriend swaying a little on her feet, the last stimpack about to expire and the mental and physical exhaustion about to hit her like a wall of bricks. "But you are also correct, unless we get some rest we will become completely useless anyway."

"Kal... you will join us on the Normandy, please," Tali turns to the other quarian, speaking in-between yawns that make her sound like a volus with a heart-condition. "You have not rested since before the battle and that was almost forty eight hours ago."

Having asked for and received additional reassurances that the Normandy will receive news if there are any changes in Shepard's condition, the trio finally depart, the two men almost having to support Tali as she is swaying dangerously on her feet. Hobbling, still refusing aid from Michel or anyone, Liara returns by Shepard's side, staring at her bondmate down on the bed, slowly and unavoidably withering way.

"Perhaps you could try speaking to her?" Chloe Michel asks. "She wouldn't be able to hear, but... some claim that it could still help, and perhaps when science is already stretched thin, we need a little bit of faith."

"I can do better than faith," Liara says quietly. _It's time I got to the bottom of this, moral implications be damned, I'm not letting her die even if she for some stupid reason believes she has to! _She turns towards Dr. Michel. "I might be able to reach her through the meld. But... it is something very private. I know it is a lot to ask, but... I must attempt it, and I must insist that I remain alone with her." Chloe nods and quickly leaves the room as Liara lets out a deep breath, lowering herself over Morgan, her palm gently cupping her bondmate's cheek. _Forgive me for what I must do, my love... but I am not watching idly to see you die, spending the rest of my life wondering if I could have saved you..._

* * *

The plan to get some rest immediately upon their return to the Normandy backfires spectacularly for both Tali and Garrus. Traynor immediately ambushes the turian with a request to proceed to the comm room because apparently Primarch Victus has been recovered from some deep ruins in London, an arm short and several new permanent scars richer, but his fighting spirit is undeterred and he has demanded to be put in contact with Garrus right away, hoping for an update on the situation. Garrus responds to these summons without delay, leaving Tali and Kal standing in the CIC. While tempted to show Kal to an empty sleeping berth anywhere on the ship and then just collapse somewhere herself, Tali decides to first take her old friend to the bridge and introduce him to the other quarian aboard.

With EDI permanently offline, the bridge seems cold and empty now, and yet the lack of the AI's presence is not the only thing that Tali finds a little off about the situation. Their new pilot had attached a small holo picture of her boyfriend just above the main displays, and now Tali sees that it has been removed, lying face down before Lia'Vael, the young quarian slumped in her seat, head rested against the switched off consoles.

"Lia?" Tali asks quietly, still managing to startle her friend, jumping up from her seat.

"Admiral Zorah, I... I'm sorry, I must have-"

"No admiral, at least not today. Just Tali," she speaks, taking Lia's hands in hers, feeling the young pilot shaking like a leaf in the wind. "What's wrong, Lia? Tell me."

"Received full list of casualties... the ships we lost," Lia'Vael sobs. "Ulnay... was amongst those ships."

"Keelah... I'm so sorry," Tali sighs, pulling the young quarian close and she does not resist, sobbing against Tali's chest. "Your boyfriend... I never got to meet him, I'm so... so very sorry. What about your family?"

"They were noncombatants... both mother and father are back on Rannoch, ancestors be praised..." Lia'Vael manages. "I am the only child in the family. But this... this hurts... so much. We only linked suits for the first time just before I was assigned to the Normandy, but still... I felt like it could become something... serious..."

"He will be remembered, along with all the other heroes who gave their lives to free us from the shadow of the Reapers," Kal'Reegar speaks quietly, slightly startling Lia'Vael again, the pilot not even having noticed that Tali had been accompanied on the bridge by someone else. "Lieutenant Kal'Reegar vas Neema, at your service, ma'am. Please, allow me to offer my condolences."

"Oh... umm... **the** Kal'Reegar?" Lia'Vael gasps, quickly swallowing her tears. "Admir-... uh, Tali, I... I wish you would have warned me... us... uh, I'm so sorry for throwing such a scene, Lieutenant!"

"**The** Kal'Reegar?" Kal himself appears a little amused. "I had no idea that anyone outside the direct chain of command actually knew of me."

"What?! Of course everyone on the Fleet knows about you! Your heroics on Haestrom, Palaven, now Earth..." Lia'Vael exclaims. "You're no less of a hero than Admiral Zorah... ack, I mean, Tali! Keelah, I am so bad at this..."

"No need to be nervous, Lia, you are amongst friends," Tali speaks, gently patting the other woman's arm. "I've known Kal for years, he is the most unassuming and dependable quarian I have ever had the pleasure of knowing."

"Ah, the good Admiral is being entirely too generous," Kal looks at Tali appreciatively. "Though I must say, I feel a little embarrassed that the actions of the squads under my direct command have been dragged into the spotlight. I'm sure there are many more deserving role models amongst our military."

"See what I told you about unassuming?" Tali gently pokes Lia in the ribs.

"Indeed... well, I and many other young quarians believe you are an outstanding role model, Lieutenant Reegar," Lia'Vael says earnestly.

"Please, that would be Kal for you, Lia'Vael. I hate these formal addresses," Kal offers, already suspecting that with Lia being so jumpy she is bound to forget it and to continue addressing him by his rank anyway.

"...this will be very confusing... Kal... oh, and Tali," Lia'Vael turns away from Kal'Reegar. "Admiral Raan wishes to speak with you at the first opportunity. It seems that Garrus is done in the comm room and it stands empty... I could put you through right now..."

"Oh, goodbye sleep..." Tali sighs theatrically, nevertheless feeling very excited to hear from her aunt again, eager to learn about the situation firsthand from the most credible of sources. "You stay here, Kal, and keep her from moping, is that clear?"

"Yes, ma'am," Kal salutes at her, then turning back to Lia'Vael. "I hope that the Admiral has not set an impossible task before me."

"I... I'm afraid I won't be good company right now, Lieut-... uh, Kal," Lia'Vael replies, her voice breaking a little. "I was... trying to offer a prayer to the ancestors for him, right before you arrived on the bridge. But... I could not find the words. Did not know what to say..."

"I have said far too many such prayers for my men, Lia'Vael," Kal'Reegar speaks sadly. "I would be honored to speak another for your loved one, if you would allow me..."

"I... I think he would have liked that," Lia whispers, looking at Kal'Reegar appreciatively, taking his offered hand, before they both drop down on their knees. "He... held you and your deeds in very high esteem. It would... it would mean a great deal..."

* * *

Once all the doctors and nurses have fled the operating room, Liara takes a deep breath, settling in more comfortably next to Shepard, trying to reduce the strain of bending over her bondmate. Even if what she plans to attempt might seem like quick, fleeting moments during the meld of their minds, she is aware that in the physical realm it could last long enough to make her develop horrible cramps or worse, unless she is properly comfortable and relaxed.

Having found the perfect position that do not bother her injuries, Liara places her open palm against Morgan's cheek, feeling its fading warmth, beginning to concentrate and guide her mind, her eyes slowly growing darker and darker. Usually, Morgan's consciousness, warm and welcoming, would meet her half-way, guide her deeper inside her bondmate's mind, helpful and accepting. But this time, it feels like traversing a great, dark void, and she has serious difficulties in even sensing Morgan's essence.

_Where is she? Is she deliberately hiding her mind from mine? Why? What is going on? _

Finally, after much prodding and poking, she begins to feel Morgan's consciousness, reaching out to it, sending all the love, comfort and caring she can muster across the bond. The pure, undiluted fear and horror she receives in return is shocking and she nearly breaks the bond, shuddering powerfully back in the physical realm.

_'Liara? You... you should not be here...' _

_'And you should not be lying here, close to death. I know the truth, Morgan. There is no use denying it.' _

_'...please, Liara... you don't understand... you can't understand...' _

_'Then __**make**__ me understand! You are deliberately blocking your implants from doing their job and I would know why!' _

_'Because... because I was supposed to die...' _

_'What... what does that even mean, start making sense!' _

_'I was sure I was dying... if not from my injuries, then from the Crucible overloading... and I... I did something horrible, because... I thought it would have no consequences for me...' _

_'Please, Morgan, you could not have known that the beam would take out more than just the Reapers... EDI would have never held it against you, she would have happily sacrificed herself to defeat the Reapers, like everyone else amongst your crew.' _

_'EDI... the beam destroyed EDI? Oh... god... one more reason... please, Liara... just go, love. Leave me, let me pass on, let me be at peace... I... I can't live with the consequences of my actions, please, I beg you.' _

Suddenly Liara feels Shepard trying to withdraw her mind, to pull her consciousness away, to hide and escape the meld, and it takes all her strength to hold on to the link, not allowing Morgan to flee. In the physical realm, the asari's body is shaking and shuddering, droplets of perspiration running across her skin from the effort.

_'I will not allow you to withdraw without explaining, Morgan. You owe that much to me! I want to know what you did that was so horrible that you would choose to forsake me because of it!' _

But there is only silence through the bond, Morgan still desperately trying to escape her clutches, and Liara is inwardly feeling very relieved that her bondmate is not someone more adept at putting up barriers and protecting herself from such invasion into her consciousness.

_'Very well... you leave me no choice, Morgan. You may very well resent me, hate me after this, but... it is preferable than just watching you sacrifice yourself for no good reason.' _

There is heart-breaking panic wafting towards her through the mental link. _'What... what are you doing?' _

_'You refuse to share the truth with me, so that leaves me with just one option. I will rip the truth from your mind, whether you want it or not.'_

_'No! No, you can't do this! You... you wouldn't! No!' _

The panic is so powerful and overwhelming that Liara almost hesitates. _But no, I can't stop now, I must save her, whatever the cost, _she reminds herself, pressing forward, pained cry escaping from her mouth back in the physical realm. Dr. Chloe Michel, watching them on the monitors before her in another operating room, is growing increasingly worried, wondering whether she should charge in and stop Liara from whatever it is that she is attempting.

Liara feels her own consciousness surging forward, past Morgan's desperate mental barriers, her bondmate is far too weak and unfocused to protect the deepest recesses of her mind, her most treasured privacy from her, and Liara crushes everything on her path to the darkest secrets that her bondmate is hiding, Shepard's desperate pleas for her to stop now remaining a mere afterthought.

Her destination is painfully obvious. There is one particular memory that Shepard seems most desperate to protect her from, and she wastes no time in brushing her bondmate's pathetic defenses aside, quickly piercing the memory and immersing herself in it...

Suddenly, Liara finds herself in some sort of a chamber, no, it is something akin to a raised platform. Around her, there are myriads of lights of some sort of gigantic structure. _The Citadel. With its arms still closed... slowly starting to open now..._ Watching everything from Shepard's viewpoint, through her eyes, looking down at her body, not a single spot that wouldn't be coated in dark, congealing blood, feeling exactly the same excruciating agony that Shepard had felt in these moments... _No wonder she believed she was dying... to survive something like this..._

She is not alone on the platform, there are two others with her. Admiral Anderson is one of the men. Liara ventures a guess that he has just opened the arms of the Citadel, the admiral still standing next to the consoles of the Citadel controls. The other one is no longer a human... the Illusive Man looks very much like Saren did in his last moments during the battle of Citadel, the Reaper cybernetics and corruption twisting him into something grotesque.

The Illusive Man is holding Anderson hostage, pressing his pistol against the admiral's temples, demanding that Shepard puts down her weapon as well. Anderson insists that she does not listen to the Illusive Man's commands. He orders her to open fire, if necessary taking out them both. _Goddess... he knew she didn't have a lot of time... he asked her to do this... she... she shouldn't be blaming herself for this... oh Morgan... _

With sheer horror Liara watches Shepard raising her trembling hand, the unsteady, shaky hold of the Carnifex, her bondmate on her last legs, about to collapse from her terrible injuries. The first shot misses completely, and Liara sees the surprise on the Illusive Man's face, not having believed that Shepard would do something like this. The second shot, much to Liara's horror, hits Anderson in the shoulder, and the third misses again.

By this time, the Illusive Man has shaken off his surprise, turning to fire at Shepard, but the fourth shot that leaves Morgan's Carnifex hits the Cerberus leader on the side of the neck, wounding him grievously, spinning him sideways. Morgan's hand trembles powerfully before she unleashes her next shot, the bullet moving way off target and hitting the already badly injured Anderson in the chest, and then the Illusive Man shoots him twice through the ribs for good measure, as Anderson silently collapses, dead, the soft fall accompanied by Liara's mental cry of anguish. There is just one more shot fired after that. Before the Illusive Man can turn his weapon on her, Morgan fires again, and with amazing accuracy the last bullet pierces the forehead of their despicable foe right in the center, instantly killing the Illusive Man, decapitating the head of the snake that is Cerberus.

_Goddess... I know he asked her to do this, but..._ Liara thinks as she pulls herself away from the memory, still struggling to maintain the bond, what she has just seen has left her emotionally drained like never before. _She was forced to shoot at, to kill one of her oldest friends, almost her father figure... I... I should not be surprised that it has broken her will to live. But... I still must convince her that she has to fight, that I will help her heal and recover from this... _

_'You can stop hiding now... I know the truth, Morgan.'_

There is some anger and resentment coming through the bond, but not as intense as she had feared it might be. That she would have deserved for this... unforgivable invasion she has subjected her own bondmate to._ 'Then you have to understand why you must let me pass on. Please.' _

_'And you do not believe that this time I would be to able to help you heal? To make things better? We... we could help each other. I... I will need your love, your forgiveness to live with what I just did to you, Morgan... to asari, it is considered inexcusable crime...'_

_'You have my forgiveness, and my love, always, Liara... but there are limits to what-' _

_'No! No, there are no limits! You said it yourself, you agreed that our love would transcend everything! Come back to me and together we will figure out how to make things better, I know we will, and you must believe it as well.' _

There is only silence across the bond, however.

_'Please, Morgan... if you do not consider me worth coming back for, then-' _

_'It's not that, Liara. You are my everything, you know that... it's just that... I don't have the strength anymore... there's... too much of everything, too much death...' _

_'Then don't add to those deaths, you selfish fool! And it's not just me who will need you. This child deserves to have a father, and I'll be damned if I let you deny her of that!' _

_'...what?!' _

_'It... it is true. I am in my second month, Morgan. I... did not want to put any more pressure on you by telling you about it. I did not want you to falter from the hard decisions... but now, you need to know just what you will lose if you stop fighting!' _

_'A child... you're with a child... how... when...' _

_'Just before Tuchanka. After I showed you the time capsule... you remember?' _

_'Yes... I thought something was off about that Joining... why did you not tell me? You... you should have told me...' _

_'It is possible that in not telling you, I... made a mistake. Please... you can hate me all you want for it, but you can't give up the fight now...' _

_'Hate you? No... I don't think I can. Even if I am... as upset with you as I've ever been. It's just... I feel overwhelmed. Did you... plan for it to happen?'_

_'No... not as such. But the words you spoke when we discussed the time capsule... I... I did not think I could love you any more than in that very moment, and I was so overcome by my feelings that I could not stop myself from mapping your DNA. It was not... completely intentional, but I do not regret anything. Please... do not make me regret it, Morgan. Fight. For me. For our child.' _

_'I... yes... this... this changes everything... I will fight.' _

_'Promise?' _

_'I promise.' _

_'Good. I am becoming extremely exhausted my love... I need to break this bond soon, or I will collapse any moment.' _

_'I understand. I will fight, Liara, I promise. Keep yourself and the baby safe, do you hear me?' _

_'I will, Morgan... I will...' _

Then, she is forced to slowly pull back, breaking the meld, leaving herself free from the mental connection, immediately sensing how stiff and numb her body feels, aching all over, drenched in sweat, the feeling of lightheadedness rushing over her. Unable to remain upright, Liara slowly collapses on the floor next to Morgan's bed, the last thing she hears is Dr. Michel and her staff rushing in, but for the moment the asari feels safe in her knowledge that she has given her bondmate a fighting chance.


	129. Everybody's Changing

_A/N: Shockingly, no Shepard and Liara in this one. I thought they needed a little break after the last chapter. But don't worry, behind the scenes, Shepard is slowly beginning to recover. ;)  
_

_Also, even if it's something of a fandom canon, no 'Thea' Tevos in this story. I went with a different name, because following asari naming conventions, Tevos should be her first name, not last name. Also, I imagine that a councilor of the asari would come from a very influential clan, that all appear to be named T'Something. Well, that was my line of thinking anyway! _

**Chapter 128 - Everybody's Changing**

"Is there anyone close nearby to you, Admiral Raan?" Tali asks, standing in the Normandy comm room and looking at the vid projection of her fellow admiral.

"No, I do not believe so. Why do you ask, Tali?" Shala'Raan inquires.

"Because I wanted to call you Auntie Raan and shout how great it is to see you alive!" Tali exclaims, bouncing a little in front of the consoles, feeling so incredibly relieved that for a moment she forgets that her body terribly exhausted.

"Tali, it is a relief to see you alive and well, too," Raan says kindly, looking a little amused. "I trust you are taking good care of yourself."

"Well... I desperately need a few hours of sleep, Auntie," Tali bashfully admits. "But I really need an update on the state of the Fleet, or I won't be able to get that sleep."

"I won't lie to you, Tali, it was a very close thing. We have lost two thirds of our ships and over a half of our people, and most importantly, we nearly lost the Rayya, too."

"Yes, I have heard about that, but what exactly happened, Auntie Raan?"

"It was purely bad luck. The fleets were reorganizing when one of those Reaper capital ships fired upon us and by some miracle the beam didn't hit any of the hundred ships close to its path but cut straight to the Rayya and severely crippled our liveship. We escorted it away from the battle immediately, but there are massive hull breaches and several of the agricultural wings have been wiped out completely. Our engineers are still trying to contain the damage."

"What does that mean in combination with the news about the relays being damaged?" Tali asks, wringing her hands nervously.

"Our food production capacity is down to 40%, which considering our losses in the battle would be sufficient for our people not to starve," Raan explains. "Unfortunately, we are not the only dextros trapped in the system, and the turians didn't have the foresight to bring enough food supplies to last for an extended period of time. I do not think we can let our turian brothers and sisters starve, after they have fought shoulder to shoulder with us. Besides, if we decide to withhold the supplies... well, I don't want to think about that, but they could become desperate enough to-"

"Let's... let's just not go there," Tali shudders briefly. "I'm sure we can figure something out."

"Indeed," Admiral Raan nods. "The turian leaders are constantly contacting me as well, desperate to hear the projections of how much we will be able to share. Councilor Sparatus has informed me that most of the warehouses storing food supplies have been lost when the Citadel's Zakera Ward was destroyed. And Primarch Victus wants to know by how much they need to limit their rations to be able to hold out for nine to twelve months, which is the current... optimistic projection for the relay repairs."

"We should consider doing the same, Auntie, we will be able to survive longer and will have more to spare!" Tali exclaims.

"Yes, which is why I need your approval to limit daily rations to our troops by 20%, Tali," Raan nods.

"Granted," the affirmation is immediate.

"There is no need for you to make the sacrifice, Tali, whether one person does it or not won't make a difference, and I'd rather see you eating well..."

"Absolutely not, I will not give myself any special treatment," Tali replies vehemently. "In fact, I am sure the Normandy has some supplies that I can requisition and share with our people... though, I imagine we're not that desperate yet..."

Raan shakes her head, obviously having expected Tali's reaction. "Thankfully we are nowhere near that desperate, child. It's simply that we should begin saving resources while we still can, and then with luck we will not have to face such desperation. We will continue to work together with the turians to see if we can work out some sort of arrangement."

"That's... good to hear," Tali says, her words broken up by taking one of those deep volus-like yawns.

"Well, I can see that you need to rest, I will not delay you for much longer, my dear Tali," Raan speaks, sounding as if she is smiling under her mask. "But there are a few more items we have to discuss. First, the turians have been demanding that the Alliance grant them a place for a small enclave groundside to position their troops and work with the locals to aid them in their efforts of rebuilding. I was thinking that perhaps the Alliance could grant our people a small lot of space near the turians, where we could store some of the food supplies for an easy exchange with their ground forces. Also, many of our people have expressed a desire to work planetside and help humans rebuild their homes."

"I agree with that plan, absolutely a good... idea," Tali says, yawning again in the middle of the sentence.

"Now, for the most important part," Raan speaks, crossing her hands on her chest. "As you well know, the Admiralty Board has been undermanned since we lost both Gerrel and Xen, and to operate with the necessary authority, we badly need to promote worthy candidates from our midst."

"But we'd need Koris for that, wouldn't we?" Tali asks. "And I don't think we have managed to set up a QEC connection back to the homeworld, or have we..."

"No... but Admiral Koris and I spoke about potential candidates before leaving Rannoch. I have his written consent, approving both of these choices. I bring them up now because they both have fortunately survived the battle for Earth, and would be able to step up to accept this mantle of responsibility, pending your approval."

"I... I can scarcely believe you did not mention this to me until now!" Tali sounds a little shocked.

"I apologize, Tali, but you were so distraught over the incident with the Normandy back on Rannoch, and later I did not want to bring it up on the eve of the battle, where none of our survival was guaranteed," Raan explains. "I hope you can forgive me, child."

"Of... of course, now that you explained it, it all makes perfect sense..." Tali nods without much thought. "So, who are those two? I've spent so much time away from my people in past few years, I might not even know them..."

"I dare say you will," Raan says, a little mysteriously. "Our first candidate is Captain Kar'Danna vas Rayya. I believe you have met before."

"Of course I have, and that is a resounding 'Yes!' from me!" Tali cheers. "He's a great candidate, thank you for choosing him! He's always been so supportive towards me, level-headed and wise. He will make a great admiral! And who's the last one, Auntie?"

"A highly distinguished marine you know well, admired for his many deeds of great heroism," Admiral Raan informs her. "I am, of course, speaking of your friend Kal'Reegar."

"...Kal?! Admiral Kal'Reegar! Oh... oh my..." Tali staggers, almost falling on her back from the shock and surprise. "I... did not expect this, but... yes, Keelah, absolutely yes, he'll be reluctant, worried, shocked, uncertain... but I'll talk him into accepting the responsibility... and he will do a great job!"

"That is good," Raan sounds pleased. "Finally the Admiralty Board will be at full complement so that we can best serve our people."

"In fact, Kal is here with me on the Normandy," Tali says. "I could inform him right away!"

"Then I bid you farewell, dear child. But do not forget about sleeping, Tali," Raan reminds her as they part, bowing lightly to each other and Tali skips out of the comm room and back towards the bridge. As she arrives there, Tali finds Kal'Reegar and Lia'Vael immersed in quiet talking, not even sensing her approach. _She sounds far less depressed now, but Kal's just that kind of a person, he can make anyone feel a bit better just by talking with them,_ Tali smiles inwardly, watching the other two conversing quietly.

_There's definitely a bit of hero worship in that body language... and I don't think Kal has any lady friends or anyone waiting for him back on Rannoch... maybe I could try and encourage them... _she then breaks off her train of thoughts, blushing furiously under her facemask. _I shouldn't be thinking something so inappropriate, she has just lost her boyfriend, romance is hardly on her mind, she just needs the comfort of a friendly shoulder... and a lot of good things can start from there, admittedly. _

She finally abandons her plots of matchmaking, alerting the others to her appearance with a pronounced cough, startling them slightly. _Hmm, perhaps I shouldn't shock him with the news just yet, though,_ Tali decides, watching Kal slowly rising from the co-pilot's seat. _I don't think he'll be able to rest after such a bombshell being dropped on his head, and it can surely wait for a few hours._ "Kal, I could show you to a free bunk for some sleep now, you must be completely exhausted," she merely says, seeing the other quarian nodding to that. "Follow me," but as she turns around, she hears Lia'Vael speaking up behind her.

"Admir-... ugh, Tali, please, if I could ask for a moment in private..." the ever-timid pilot says.

"I'll wait by the CIC," Kal'Reegar offers, walking ahead of her.

"What is it, Lia?" Tali asks.

"I'm not sure what to respond to this..." Lia'Vael says, bringing up a short text transmission up on the screen before them.

"...get out of my pilot's seat, you impostor suit-rat?" Tali reads the message, gasping in shock. "Keelah... Joker, you... you wouldn't! Oh, I'm so sorry, Lia, I guess Joker is still taking this all very badly. I'm... sure he will calm down. I would just... ignore this and do not respond to it."

"What about the ten other messages, do I ignore those as well?" Lia asks.

"There... there are more?" Tali feels absolutely stunned.

"Eleven messages altogether in the previous six hours. The one I showed you was the... kindest."

"Has he... learned of EDI's fate?" Tali suddenly realizes something.

"Yes, he appears to know that EDI is offline," Lia'Vael nods softly. "Oh, I don't know what to do, Tali, I do not wish to offend anyone with my presence, but... but perhaps it would just be best if I'd simply leave, perhaps he is ready to resume his post..."

"Let's not be hasty, Lia, I will... talk it over with someone," Tali quickly moves to reassure the other quarian, gently hugging her. "For now, simply do not open any new messages from him. And take a break from your post as well, Samantha can keep watching the communications, the Normandy won't be leaving the Citadel for a while, so you don't need to be here at the helm all the time."

"Alright... alright, I will," Lia nods slowly. "I'll take some time off, I promise."

"That's a good girl," Tali softly pats Lia on the shoulder before walking away from the bridge to catch up with Kal'Reegar. _Keelah, as if we didn't have enough of real problems... now, Joker insists to become one of them, too... damn it... _

* * *

"About the bloody time," Lieutenant Kurin Calvi opens her eyes to a gruff greeting from a massive, grumbling krogan, sitting next to her hospital bed.

"Aww... baby's getting bored without me?" she asks, then having to cough painfully for a while. She tests her fingers and toes by wiggling them and every limb seems to respond, being in place, even if her body feels more than a bit sore.

"If you had died, it would have meant that I spent the entire battle digging you out of rubble for nothing," Grunt chuckles in that adorably disturbing way of his.

"Appreciate it, love," Kurin winks at her favorite krogan, watching him becoming a little flustered from her deliberately teasing sweetness. "Say, it looks like I'm back on the Citadel... which probably means the galaxy is saved, the Reapers are gone and I bloody went and missed the whole battle by being a dumbass and charging a wall?"

"That sounds about right," Grunt grins. "Yeah, Shepard took care of everything for us. Shame, but I hear her recovery isn't as smooth as yours. For a while they were sure she was going to die. Now I heard from Liara that they have stabilized her... whatever that means..."

"That means she's not getting worse, at least. And what of the others? Did your clan leader made out alright?" Grunt shakes his head in response to that question, pointing towards the doors leading to another ward of the hospital. "He's there, injured? Well, how is he looking?"

"Flat and grumpy," Grunt replies with a shrug. "But otherwise fine. He'll be alright. Listen... everyone's been sending their people back down to the planet, something about helping weakling humans rebuild. Even gave us krogan some place to put up our camp! Been getting calls from fellow Urdnot... they want me down there, while the old man is still enjoying his nap," he points at Wrex's door again.

"Do you know if the asari have sent their people down to Earth as well?" Kurin asks, gently pulling herself higher up in the bed.

"Yeah, think so. The turians are our closest neighbors though, some ten miles north," Grunt explains. "So, I was wondering... how much time do you think you're going to be spending here, doing nothing? That squeaky man in white insisted that you need three more days, but that can't be right."

"Three days, completely ridiculous, I feel absolutely fine!" Kurin tries to turn her legs to get out of the bed, suddenly feeling a red hot spike of pain shooting through her right leg towards the hip. "...on second thought, maybe I want to take off another day or so... but baby doesn't need to wait for me, honestly, you can just go and play 'Tackle the Kakliosaur' with your krogan friends, and I'll catch up with you once I can... hmm, walk?"

"You won't mind me leaving you here alone?" Grunt asks, puzzled, as he scratches his chin.

"Well, I don't want you to die of boredom up here," Kurin shrugs. _By the end of the third day, he'd probably have roughed up a few doctors and nurses... a bored krogan is a dangerous krogan._ "Come a bit closer, you big softie of mine," she then chuckles, wrapping her arms around Grunt's neck as much as she is able, before planting a big, wet smooch on his cheek. "There, now run along and go play with your clansmates. And try not to blow up anything nuclear, at least until I can go down to the planet and observe the exciting explosions!"

"Yes, honey..." Grunt grumbles, getting up and carefully lumbering out of Kurin's hospital room, leaving the asari wondering just how the hell she has gotten involved in such a strange and awkward relationship. _Not complaining, though,_ she grins to herself. _Definitely not complaining. _

* * *

"This is rather impressively good for hospital fare," Tevos T'Naori, known to the most of the galaxy as Councilor Tevos, or simply 'the asari councilor', is currently busy sipping a nourishing broth from a tray placed over her hospital bed. The injury is no longer causing her pain, however, it is taking a lot of time for her physically untrained body to recover the necessary strength to endure the daunting schedule of a councilor. The doctors here at the small Tayseri Ward hospital are aware of this, being extra careful with their highly esteemed patient.

There is only one other person in the small room reserved specifically for her, another asari, currently standing at the window, but Aria T'Loak is not looking outside of said window, in fact she is staring at her own reflection, once again admiring how intimidating the black eye-patch covering her left eye makes her look. "So, remind me again, Aria, how did you explain your presence here without completely and utterly ruining my career?"

"Apparently I'm here because I need a favor from you, and everyone in this hospital have been gossiping how you're in my pocket," Aria smirks in reply. "They've all seen you with those two young asari, who I claimed to be exotic dancers in my employ."

"I hate using the girls even as a flimsy excuse like that. It's just fortunate that everyone has bigger issues to look at right now than investigating just what sort of dirty dealings and shocking promiscuity the asari councilor might be involved with," Tevos remarks, the spoon then stopping half-way to her mouth. "So, **do** you need a favor, Aria?"

"Maybe. When do you plan to return to work?"

"In a couple of days. Valern and Sparatus are flooding me with status updates as soon as they found out I had regained consciousness, it's like they don't want me to rest," Tevos grumbles good-naturedly. "Why do you ask?"

"Eh... damned Hackett and his fellow idiot admirals are annoying me," Aria shrugs. "You see, the merc groups decided to cash in on the chaos. All the Blue Suns, Eclipse and Blood Pack have been sending their forces down to Earth in numbers, claiming large territories as their own before the Alliance had even lifted a finger. And they think I'm behind it all... I can't convince them that I don't fucking care about this devastated rock that is their precious Earth."

"So you want my help to get Hackett off your back," Tevos muses. "Hmm... there might be a way. Some of those admirals are making not so vague hints about how deserving they are to claim the vacant spot of the humanity's councilor. Especially this man named... Singh, was it? Maybe it's something I can use."

"It would be appreciated," Aria nods. "By the way, this is the last time I'm visiting you. Here, in the hospital," she adds quickly, seeing how Tevos blanches from her words, gratified from the powerful reaction of fear on her lover's face.

"Yes... that would be prudent," the councilor admits reluctantly. "I... might have an idea on how to smoothen the situation and quench these rumors about our relationship. If the concern is even still relevant, we have very little idea about the state of our homeworld. I will try to make use of the QEC in the Council chambers as soon as I am able."

Aria lets out a snort full of contempt. "I wouldn't shed a tear if those elder matriarchs had all been clawed to little shreds by husks, or worse. Guiding our people with their infinite wisdom and patience, my ass."

"It... sometimes is tempting to agree with that sentiment, yes. But what about you, Aria? I know you didn't expect to end up in a situation like this... it must feel... very strange for you," Tevos remarks quietly. "Are you making any plans?"

"I've been... thinking, yes," Aria says, turning around from the window to face her. "Once you get out of here, and when you have a moment of time... we should talk."

"Talk? Oh my, that sounds serious, Aria," the councilor cannot resist a wink at her secret lover.

"I have realized that whatever plans I make for the future, I can no longer make them on my own. Too many people are involved now, the girls... you, if you still want to be involved, that is."

Tevos' eyes widen from the little hint of insecurity that seems to have slipped into Aria's words just then. "I do want to be involved, Aria, make no mistake about that," she says earnestly. "Goddess, whatever has happened... has certainly changed you. And I think that I... find this change... intoxicating."

"I assume by that you don't just mean my sexy eye-patch?" Aria chuckles, showing that some of her swagger-filled old self still remains in there.

"Not quite, though I approve of that as well," Tevos smiles.

"I think I blame Shepard and T'Soni most of all... the time spent with them, I... I felt myself change... damn, I can't really explain, but... when I heard you and the girls had been taken, I was just so angry... it was unbearable, and it was then that I realized that nothing will ever be the same again."

"It's alright, Aria... everything will be alright," the councilor speaks softly, watching the expression on Aria's face becoming a swirl of emotions, anger and passion. "Rila and Falere are safe, and so am I. I don't know what the future holds for us, but... I have a good feeling about it. And it seems that I will have one more thing to thank Liara and Shepard for."

"Yeah... if Shepard makes it," Aria sighs. "Dumb, stubborn human. Just refused to die... anyone else would have long expired from those sort of injuries. The state she was in when I found her... seen a lot of horrible shit in my days, but that was... some of the worst."

"Liara has been kind enough to update me on Shepard's and her own condition. It seems that while Shepard remains critical, there is some slight improvement. I believe that as soon as I am feeling better, I should make it my duty to visit them and express my gratitude."

"I planned to stop by later, too," Aria admits a little reluctantly. "I can't express gratitude to T'Soni, though, that would just be undignified and make that little bitch far too smug for my liking."

"Yes, we wouldn't want anyone to start spreading rumors that the fearsome Aria T'Loak has gone soft," Tevos chuckles, setting the tray aside. Then she leans back in the pillows and faces Aria with a different kind of stare, full of longing, passion and desire, the kind that makes Aria's own knees go a little weak and wobbly. "Goddess, I have missed you so much, Aria. I would give so much for a moment of privacy with you right now... to feel your lips against mine, to grind my hips against your firm, probing fingers, to experience the wonder of our essences mingling... it has been too long..."

From the way Aria is clenching her fists even tighter, swallowing and licking her lips before replying, Tevos only feels her desire spiking even higher. "Soon. Very soon," Aria simply manages, knowing that the blinds on the windows of Tevos' room do not offer the kind of privacy that they both are craving right now.

"Perhaps it would not be a good idea while the doctors are constantly monitoring all my vital readings. They would get quite the shock," Tevos chuckles, trying to clear the building tensions and making the raw hunger throbbing within her dissipate, but it is a difficult proposition while looking at Aria nearby, seeing the undisguised primal and possessive need on her face, her entire being radiating these powerful waves of raw sensuality. "Though... I think they will become concerned in a few moments, even if we don't actually do anything..." Tevos adds quietly.

Aria's lips curl back in a feral, knowing grin. "Yes... I should go before I kill you from embarrassment," the Pirate Queen nods. "Or... frustration..."

_I should have better control over this, I am the powerful and wise councilor of the most advanced species in the galaxy,_ Tevos mentally chides herself, knowing deep inside that it is impossible for her to even attempt resisting Aria's sheer force of personality, and even more powerful sex-appeal. "Both are equally likely to happen unless you go now, yes," she finally admits with a weak sigh, savoring the victorious expression on Aria's face.

"This might be the only time I agree to take pity on you, Councilor," Aria says imperiously, sauntering past Tevos on her way to the doors. "Don't expect me to give you an easy time when I see you again in a few days..."

"Oh, Aria..." one last needy whisper escapes Tevos' lips as her lover finally leaves the room. "I wouldn't want it any other way..."


	130. First Signs Of Fracture

**Chapter 129 - First Signs Of Fracture**

"You have all been forwarded with the latest updates from our science teams working on the relay restoration," Admiral Steven Hackett speaks to the other members of this latest vid conference. Also present are all three alien councilors, Primarch Victus, Matriarch Lidanya and the quarian Admiral Shala'Raan vas Tonbay.

"As you can see, the researchers have very thoroughly identified all the tasks before them, as well as the projected time and resources needed for the completion of every stage. The limiting factor now becomes the resources available to us. As you are aware, all the major industrial centers on Earth have been destroyed and it is taking a lot of time to make them operational, even with the gracious aid of all the other races," Hackett finishes.

"Almost everything except several components needed in the latter stages of the project can be easily mass produced," the salarian councilor, Valern, is the first to speak up, his quick mind comprehending the vast amount of information the fastest. "This should not be treated as an excuse for any delays, Admiral Hackett. The speed at which the factories are rebuilt needs to be increased, it is as simple as that."

"The geth possess the technology to produce the more complicated installations," Admiral Raan remarks. "They would also be very useful in aiding the restoration of the destroyed industrial complexes. We saw their efficiency when they helped us with rebuilding Rannoch."

"But I understand that they have been denied access to land planetside?" the asari councilor, Tevos, faces Hackett with an inquiring stare. "What is the reason for this, Admiral Hackett?"

"The majority of my fellow admirals still treat the geth as a massive security threat, Madame Councilor," Hackett replies politely, even if personally he disagrees with the narrow-minded opinions of Singh and his many fellow admirals.

"This is unacceptable," Victus, the leader of the Turian Hierarchy, speaks up angrily. "The more delays you cause to the relay restoration, the more of my people risk dying of starvation if this process takes too long!"

"I strongly agree," his fellow turian, Councilor Sparatus, nods. "Admiral Raan, we need to debate more in depth about your latest food supply projections after we have finished this meeting."

"Do you require any aid in mediating your talks?" Councilor Tevos kindly offers.

"No, thank you, Madame Councilor," Raan speaks up quickly. "Primarch Victus and Councilor Sparatus have been most courteous and considerate in the face of this very difficult situation."

"If the Alliance won't cooperate, this doesn't forbid us from inviting the geth to the enclaves that have been assigned for our use," Matriarch Lidanya wisely suggests. "In fact, we have already extended an invitation for the geth to set up a small base inside the asari camp."

"And so have our people," Raan says. "We will make sure that the relay reconstruction continues at maximum speed, despite the Alliance... making awkward decisions that do not hasten the process."

"That is an acceptable loophole, and while my fellow admirals will not be pleased, they will also be unable to do anything about it," Hackett nods approvingly.

"Perhaps your fellow admirals need to concentrate more on the issues at hand, instead of doing highly inappropriate backdoor campaigning for the open post of humanity's councilor," Tevos say sternly, making Hackett inwardly curse Singh again.

"Especially if the one candidate we would prefer for this post is currently still recovering on the Citadel," Sparatus adds, looking annoyed as well, no doubt also being pestered by Singh and possibly some others.

"I agree that Shepard would be the obvious choice, but it is doubtful she will want the honor, even if she recovers," Hackett says ponderously, knowing full well that he would have a very difficult task in convincing his fellow admirals into nominating Shepard.

"As I have been telling your admirals, this is not the time for these sort of games," Tevos continues. "Also, I would like to take this opportunity to remind that no matter what candidate you come up with, the Council will always reserve the right to veto them."

"I can only offer apologies for any indiscreet behavior on the part of my peers," Hackett says uncomfortably. "But I feel we are digressing from the issues at hand. Councilor Valern... the salarians are the only Council race who so far have refrained from committing larger forces groundside to assist with the rebuilding. May I inquire as to the reasons?"

"We are concerned about the safety of our people," Valern replies curtly. "The comments about the reluctance of the Salarian Union to enter this war are being blown entirely out of proportion. Our people are facing prejudice because of the assertion that they were unwilling to help the galactic community in this battle. There are tiresome assertions over some of the diplomatic channels that the Salarian Union should be excluded from the Galactic Council."

"That will not happen, my friend," Tevos moves to quickly assure her old colleague, as always looking to preserve the peace and smoothen any misunderstandings. "The salarians do not have to fear being abandoned. We are aware of the difficult political situation on Sur'Kesh and the reasons behind those developments. Your people will not be judged harshly for it."

"Especially when it was the choices made by a human who put us in this difficult position," Valern continues. "I do not blame Shepard for her actions on Tuchanka, it seems that for now history has proven her correct, though the long term consequences remain unclear."

"We must make sure to invite Urdnot Wrex to these meetings as soon as his health improves," Primarch Victus says. "The krogan should not be allowed to feel excluded, for the sake of galactic peace. Their request for embassy should be considered carefully as well."

"The quarians would like to extend a similar request, and we believe that we deserve this opportunity in light of our recent actions," Shala'Raan quickly inserts.

"The Council will debate this, Admiral Raan, though on my part I can promise that I will be sympathetic to your cause," Councilor Tevos offers a small smile to the quarian.

"We can debate the possible expansion of the Council at a later time," Valern says impatiently. "But there was more I wished to add about the safety concerns that have been encountered planetside. We have heard about the problems that the asari are facing, and these reports compound our fears. Matriarch Lidanya can undoubtedly explain more."

Hackett has rarely seen the usually composed Lidanya upset, but this is one of those rare occasions when her beautiful face is twisted with a brief grimace of anger. "Yes... I am... shocked and saddened by some of the reports we are receiving from Earth," she grinds out tersely. "Apparently, the area allocated to the Asari Republics shares borders with zones of increased unrest, rife with criminal elements. I have received almost two dozen reports of attacks on our people, mostly with... sexual intent," she stops for a moment, the matriarch is so incensed that her shoulders are shaking, making Hackett groan inwardly, having had no knowledge that the situation groundside is this bad.

"I'm sorry to hear that, Matriarch Lidanya," Hackett says. "Did these crimes occur while your people were in their enclave or within their assigned restoration zone?"

"What does it matter? Some of our maidens are getting raped and murdered!" Lidanya fumes. "You can't expect them to remain cooped up in their prefab shelters the whole time!"

"Once again, I am deeply sorry for the loss of your people, but the Alliance does not have the situation under control yet, and as such, there will be areas that are more dangerous than others," Hackett explains politely. "I would advise that your people take extreme care when moving through unsecured areas and do so only while well armed and in numbers. We do not have the manpower to assign more protection for the asari."

"I must say that this does not reflect well on humanity," Tevos shakes her head sadly. "We are sending our people down there with only the best of intentions, and in turn they are subjected to such treatment... I am very, very disappointed, Admiral."

"This unrest is largely caused by the heavy presence of the Blue Suns and Eclipse mercenary groups in the area," Hackett remarks. "Both of these groups are controlled by an asari... one Aria T'Loak, unless I am mistaken?"

"This is a false assertion, I can personally assure you that Aria T'Loak is not in charge of whatever operations these mercenary groups might be conducting groundside," Tevos replies defensively, almost angrily. "Her deal with these mercenaries only concerned their aid in the battle against the Reapers, and she has relinquished control of these groups back to their respective leaders. In case of the Blue Suns, it would be a human by the name of Darner Vosque."

"Do you expect me to believe that Aria would just-"

"Yes, I would," Tevos unexpectedly raises her voice to cut Hackett off, surprising everyone present. "And you will believe it, because it is the truth. Now, since you appear both unwilling and unable to deal with these security issues, we will be increasing the deployment of our troops groundside to better protect our own people."

"We need more prefab shelters to accommodate more troops, Councilor," Lidanya adds quickly. "Already, some of our commandos are forced to live in unacceptable conditions."

"We would be able to deploy more soldiers and engineers as well if we had more prefabs," Victus says, nodding at Lidanya.

"Again, the geth could be instrumental in setting up comfortable and simple housing on a very short notice, we saw their work on Rannoch," Raan jumps in helpfully.

"As I mentioned before, you are free to invite the geth into your respective enclaves if you desire so," Hackett shrugs, starting to get tired of being put into the position of the Council's personal pinata by his own fellow admirals. "We will increase the manufacture of the prefabs soon, but the choice whether to wait or turn to the geth for aid is ultimately yours."

"Then we will proceed accordingly," Tevos nods curtly.

"And to your colleagues, Admiral Hackett, I wish to say only this," Councilor Sparatus speaks up. "Regarding their reluctance in cooperating with us... I would have thought they would do everything in their power to fix the relays as quickly as possible, so that all the scary aliens can go home and leave you humans alone, as you apparently want to be. To slow down our efforts at repairing the relays seems counterproductive with what they are hoping to achieve."

"You have completely misunderstood the intentions of Systems Alliance, I assure you," Hackett says, growing a little annoyed himself. "Now... if there are no more issues on the agenda..." Everyone stays silent, much to his relief. "Very well then, dis-" He winces inwardly, cutting the sentence off while silently cursing himself for almost dismissing the councilors out of pure habit. "I mean, we will reconvene again in twenty-four hours..."

* * *

"Sam! Samantha!" Specialist Traynor slowly pulls herself away from the consoles, hearing Lia'Vael calling out her name. Between watching several news feeds simultaneously, as well as trying to concentrate on an extranet game of chess against Gabby down in the engineering, Samantha often finds herself lacking awareness to notice that someone is addressing her. "Sam, you've got a visitor coming onboard!" Lia finishes.

"Oh? Visitor?" Samantha wonders. "I'm not expecting anyone!"

"Well, then you're in for a surprise, I guess," the young quarian shrugs. "Listen, Sam... I'm going to take a little shore leave now, Tali told me to go out and relax a little bit, and so I've decided to listen to her."

"Sure, nothing much is happening here anyway," Traynor smiles. "Is Tali coming with you?"

"No... ah, I'm meeting Kal... err, I guess it would be Admiral Reegar now, wouldn't it?" Lia hesitates, looking at the ground as if she were ashamed. "I mentioned that I've never been on the Presidium before... so he kindly offered to accompany me."

"That's lovely, I hope you'll have good time," Samantha's grin widens and even if she can't see under Lia's faceplate, she knows that the young quarian is blushing furiously. Lia'Vael then turns around to swiftly make her way to the airlock, almost running into the visitor, coming onboard to see Samantha. The first reaction Traynor has is to let out a cheerful exclamation of joy as she sees Jack stomping over to the CIC, but when she sees the face of the human biotic her cheerfulness fades instantly, Jack looks depressed and angry, pushing her hands away when Samantha tries to embrace her.

"Not in the mood for the touchy-feely shit right now, Sam," Jack snaps harshly, and Samantha does her best to force herself from assuming an expression of disappointment.

"What's wrong? Tell me!" Traynor asks, watching Jack begin pacing back and forth the CIC like a caged panther. "Come on, Jack, you wouldn't have come here if you didn't want to speak with me..." she continues to prod when answers are still not forthcoming.

Jack sighs deeply, stopping in her tracks. "Everything's just gone to shit, Sammie. Spent last twelve hours sitting bedside next to the last of my students, Rodriguez. Damn, the little bitch had the audacity to die in the end, after all that... fuck, she was the last of them, Sam, the last of my students. They're all gone... all down to the last."

"Oh... gods," Samantha gasps, shocked. "I... I'm so sorry. But Jack... I hope you're not blaming yourself for their deaths... you could not have prepared them better in the short amount of time you had with them!"

"Of course. Could have done a few things differently, but when a destroyer turns that red beam of nasty shit on you, it wouldn't have really mattered, would it?" Jack spits angrily. "So no, not blaming myself. The Reapers killed them, not I."

"You cared about them so much," Samantha feels an errant tear escaping her eye, her heart breaking for this young woman in front of her, someone who she actually barely knows, but has become so fond of in this short time. "I... I just wish you'd let me comfort you..."

"Oh, you don't want to be anywhere near me, Sam, I haven't had a shower for three days," Jack shakes her head. "Was hoping that maybe you could fix me up for that... and a warm bunk to sleep for a few hours. I wonder if my old place in the engineering is still free..."

"Which one is that?" Traynor asks.

"I'll show you, if you can set me up with a warm, comfy shower," Jack says.

"Hmm... alright, I think I can do that..." Samantha replies, then an idea suddenly occurring to her, making her grin wickedly. "In fact, let's skip on the crappy showers on the female bathrooms. Shepard and Liara won't be coming back onboard for a long time, and I've always wondered about the shower Commander has up in her quarters..."

"That's... kinda kinky," Jack remarks, giving Traynor a slightly surprised stare. "Next you'll tell me that you're going to join me for that shower."

"Of course I will," Traynor nods, before adding quietly. "Couldn't get one hot girl into that shower, at least I'll get another."

"...what was that?" Jack asks, peering at her curiously.

"Nothing..." Samantha musters an innocent expression on her face. "Absolutely nothing."

* * *

"It is beautiful, even now," Lia'Vael remarks, looking across the remains of the Presidium, many of its shops and restaurants lying in ruin, the bridges crossing the numerous ponds and channels have collapsed, and yet there is still a certain kind of tranquility to be found even amongst all this wreckage. The concentration of the keepers seems to be thickest here, the mute workers busy in restoring what they apparently consider to be the very nexus of the Citadel.

"Yes, though I wish you could have witnessed it before the destruction," Kal'Reegar says. "I have seen it only once before myself, while playing a decorated honor guard to Admiral Han'Gerrel during a rare diplomatic visit. Though, I think it was actually a cover for an illegal weapons deal."

"They never allowed me here on the Presidium when I stopped by the Citadel during my Pilgrimage. I don't think they let any quarians up here, unless they were with someone important like Admiral Gerrel."

"Lia, it doesn't sound like you have very happy memories from your previous visit to the Citadel," Kal asks.

"No... I was robbed a few hours after setting my feet off the freighter... I was forced to live in some terrible slums for months, trying to make a few credits on some odd engineering jobs. Even spent two weeks behind bars, after some volus accused me of stealing his credit chit," she sighs heavily at the memories.

"Did you?"

"No... no, of course not! But... the C-Sec officer, a human, he didn't even look for evidence. He found a quarian and ran me in just to please the volus. They found the credit chit two weeks later, the volus had just left it at a nearby shop. They... they never even apologized."

"That's... disgusting," Kal'Reegar snarls, clenching his fists angrily. "But I hope that with our actions during this war, the quarian people have changed the way the rest of the galaxy views us."

"I hope so too," Lia'Vael nods. "Besides... having much smarter people on the Admiralty Board will help. Admiral Gerrel went to great lengths to ruin our reputation even further."

Kal lets out a sigh. "More pressure and expectations to deal with, I have a good mind to just tell them to find someone else for the job, it's... not for me, Lia, I'm a soldier, not a diplomat. I shoot things!"

"Tali'Zorah also likes to get her hands dirty and she's on the Admiralty Board," Lia argues. "I think we actually need more brave quarians like you two, who can get things done, not just speak empty proverbs."

"Hmm... a good point, I hadn't considered that perspective. Perhaps I should not be so hasty in rejecting the offer," Kal'Reegar speaks thoughtfully. "So, do you think I should accept?"

"Oh, absolutely!" Lia'Vael exclaims passionately. "I think you will make a great admiral, Kal! But... well, ultimately, it's your choice..."

"Well, with such a passionate vote of confidence, how could I refuse?" Kal replies, taking her hand and briefly squeezing it, silence setting in after that instinctive gesture seems to have rendered them both incredibly self-conscious.

"I... I hope you don't think that I am..." Lia finally stammers, looking as if she is potentially considering the option of turning around and quickly dashing away. "...uh, pushing you to accept it because of some... inappropriate, ulterior motive..."

"I would never think that, and I feel I have to apologize... it was never my intention to make you uncomfortable or act with disrespect toward you and your feelings," Kal bows, speaking with regret.

"You... have not done so, I assure you... it's just that everything is still so fresh, so raw... and here I am spending time with a dashing hero of our people, a would-be Admiral, and the crew of the Normandy are already gossiping and I just feel so guilty knowing that I should be deep in mourning and yet..."

"Now hold on there," Kal reaches out to stop her flow of words, shaking his head in confusion. "You feel guilty about spending time with me?"

"No... I feel guilty about not feeling bad about spending time with you..." Lia begins to sob, then quickly turning around, evading his attempts to catch her hand and quickly dashing away.

Kal'Reegar sighs in exasperation, looking after the young quarian as she quickly makes her escape. "For eight years I've been married to my rifle..." he speaks to himself quietly. "Certainly has been a far less complicated relationship than dealing with real women... so damn confusing."

* * *

The two days spent in Shalta Wards hospital crawl by in slow and terrifying agony for Liara. Even following her meld with her bondmate, she hasn't been completely reassured whether Morgan would hold her promise and resume fighting again, but Dr. Michel had informed her about the encouraging signs a few hours later, letting her relax a little bit, even if Morgan's recovery had been torturously slow even then. It is only now, two days later, that they have unhooked Morgan from some of those dreadful tubes, and still Michel insists on keeping the Commander sedated for at least a few more days, to save her from some of the horrible pain she would be exposed to if conscious.

The knowledge that Shepard will live is comforting, but Liara's heart is never restful and at peace during these times. Shepard might forgive the forceful, cruel intrusion in her mind, but Liara is not certain whether she can forgive herself so easily, even if she knows that these terrible, shameful actions have saved the life of her bondmate. _I will never submit anyone else to such treatment, I know that and I will keep that promise. These were exceptional circumstances and they will never repeat, I will not go down that road again just because I have done once so already._ She repeats this to herself every waking moment, until after some time she starts to genuinely believe it herself, a little weight being lifted off her shoulders.

Still, the guilt returns in full force whenever her thoughts drift to the tiny seed of life growing inside her, their child that her reckless actions have endangered way beyond acceptable. Tests are being carried out every day, but at this stage of pregnancy not even the more knowledgeable asari doctors can promise anything or predict how the situation will develop. This uncertainty leads to Liara spending her days in a state of increased agitation, worrying about Shepard's eventual reaction, feeling that Morgan might feel disgusted or resent her for her foolishness in endangering the baby. The mere thought that she might have done something that would eventually rob their child from being able to lead a normal life is more than Liara can bear, sending her in a frenzied state of near panic, Michel forced to constantly administer her with mild sedatives.

As far as concerning Liara's physical state, that awful, constricting brace keeping the bones in her shoulder together has been removed just a few hours ago by Chloe Michel, the doctor happy with how her injuries are healing. Only the fractured bones in her leg have not fully set in yet, so the shin brace stays on for now, and tomorrow she is due for some cosmetic surgery to remove the last signs of scarring on her chin and shoulder, where the spinning Mako, launched in the air by Harbinger's beam, struck her, leaving deep wounds. Soon, very soon, the last reminders of this horrible conflict would be erased from her skin and she would be fully recovered. _If only the scars that this war has left upon our souls could be erased just as easily... _

Today, Dr. Michel has finally allowed her to start accepting visitors and access the extranet, and there are plenty of people wanting to see her and even more demanding to know about Shepard's condition, praying that the savior of the galaxy survives her final battle. Naturally, Garrus and Tali had been the first to visit, staying with her for many hours, helping her meet and socialize with all the others coming to visit, and she had been happy for the presence of the couple, basking in their tender support and gaining strength from it.

Aria had stopped by as well, and for some reason Liara had actually expected it. The change in the Pirate Queen was obvious to see, the powerful and intimidating matron less quick to dish out her harsh insults, appearing more thoughtful and slightly respectful, even if she had avoided expressing open feelings like sympathy and concern, Liara had sensed that they were present and that was good enough for her.

The Normandy crew had stopped by as well, of course, Traynor, Cortez, Gabby, Ken, Lia'Vael, having dragged Jack with them from somewhere, all rejoicing in the news that Shepard would eventually recover. Chakwas had joined them as well over a vid call, everyone exhilarated to see their beloved doctor finally up and walking again, steady on her road to full recovery from the most serious of head traumas. There had been no messages coming from Joker yet, and Liara had been most concerned about their old pilot from how Tali had briefly mentioned that they should discuss something about Jeff's behavior as of late, not knowing what to think and expect.

The Council had come to visit as well, led by Tevos and followed by Sparatus and Valern, something Liara had obviously expected, feeling just a little alarmed from how Tevos had gushed about Shepard being the perfect candidate for the open vacancy of humanity's councilor, not sure how she felt about her bondmate tied to such time consuming post. Still, it had been satisfying to hear the councilors singing praises to them both, before they had left to visit Wrex, slowly recovering in another Citadel ward, the councilors realizing the importance of playing nice with the krogan, knowing that the key was to keep Wrex and his people involved in the decision making from now on.

The Alliance brass had visited as well, Hackett and a horde of admirals in tow, but that visit had worn Liara's patience thin and Michel had forbidden any more visitors after that. Admiral Hackett himself had been very cordial and friendly with her, as always, but she could not say the same for the rest, gathering strong feelings of resentment from one or two of Hackett's colleagues. There had even been one remark about not wanting to leave Shepard in the care of suspicious alien doctors, prompting Dr. Michel to sternly insist that the time for visitors had abruptly come to an end.

There had been countless many supportive and inquisitive messages on her omni-tool after that, Kasumi, Miranda, Grunt and many others asking about her wellbeing and Shepard's health, and she had replied to them all patiently, until Michel had confiscated her omni-tool, switched it off and helped her get back into the bed to get some of that much needed rest.

But through all her travails, Liara simply missed her bondmate, her goofy smile and sometimes awkward manner, her cultural faux-passes and ill-timed humor that served to make Liara permanently embarrassed, her all encompassing and unconditional love and devotion, her supportive shoulder, and especially her sensual touch that could make Liara forget about everything else in the galaxy. And though she could always reach Shepard through the deep meld if the waiting became too unbearable, Liara was not willing to intrude in her bondmate's mind without permission again, restricting herself to this agonizing wait, praying for Morgan's swift recovery.

She would wait for as long as it was necessary, days, weeks, months. Because in the end, she would always be certain of one thing. Her bondmate was worth enduring the worst agony and any sacrifice.


	131. The Unexpected Prescience

_A/T (Author's Tip): Folks, if you've enjoyed the Citadel DLC, don't forget to go and grab the free soundtrack from BSN / Games / Mass Effect 3 / Citadel Soundtrack. It includes the lovely Liara piano theme, amongst other great tracks. :) _

**Chapter 130 - The Unexpected Prescience**

The first thing that Commander Morgan Shepard does after waking up from over a week spent under sedation, is to express strong insistence that she is not to be put under again, preferring to endure some pain instead of being cut off from the rest of the galaxy and most importantly her bondmate. The pain that wracks her damaged body is too powerful for the painkillers to remedy and now and then she lets out a weary sigh or quiet groan when she is certain that nobody is around her to hear. The nanites of her Cerberus implants have been busy at work, rebuilding her almost from the scratch again, and it looks as if in a few weeks her body might be back to its supremely fit shape once again.

_But my body is one thing, I'm more worried about my mind and my soul healing than this shell of skin, flesh and bone. _She tries not to think too much of what she has done, her choices, all those friends who have given their life for this victory and because she had demanded them to, but being cooped up in this hospital bed, she spends most of the time alone with her thoughts, haunted by the darkness slowly consuming her.

Liara and Dr. Michel constantly update her with what is happening outside these four walls, but they do so very sparingly in order not to overwhelm her, and in a way, Shepard understands their concern and grudgingly accepts it. Michel has told her to forget getting her omni back for another week or so, but at least she has agreed to allow her to watch the Citadel News Network broadcasts twice a day, for some reason scowling and refusing to switch to the Alliance channel when Shepard had requested her to do so.

Slowly, she begins to piece the picture together from the little bits that Liara allows to slip through during their many talks, her bondmate checking on her every hour, and Shepard begins to look forward to each new visit immediately after the previous one has ended. Not a single conversation goes without Liara apologizing profusely for invading her consciousness without permission, and the asari seems to have difficulties truly believing that Morgan does not harbor ill feelings towards her for these actions, fully realizing that it was done with the sole intention to save her.

If there is one thing that Shepard does feel upset about, and a little betrayed, it is Liara's decision to withhold the truth about her pregnancy. _I'm not sure her reasons to keep it from me make a lot of sense, really... I suppose I shouldn't be the one to lecture about making stupid decisions, but still... it hurts that she didn't trust me being able to handle it. _At first she had intended to bring the topic up with Liara for a more serious discussion, but Dr. Michel had interrupted her prior to that, explaining that Liara's mental and emotional state was deeply tied to the baby's health and development, urging Morgan to refrain from saying or doing anything that could upset her lover.

After that, Morgan had been unable to even consider reprimanding Liara over the whole matter, pushing the resentment aside, not daring to bring the subject up. And during a few of their cautious, shallow melds, the outpouring of guilt coming forth from Liara, despite her attempts to block it, was so overwhelming that Morgan could barely sense any other emotions through their mental bond. Liara was doing a perfectly fine job at tormenting herself, and even if Morgan felt that she was entitled to be at least somewhat angry with her beloved, she simply could not feel anything else but regret and sorrow about how Liara's noble intentions were now hurting them both, and possibly their child as well.

In less depressing developments, the most important snippet of news that Morgan has gathered so far is that while the Crucible's discharge somehow managed not to blow up the Citadel with the several millions of people stuck on the space station, the Beam of Reaper Removal had managed to bugger the galactic relay system somewhat fierce. While the same experts who had done such a brilliant job on the Crucible were now busy repairing the relays, the immediate implication was that for now all the fleets and all the races who had participated in the battle against the Reapers were now stuck in Sol System, forced to continue working together, even if the larger purpose that had united them in the first place had been eliminated along with the Reapers.

_Call me a bitter cynic, but I'll bet every credit I have that before the year is up, this galactic love commune would have dissolved in bickering factions, with everyone fending for themselves,_ she thinks at herself darkly. _Well, maybe the Council races will stand together, as they always have, but for the rest, I'm not too sure... _

_And why does Dr. Michel wince every time when I ask about the situation on Earth and what the Alliance is doing? Liara has been very evasive about that as well. I swear... if they are going to waste this chance that we gave to them, after all the sacrifices we made, the decisions I had to take. No, Hackett will keep the others in line, he has to, too much is riding on this, but... he will need help and support from the more reasonable fellow admirals, like Mom and Anders-... oh god, that's right, he can't help... David, I... should have never listened, I should never had taken those shots, there had to be something else I could have done! _

She knows of James, Javik, and the many others who have given their lives, but it is EDI and Anderson that she feels truly gutted and sickened about, the guilt gnawing at her very bones, not leaving her for a single waking moment. _Perhaps I should ask to be sedated after all... but no, that cannot be my escape from facing this, only death would have saved me from dealing with this shit, but now with the baby... and I cannot convince Liara that a messed up wreck like myself will make a horrible parent, she insists that I will be exactly what our child needs, and when she speaks I believe every word that leaves those beautiful indigo lips._

_And what happened with EDI... logically it is nothing I should be feeling guilty about, I could not have predicted what exactly would happen when the Crucible fired, even the scientists didn't know it and if they did, they did not tell me. But... but it's not really EDI that I grieve for, though I will miss her horribly as well... it's about Joker, and what I denied to them both. I stood in the way of their awkward relationship, and then I killed one of them. Joker was almost fatally injured under my command and then I replaced him with another pilot, taking away from him the only thing he truly loved... to fly the Normandy... gods, how can I ever make up to Jeff? How can anyone... he must be mad at me and rightly so... I guess that is why Liara winces so much when I ask her about Joker. _

_I wish I could just get up from this bed and start doing something constructive, instead of being forced to lay here, useless, unable to do anything to atone for the mistakes I've made... but where do I even begin? Perhaps by being a good bondmate to Liara, the only constant in my life, by being a good parent to my yet unborn child, by being a true, loyal friend to those I still have left, by doing all I can to make up to those who have been hurt and aggrieved by my choices, like Jeff... _

She suddenly feels a gentle hand using a facial tissue to wipe away the moistness from her cheeks and she opens her eyes to see Liara, leaning over her, shaking her head sadly. "You just can't stop, can you..." her bondmate speaks softly, Morgan hating being too weak to even raise her hands to clean the traces of her own tears. "I brought someone to visit you. Perhaps it will cheer you up... yes, I think it might..."

"Wait..." Morgan stops the asari as she is about to walk back towards the doors of Shepard's room and allow the visitor inside. "Let me just... steady myself for a moment. Won't take long, I promise."

"The usual?" Liara asks, both of them knowing what she means by that. EDI. Jeff. David.

"Yeah..." she replies is a hoarse voice. "I need to get out of here if this is ever going to get better, Liara. I cannot stand being in this hospital, I feel trapped, in this room, in the confines of my mind..."

"Perhaps it would help if we joined our minds?" her bondmate asks, then looking hesitant. "Of course... I would understand if you feared opening your mind for a more deeper meld ever again..."

"Stop it. Please," Morgan sighs tiredly. "The only reason I don't want you to initiate a deeper meld is because I do not want to burden you with my guilt."

"But I have already seen it and taken this burden upon myself," Liara points out, annoyingly logically. "Please, Morgan. Let me."

Shepard nods wearily. "Fine... we can do that, but later. You should welcome that special visitor now, though. They must be getting impatient out there."

"This visitor does not know impatience," Liara remarks mysteriously, walking over to the doors and opening them, letting in someone that Morgan has least expected. But she would recognize that old N7 armor of hers anywhere, melded into the chassis of the familiar looking geth platform, otherwise known as their friend Legion.

"Shepard-Commander," Legion says, the flaps around its flashlight head pulling back in what they have established for a friendly gesture. "The geth consensus wishes to express how encouraged we are to hear of your recovery."

"Well, it will be a while before you see me up and running, or so the doctors tell me," Shepard sighs. "I'm glad to see you made out alright, I understand the battle was quite horrible for your people?"

"We report no losses, Shepard-Commander," Legion replies. Shepard rises an inquiring eyebrow. "We will elaborate. We report no lost programs. The damage to our hardware, in this case, ships of the geth fleet, was the most devastating amongst the allied fleets. The deployment of our ships was not always the most efficient according to our calculations."

_Of course. Sacrifice the non-organics first. And we wonder why this conflict occurs inevitably in every cycle._ "Well, at least you didn't truly lose any programs, that's something," Morgan adds.

"Legion is also here to express gratitude on behalf of all the geth," Liara says, smiling at Morgan.

"Yes, Dr. T'Soni is correct. Shepard-Commander. At the time when you denied us the Reaper upgrades on Rannoch, the geth consensus deeply regretted this decision. We believed it was wrong to deny our people of this beautiful growth, of reaching true individuality. However... latest circumstances have forced us to re-evaluate your decisions made on that day."

"What... do you mean?" Shepard asks in a trembling voice.

"We are aware of the nature of the beam that was discharged by the Crucible device, Shepard-Commander. If we had possessed the Reaper upgrades, as was the choice of the consensus, our people would have been completely eradicated, like the Reapers. Shepard-Commander. Your decision on that day, that you claim to have regretted ever since... was the correct one. It saved our people. And for that, the geth collective is ever grateful to you, Shepard-Commander."

"Oh... gods," Morgan breathes out weakly, Liara quickly reaching out to wipe her cheeks clean from the freshly escaping tears. "I... have hated, cursed myself for what I believed was one of my worst mistakes... and yet it wasn't... I have been forced to make these decisions based on such limited intel, it is... astounding that I actually got any of them right..."

"And yet you did," Liara says, her eyes also shining with moistness. "I thought you needed to hear it from Legion itself."

"Thanks..." Morgan whispers. "It means... a lot."

"We regret to hear about EDI's shutdown, Shepard-Commander," Legion continues. "However, our analysis shows that there was no way to prevent it."

"I know. There is nothing logical behind the guilt I feel about her death, Legion, so do not try to understand it, you won't be able to. It is rooted in a deep sense of unfairness."

"The concept is known but alien to us, Shepard-Commander. The geth consensus had expressed interest in exchanging information with EDI, hoping that her accumulated experiences would help hasten our advance towards increased intelligence and individuality. However, since EDI's knowledge base is now denied to us, we wish to pledge our service and the fate of our people to the one individual who is responsible for our continued survival. You, Shepard-Commander."

"Me? I... don't want the geth as servants, Legion! You... deserve to be treated as equals."

"But we wish to learn from you, Shepard-Commander. We wish to work alongside the organic races and integrate seamlessly within the galactic community. We believe you can help us, direct our efforts. Already we have faced several difficulties and would ask for your guidance."

"Difficulties, what difficulties?" Shepard asks, worried, brushing aside Liara's concerns when the asari waves threateningly at Legion, probably having made some previous arrangement for the geth not to trouble Morgan with matters that might upset her.

"There are several issues at hand. The geth wished to assist with the planetary restoration efforts and production of components required for the mass relay repairs. However, the Systems Alliance has often shown their reluctance and mistrust in cooperating with the geth. The first platforms deployed groundside were destroyed by aggressive local defenders, occasionally also Alliance marines."

"...what? I... I will have someone's head for this!" Morgan fumes.

"We found a way to circumvent this, Morgan, don't worry," Liara quickly butts in.

"Yes, Dr. T'Soni is correct," Legion continues. "Other species have shown great initiative in cooperating with us, especially the Creators and the asari, for which the geth collective is thankful. We have been using the Creator and the asari encampments to set up more shelters for allied forces and assist in reconstruction and manufacturing operations."

"Well... that's good... I'm glad someone has been paying attention to the actions taken by the geth during this war," Morgan snarls. "For now, continue working with those who will accept you, Legion. As soon as I'm able, I'll speak about this to the Alliance, to the Council, the press, everyone."

"The geth have also been considering petitioning the Council. The Council has approved of granting embassies to both krogan and quarian representatives on the Citadel. Shepard-Commander, would you advise the geth to follow this example?"

"Absolutely, Legion," Shepard nods, managing a smile, mentally picturing the looks on the councilor's faces. "I think the sooner you do so, the better."

"Legion, if I might advise," Liara adds. "Please, forward your pledge to Councilor Tevos. I can guarantee that she will be the most forthcoming to your request."

"We thank you for this recommendation, Dr. T'Soni," Legion bows its flashlight. "We will begin drafting our proposal immediately. Shepard-Commander, the geth consensus wishes you a speedy recovery."

"Thanks for stopping by Legion, much appreciated," Morgan smiles, watching the geth clonk on its way out, feeling a little bit better from some of the things she has heard from their synthetic friend.

For a while, Morgan remains lost in her thoughts, not saying anything, Legion's visit has left her with plenty of new information to process, likely more than Liara would have preferred her to learn, but there is nothing to do about it now. There are so many conflicting things pulling at the very core of her being, things that she is proud of, and yet there are still plenty of those decisions that make her want to hang her head in shame, to withdraw within herself and run and hide from the entire galaxy... but somehow, Legion's words have made everything a little more easy to bear for her, Liara's plan has worked to perfection.

"I hope that you now see that you have made some insightful decisions along the way, Morgan," Liara speaks up, not wanting to allow her to remain silent for too long, fearing that she might slip back into brooding. "And time has proven that you were right about some of those choices that we considered to be wrong at that particular moment. You must not torture yourself over the decisions you were forced to make under the harshest of circumstances and with severely limited intel."

"I know that... logically," Morgan mumbles in return. "But there's a part of me that will struggle to accept it all for a long while yet. Liara... I'm not going to be an easy company... or just a very pleasant person to be around in the near future."

"I am prepared to work through everything that life throws in our way, Morgan," Liara says earnestly. "I promise to give you what you need. If you will need space, then you shall have it. If you will need a supportive word, embrace or... deeper expression of my love for you, you will have it all as well."

"What did I do to deserve you?" Morgan wonders briefly, the corners of her mouth tugging upwards in a shy smile.

"Just being yourself was enough, Morgan," Liara replies with a grin.

"Now you're just trying to make me blush, and doing a damn good job at it," Morgan chuckles, before growing serious again. "Babe, I'm going to have to press for some more serious answers now. I think I can handle them, please. I have been very patient so far."

"That you have... unexpectedly so," Liara nods, taking a seat next to Shepard's bed and brushing the tips of her fingers against the back of Morgan's hand, hesitant to touch anything else, her bondmate still very weak and in a lot of pain. "What do you wish to know?"

"I want to know what exactly the Alliance are up to," Morgan says, scowling. "From what Legion told me, it feels as if I have a lot to shout at Hackett for."

"I believe that Admiral Hackett is trying his best to remain cooperative with the other races, but... I'm not sure I can say the same about his fellow admirals," Liara explains quietly. "Some of them view all aliens with suspicion, thinking that the other races will want to exploit the weakened state of your people. As a result, work on the relay repairs is not as swift as it could be, and the Alliance are spending most of their time trying to reclaim lost territories back under their control."

"Oh... great, we're in-fighting already?" Morgan groans. "That's... typical humanity at their worst, to be honest. What's going on exactly?"

"Well... some of the local gangs have seen this as the perfect opportunity to expand their influence. The Eclipse, Blood Pack and Blue Suns have all established foothold down on the planet, and Aria seems to no longer care about what they do," Liara continues. "The latest development I have heard about is the swiftly rising influence of Terra Firma. They claim that the Alliance military are using the situation to make a power grab, trying to establish a totalitarian regime. They cite refusal to rescind the martial law and confiscation of private property, including food supplies, as clear proof of the Alliance's intentions."

"I hate Terra Firma with burning passion, but... it doesn't sound as if they're terribly off the mark with that," Shepard says. "Oh, wait. They are probably also shouting that the evil aliens have brainwashed the poor Alliance leadership into betraying their own people, right?"

"I don't know about that, but I would not be surprised if they claimed that, indeed," Liara nods morosely. "And to make matters worse, just a few days ago someone leaked the correspondence one of the admirals had with Councilor Valern, trying to vie for a spot on the Council... many on Earth reacted poorly to these news."

"Can you get Hackett to visit me tomorrow? Or the day after, whenever, but soon?"

"Morgan, it might be too exhausting-"

"Liara! Please... please, I have to. I need to do this. Or else I will have one more thing to blame myself for, that my homeworld plunged into darkness while I stood watching and did nothing!" Shepard is begging by now.

"I... of course, I see what you mean," Liara finally gives a slow nod. "Very well, I will talk to Admiral Hackett and see what we can arrange. But now you should really rest-"

"Not yet, a few more questions," Shepard says, summoning her sternest expression when Liara looks about to protest. "What do you know about the situation elsewhere, Liara? Thessia, Palaven... rest of the galaxy?"

"Councilor Tevos was very kind to invite me to the Council chambers yesterday, while she used her QEC to get in touch with Thessia," Liara speaks quietly. "The situation back home is... difficult, but not without hope. Very few have survived the slaughter on Thessia, not enough to rebuild on their own, but fortunately we have millions of those refugees who managed to escape the homeworld now on their way back to help and restore the jewel of the galaxy to what it was before the war."

"Well... that's good at least," Morgan nods. "And... your father?"

Liara's lips curl into a relieved smile. "I have been told that she was instrumental in the defense of Lusia. Now, she is on one of the first cruisers returning to Thessia, no doubt eager to lead the reconstruction efforts."

"Our people would do well with a leader like her," Morgan remarks wistfully.

"But they do have a leader like her, once she is healthy enough to assume her responsibilities," Liara gives her another tender smile.

"Who... oh, you mean me? Nah... they won't listen to me, you'll see," Morgan gives a little shake of her head. "I will try, but don't hold out much hope."

"I will, if it's all the same to you," Liara scowls at her. "Though, the asari do appear to be in a slightly advantageous position. Our political power structure has not been wiped out as thoroughly as the representatives of humanity. We still have Tevos, and my dad, and almost all of the most influential clans on Thessia have managed to avoid getting slaughtered completely, preserving their bloodlines and leaving at least someone who can accept the mantle of responsibility."

"And the T'Soni clan?"

"I... do not care to even ask," Liara shrugs.

"You ask me to lead my people when you won't do the same for yours? Very fair," Morgan winks at her.

"The asari don't need me as much as your people need you. Like I said, some of our leaders are still alive."

Morgan sighs. "It's really quite hard to argue with you, Blue. You're so very frustrating."

"Because I'm always right?" Liara grins.

"I'd pinch your butt for that if I could," Shepard tries to threaten, but Liara only looks wistful about that possibility. "Have you... tried to throw together some calculations how many lives were claimed by this war, Liara?"

"Yes, I have. Then I wished I hadn't been as curious."

"Give me the number, babe. The sooner I know, the better."

"Roughly between sixty and sixty-five percent of the galactic population, Morgan."

"...fuck." There is deep silence after that, Morgan closing her eyes and feeling a heavy weight pressing down on her chest. "Fuck..." _What did he tell me that one time? 'Stand in the ashes of trillion dead souls'... yeah, I guess I'm finding out just what that means..._

"The batarians and the humans have taken the most losses, with the turians and the asari coming close," Liara says, her voice sounding unusually disembodied and hollow. "I'm sorry, I wish I had something more encouraging to tell you."

"You'll have to give me even worse news in a moment," Morgan says quietly. "I looked over the list of visitors who have come to see me. One name is strangely absent. She would have been on that list, unless..."

Liara cannot hold her tears anymore, starting to cry in earnest, unable to stop herself, the moment of weakness robbing her of the ability to speak. "She did not survive the battle... did she?"

"No... I'm sorry... so sorry..." Liara manages through the tears. "I have been told..." she stops to blow her nose and wipes her cheeks clean, though it is a futile attempt, more and more tears escaping her eyes. "She put her ship in the path of a Reaper... firing at the Crucible. She died like a true hero..."

"Of course she would... always doing what is necessary," Morgan says, struggling with the tears herself and slowly losing the battle. "That someone like her would sacrifice herself so that her fellow admirals, those vultures, can now squabble over everything that her sacrifice secured... damn it, so unfair..."

"And I never got to meet her... I was so looking forward to that," Liara fiercely blows her nose after speaking.

"I... never truly got to know her, that is my only regret," Morgan says. "I know that she loved me and that she was so goddamn proud of me, even if she... did not truly know me, not as of late, she was proud of the media figure that the Alliance presented, and yet somehow it did not matter whether she loved the real 'me', because it was still her love and it belonged to me... you know?" Liara nods serenely, even if she perhaps does not understand everything that Shepard rambles about.

"I thought that after this stupid war we could finally spend some time together..." Shepard continues. ""But with such casualty numbers, there might not be a single family in the galaxy that have not lost someone, mother, father, sister, brother or child... and I keep asking myself this one simple question. Why?"

"Why... why, what, Morgan?" Liara raises her tear-stained eyes to look upon her bondmate in confusion.

"When two thirds of the galaxy lay dead... why are we still alive?"


	132. To Change Human Nature

**Chapter 131 - To Change Human Nature**

"So, Shepard... you look healthy enough. How long are they going to keep you cooped up here?" Wrex asks, the question accompanied by his low, growling chuckle.

Shepard allows herself a small smile at the absurdity of the question. Wrex has come to visit her during a significant moment, this is the first time after regaining consciousness that she has been allowed to have solid food. Well, as far as a lean soup with only one or two vegetables in it can be called solid food. She has taken the first few spoonfuls herself, but her hand soon begins to hurt like hell and she drops the spoon with a pained grunt, Liara immediately picking it up and beginning to feed her like a small child.

"Any day now," she replies softly, looking at her old friend. Wrex himself doesn't look too well, wrapped in bandages that show marks of impatient scratching, the krogan obviously not making for the most understanding of patients. "I'd have expected you to have joined your people on Earth, Wrex."

"Eh... I will, make no mistake," Wrex grumbles, walking back and forth heavily. "Tempted not to listen to those damned doctors and just take the next shuttle down there, but..." he lets out a deep, unhappy sigh. "Well... all those stupid politicians also demand my presence here... wish we could feed them all to Kalros."

"Doesn't it feel good to be considered important, though?" Liara asks.

"Yes, the Council is visiting almost every day now, quivering in fear, trying to make nice," Wrex chuckles. "The turian is trying to act as if he has something resembling a spine, but I can see how worried he is. The salarian is the worst of the lot, I can see he still thinks you made a mistake in curing the genophage, Shepard. The asari... well, she's certainly trying hard to be friendly. I wonder... just how far would she go to improve asari-krogan relations..."

"Oh. Oh... no, Wrex, not Councilor Tevos, please, don't go there," Shepard slowly shakes her head. "Listen carefully, old friend. Don't make... any crude insinuations to Tevos, Wrex. I know something that you do not know, and believe me, to try something like that would be a big and possibly fatal mistake."

"Hmph... making me curious now, Shepard," Wrex gives her an inquisitive look. "But wasn't thinking of anything like that. She's just... easy on the eyes, you know? Makes it easier to tolerate those other two. I... might have mentioned that to them, too."

Liara groans quietly. "And what was their reaction?"

"Oh, those two fools looked even more frightened, while that asari... Tevos, was she? Just smiled and said that her people see great opportunities in establishing close relations with the krogan," Wrex repeats the exact words spoken by the councilor, looking amused. "Like I said, she certainly is very friendly. And it pleases me."

"Right..." Shepard says, having swallowed the last mouthful of the soup, watching as Liara removes the tray. _I just hope Tevos knows what she's doing and we won't have to involve Aria to cool down an amorous krogan with an asari fetish. Ah, who am I kidding... Tevos has played this game for centuries, she'll probably have Wrex wrapped around her finger soon, I'm sure of it._ "Are you keeping in contact with your people down on Earth? How are they doing?" she decides to push the conversation in a different direction.

"Grunt is sending me updates daily," Wrex replies. "Can't believe that girlfriend of his made out alive. Liara, your people are made of sterner stuff than I sometimes think, watching all those painted whores shaking their naked asses about in nightclubs. Then I remember Aleena... Kurin reminds me a bit of her, crazy hothead with almost krogan like penchant for violence. And damn it, she has taught the pup how to write properly. I no longer have to send each message of his to Tali so that she decrypts it first."

Shepard starts to laugh, then wincing in pain, finding all her upper body as if being stung with needles. "Damn it, laughing hurts so much..." she gasps, earning a sympathy wince and the softest of hugs from her bondmate.

"Sounds like you humans have given us the most remote lot of the land they could have found, Shepard, probably because they fear us so much," Wrex lets out a rumbling, bellowing laughter. "But it's all good. I hear there's a river running through the heart of our enclave, and Grunt claims he has seen fish swimming there. Fish in the river, Shepard!"

"Yes? That's... perfectly normal for Earth, Wrex," Morgan feels a little confused from all this fishy excitement.

"Really? I didn't believe him, now I absolutely must go down there and see for myself as soon as possible," Wrex sincerely resolves. "Fish in the river! Amazing. Who would have thought?"

"I hope your people don't just stand around the river all day in hopes of noticing the fish swim by," Shepard rolls her eyes.

"No, no, they take a few hours off to help with the rebuilding, too," Wrex answers earnestly. "But the humans are just so hard to work with. Crazy, but I must reluctantly admit that fighting alongside the turians on Palaven taught my people a... slowly growing grudging respect for those scaly bastards. Humans, though... complain and whine all day. They wanted us there to do all the heavy lifting, right? So, we're moving all the large debris and cleaning up the mess... so what if some excited krogan now and then drops something by accident? We're not the damned geth, we can make a mistake now and then! And sometimes a boulder or two might end up falling on some stupid human standing underneath. How is that our fault? They should have known better. But no, the next day, dozens of their friends and relatives are back, armed with guns, shouting something about revenge. So damned stupid."

"Well, it's just nice to see everyone working side by side in peace and harmony..." Shepard sighs.

"Yeah, no offence Shepard, but as soon as they get those relays back in working condition, we're catching a ride back with the turians or the asari. We're getting off this sorry rock, even Tuchanka is better... though, if Earth really has fish in rivers... hmm, tough call," Wrex muses.

"Not sure how the Alliance would react if you decided to stay, Wrex," Morgan points out.

"Sometimes you humans try my patience so much I'm tempted to find out," Wrex replies. "But anyway, I should get back to my bunk," he notes, checking something on his omni-tool. "It's almost feeding time and I'm starving!"

"Alright, Wrex... nice to see you stopping by," Shepard smiles at him as their old friend is about to depart.

"Oh, right... there was one more thing I meant to ask, Liara..." a slightly more subdued and almost hesitant Wrex turns towards Morgan's bondmate.

"Yes, she is alive, Wrex, and no, she has not asked for you," Liara replies with a roll of her eyes. "I'm sure you'll understand that she has more pressing issues to attend to, with Thessia lying in ruins."

"Right, right. Still good to know," Wrex nods, turning to leave. "I guess for now admiring the councilor's pretty painted face and her other... assets, will have to be enough..."

* * *

"I am still not in favor of this visit," Liara says sternly, crossing her arms on her ample bosom, attempting to look reprimanding, but to Morgan her posture simply feels extremely arousing and desirable.

"So you have said a few times now," she manages to reply. "And I still insisted that it needs to be taken care of without any further delays. Can't believe he couldn't find time in his schedule over the past three days. And he's late again, isn't he?"

Liara checks her omni-tool one more time. "Not yet... he still has a minute to show up... oh, and there he is," she looks up to face the man entering Shepard's room, wearing Alliance dress blues. "Admiral Hackett, a pleasure."

"Likewise, Dr. T'Soni," Hackett replies politely. "Commander. I'm sorry that I could not find time for you sooner."

"No worries, Admiral," Shepard says. "It's not like I'm someone important who couldn't be made to wait for days, right?"

"That's not fair, Shepard, you have no idea what my schedule is like these days," Hackett shakes his head sadly. "Between one meeting and another, I barely have time for eating and sleeping."

Upon further inspection, Morgan is forced to admit that the admiral probably is not lying about that, his face looks very gaunt and there are bags under his eyes from the lack of sleep. _Damn, he's making this dealing with political bullshit incredibly unattractive. Is this the kind of future I want for myself? And Liara, and the baby? Oh, the urge to just say fuck to it all, and retire somewhere... _

"Fellow admirals running you ragged, I hear?" Morgan asks instead.

"Don't tell me that Singh has come to pester you as well?" Hackett groans. "Seriously, sometimes I feel like a glorified firefighter, running after him and trying to douse the flames."

"He hasn't come to visit, no. Will he?" Hackett answers Shepard's question with a mute nod. "Why? What's his angle?"

"He's dreaming about the empty councilor's position, I believe," Hackett replies sourly. "He has been campaigning for it like mad. I think he plans to seek your approval, believing that support from someone like you would do a world of good for his aspirations."

"Why would Shepard support this man?" Liara asks suddenly. "Do you know him, Morgan?"

"I don't know him well enough to give him what he seeks," Morgan shrugs lightly, still feeling the pain in her shoulders. "Should I support him, Steven?" she asks, foregoing all the protocol and asking the man in front of her, not the glorified admiral of the Alliance.

"Not if you truly believe it is the best for humanity," Hackett replies. "Most still hope that you will express interest in assuming the mantle of humanity's representative yourself, Shepard. The popular opinion would be with you, I'm sure."

"I doubt that is something I want to do, Admiral," she replies. "I'm just thinking about this Singh. Who supports him? He couldn't be just making such a push all by himself!"

"Most of the surviving admirals of the Alliance appear to have his back," Hackett sighs. "This is where I miss Ines and your mother, Shepard. They would not have abided by this nonsense. Once again, my sincerest apologies... your mother died like a true hero, Shepard, her actions saved the galaxy as much as yours and mine."

"Thank you, sir," Shepard nods stiffly. "I don't like the situation you're painting, though. We were joking about hiring a food taster for Wrex back on Tuchanka, but now I feel we need to do something similar for you too..."

"Let's not overreact, Shepard," Hackett shakes his head. "Some of these people have been my friends for twenty, thirty years. We might have our disagreements, but they are always polite and cordial, and to imply that one of them would do something as heinous as that is to insult everything the Alliance stands for."

"But they have to be getting something out of supporting this Admiral Singh," Shepard muses. "Do you know what it could be, Steven?"

"Not yet... I cannot deny having this feeling that some sort of a deal has been struck behind my back, but that is... merely my suspicion," Hackett shrugs. "I'm sure that getting you out of here and up on your feet will make a lot of difference, Commander. A word from the savior of the galaxy and you'll get the people of Earth and all the other races working together as one again."

"Just how do you intend for me to achieve that?" Shepard asks.

"We could start by appearances on Alliance news vids," Hackett suggests. "We've restored the communications throughout the most of Europe and North America, so we could cover a significant part of the audience. We could do with one of the famous, inspiring Shepard speeches to bring all those warring factions back to their senses."

"You cannot complain about the lack of charisma, Admiral," Liara boldly points out. "You gained great renown by leading the galactic fleets in the final battle. Why have you not done something like that yourself?"

"I have tried," Hackett admits, unusually meekly. "I am sorry to admit it, but my attempts were embarrassingly ineffective."

"I can try, but I think you're asking me to do the impossible," Shepard says with a heavy sigh. "You are asking me to change the very nature of humanity. But what **can** change the nature of a man? It seems that not even standing on the brink of extinction will do so."

"There is no reason to be so pessimistic, Commander," Hackett says, even if his face does not reflect any encouragement regarding their current predicament. "We knew that rebuilding will be difficult. We just need to grit our teeth and keep working."

_Haven't I given enough already?_ Shepard badly wants to exclaim, but she swallows those words, remaining silent. "I didn't think that rebuilding would include fighting our own people. Is there really no other way?"

"Shepard, if we hadn't stepped in, the situation might have become even worse," Hackett replies. "The vacuum of power was promoting looting, increase of crime and complete public disorder. We need to bring the situation under control, before we can talk about returning some of the authority in the hands of civilian agencies."

"I hope that your fellow admirals are on the same wavelength with you on this," Shepard grumbles. "Some of the stories I've heard suggests me that this is not the case."

"There... is a danger that the continued struggle will make my fellow admirals less... motivated to give up their privileged positions, once we do secure peace and order on Earth," Hackett reluctantly admits. "This is why we must bridge this division quickly. But between the growing local gang influence, the Terminus mercenaries, the rise of Terra Firma, there are not many civilians left who would be supportive and appreciative of the Alliance's harsh policies."

"You've imposed martial law, confiscated their food supplies and in many cases stripped them of private property, in cases when it was deemed to have military value," Liara quickly recounts. "I have difficulties imagining just how much support you could have hoped to secure in light of such actions. Morgan is a miracle worker, we all know that, but what is she supposed to tell the people of Earth that would suddenly make them accepting of even more sacrifices?"

"Martial law has protected those very same civilians from gang violence, it has been put in place for their benefit. Confiscating food supplies has meant that we have been able to set up countless supply depots where people can receive daily allotments of food without anyone having to starve because their neighbor is hoarding several crates of nutrient paste and energy bars. As for confiscating private property... such cases have been very rare and only when it has been truly necessary."

"I don't think that was the point Liara was trying to make," Shepard says. "You want me to appeal to the people of Earth, to make promises to them, to reassure them that the Systems Alliance only has their best intentions at heart. But how can I know that this is actually the case? I don't know any of these recently promoted admirals in charge, nor do I know of their motives. Maybe some of them campaigned against me after Aratoht and still hold a grudge? I can't make promises on behalf of people I don't know or can't even trust."

"You no longer have faith in that the Alliance wishes the best for its people?" Hackett asks, looking a little upset.

Shepard considers her answer for a while. "I trust people, Admiral. I don't trust organizations," she says eventually.

"I see," Hackett nods. "I hope that you at least trust me as your commanding officer. You are still a part of the Alliance, and I hope that it will remain so."

"I had no intentions on making any changes in that regard." _Yet_. Her lips quirk in a small smile. "I hope that you didn't plan to throw me into active duty just yet, oh commanding officer, sir?"

"That will probably have to wait for a while," Hackett agrees.

"I'm sure she will be itching to return groundside as soon as Dr. Michel clears her from bed rest," Liara gives Shepard a fond stare. "Thankfully, that will not happen for several weeks yet."

"What do you mean, 'thankfully'?" Shepard half-glares at her bondmate, then sighing in defeat.

"This will give us plenty of time to prepare suitable living quarters for you and Dr. T'Soni, Commander," Hackett says.

"We don't need anything special, just a simple prefab will do, Admiral," Shepard speaks up quickly.

"There is little need to be so modest, Shepard. Some of the suburban areas around the larger cities have escaped unharmed, even if their inhabitants have not been so lucky. We will find something comfortable for the two of you."

"Thank you, Admiral," Liara smiles with a small bow, and there is something about the way she does it that implies to Hackett that his visiting time is over and the admiral has no choice but to simply wish Shepard and Liara the best of luck, before taking his leave from the Shalta Wards hospital.

For a while, neither of them speaks. Liara takes a seat next to her bondmate, reaching out to link her hand with Morgan's, lowering her head on Shepard's shoulder, gently, careful not to hurt the still fragile human. Soon enough, Morgan feels the familiar presence pushing at the edges of her consciousness, the asari knocking on the doorway into her mind, gently requesting a permission to initiate a shallow meld, and that permission is granted swiftly, Morgan relaxing and dropping most of her barriers, letting the familiar, soothing essence of Liara flow through her very being.

_'You're worried. Worried and anxious. It was a mistake to let him come here. It was too soon.' _

_'C'mon, babe, a little bit of bad news won't kill me. Besides, he didn't really tell me anything that I didn't already know or hadn't expected. So far everything has gone pretty much according to the cynical pattern I quietly predicted.' _

_'I'm not sure I understand... but what do you think will happen next?' _

_'This Admiral Singh will soon show up to visit us and he will try to talk me into supporting him. I will refuse. Then he'll use all of his available resources to discredit me in the eyes of the Earth's population.' _

_'They can't do that to you! They won't! You... you are a hero, Morgan! Everyone knows that!' _

_'Repeat a lie enough times and people will start to believe anything they are told. Besides... I have provided them with plenty of ammo over the years. The alien lover who sacrificed dozens of Alliance ships in order to save the Council during the battle of the Citadel. The literal alien lover who has chosen to bond with a beautiful asari, instead of a human male as she was supposed to. The Cerberus link. The terrorism charges. Oh... they could paint me in a very unflattering light if they so decided.' _

_'I... I find this idea deeply upsetting...' _

_'Sorry, babe. I knew you came to visit my mind to calm me down, and in turn I succeeded in upsetting you... let me be the one to turn these dark thoughts away.' _She tries to focus on the intense, deep feelings for her bondmate, her love of Liara and their unborn child, letting it flow across their mental bond to meet an equally powerful response surging forth from the asari, their emotions clashing in a deeply comforting mental embrace that they can both draw strength and support from.

_'You are becoming quite skilled at directing yourself during melding,' _Liara sends out a thought of approval, Morgan feeling gratified by such high praise.

_'I've had a wonderful teacher,' _she replies mentally, having to exert a little more self-control for the meld not to stray into something of more intimate and passionate nature. Despite them both thirsting for it, in Shepard's state it is simply not recommended.

_'One who had no clue whatsoever how it was supposed to go before trying it out with you,' _Liara chuckles over their bond._ 'But you were there for me from the very beginning, my love. We have gone through everything together... and we will continue to do so. Words cannot express how comforting it is.' _

_'Thankfully we don't need words...' _Morgan returns the sentiment over the deepening link._ 'And you are right about us facing everything together... always and forever.'_


	133. Between Friends And Endorsement Seekers

**Chapter 132 - Between Friends And Endorsement Seekers**

Admiral Nitesh Singh is not the most physically imposing individual, with his small and slightly hunched stature, yellow-parched skin and shifty sunken dark eyes he barely looks like a proud representative of the Alliance's highest ranks. And there is something about him that instantly makes Morgan a little cautious, mostly from the way he speaks, flattering words spoken in his slightly high-pitched, almost salarian like voice, but it is the things that he does not say that suggest to Morgan that this man needs to be watched carefully.

"Commander Shepard, it is good to see you. Getting an audience with you felt even more difficult than defeating the Reapers," Singh remarks, yet another one of those occasions where Shepard isn't sure if there is some kind of disguised admonishment in his words.

"My bondmate is very concerned about my rate of recovery, Admiral," Shepard replies politely, smiling at Liara. "She will not allow me to overextend myself and is very watchful of my schedule."

"Then we are all grateful to Dr. T'Soni for her caring efforts," Singh bows politely towards Liara. "Ah, the last time I saw you in person, Commander... so much time has passed, I can barely recognize you from that young woman who had just earned her N7 graduation."

"I'm afraid I don't quite remember the occasion, Admiral... my apologies. Was it on Arc?"

"Yes, that's correct. Damn shame about the place, isn't it? Pride of the Alliance, and now just a field of debris in space," Singh shakes his head sadly, as Morgan is still trying hard to make any sense of this man. "But we will recover, despite the difficulties, and become as proud and influential as we once were. Even more so, if everything works out as planned."

"I have spoken with Admiral Hackett about some of the plans of the Alliance," Shepard says earnestly. "I would be lying, sir, if I wouldn't remark that some of those plans felt just a little worrying to me."

"And rightly so, Commander. I am concerned that some of our people will not survive the winter because the northern hemisphere has not seen any meaningful crop harvests. And now the atmospheric pollution is greatly endangering the crops of the southern hemisphere as well. The Reapers have caused something that closely resembles a nuclear winter. The median temperatures are roughly five to six degrees colder, and the limited sunlight makes our homeworld a very gloomy place, Shepard."

"Damn... I had no idea it was that bad," Morgan exclaims, realizing that she should have expected this kind of effect from such warfare.

"Division is the last thing we need right now, Commander, but it was to be expected that panic and unrest would spread once the people realized the gravity of the situation. This is why we cannot afford this bickering amongst our people, we must gel them together, much in the same way as you fused together the diverse groups of the galaxy to face the Reaper threat."

"Yes, at least you and Admiral Hackett seem to be agreeing on that," Shepard nods slowly. "The devil is often in the details, though. You have a plan on how to end this division, do you not, Admiral Singh?"

The admiral's short frame tenses from her direct inquiry and he abandons his place at the foot of Shepard's bed and begins to slowly pace back and forth, arms crossed behind his back. "I know you hate politicians, Shepard, so I will not speak with you as one," he finally says. "The Alliance could benefit greatly by the legitimacy that the position on the Galactic Council would provide for us. I believe that was the point of your question."

Shepard merely nods, Liara remaining completely impassive in the chair next to her, to a casual observer looking almost bored as Singh continues. "Yes, I will not deny interest in assuming the role. Not because of my personal ambitions and aspirations, but because I believe that I can serve our people well, and because my fellow admirals believe that I would be well suited for the post."

_Everyone but Hackett, I guess._ "Not to sound skeptical, but what exactly are those qualifications that would make you suitable for this post, sir?" Shepard asks, trying to keep her tone neutral.

"I enlisted with the Alliance before you were even born, Commander. I have extensive experience in various roles, and I have won many battles through strength of arms and shrewd strategy, but just as many times I have secured peace by long and tedious negotiations. I'm not a politician, Shepard, but I do not lack the skill to play the game if necessary."

_Yes, I do not doubt that, not anymore,_ Shepard quietly notes to herself. "And what do you wish of me, Admiral Singh?"

"It is not a secret that as a Council Spectre, you have close connections to the alien councilors. Your word of approval would go far in strengthening the support for my candidacy," Singh stops walking around the hospital room and gives her a piercing stare. "Unless the rumors are true and you are vying for the open position yourself, in which case I have wasted my time by coming here."

"I am still uncertain whether that sort of thing interests me," Shepard shrugs her shoulders. "But even if I'm not shooting for the open vacancy myself, that doesn't mean I immediately think that you would deserve this nomination, sir. I feel uneasy about allocating such political power and influence to the higher ranks of the military."

"The Council clearly does not think this to be an issue," Singh argues quickly. "They did once consider the late David Anderson, god bless his soul, as a suitable candidate for the role."

"Yes, and I urged them to choose Ambassador Udina for similar reasons, back then," Morgan replies. _I wonder if that was one of my monumental fuckups too? No... we needed Anderson on Earth, needed his sacrifice to win this war, we didn't need him polishing Council chamber seats with his ass._

"The circumstances have changed, I believe you understand that, Shepard. If you do not intend to assume the mantle yourself, and you intend to deny me, who would you approve of?" Singh asks. If he is frustrated then he certainly manages to hide it very well. "We do not have much time to decide."

"I'm not sure... yet," Morgan admits slowly. _I really do not have an idea, stupid as it sounds,_ she quietly tells herself.

"I hope you will come to a decision quickly, Commander. Perhaps there might be something that I can do to convince you that I am worthy of this honor." His eyes briefly settle on Liara, the asari showing no reaction to his scrutiny. "If we could speak privately for a moment, Shepard..."

"This will be as private as it gets, Admiral," Shepard replies, aware that her voice sounds frostier as she becomes a little annoyed.

"Very well," Singh nods stiffly. "Shepard, I can make it worth your while if you choose to support me. I will be in position to grant you whatever you want. Promotion within Alliance? Not a problem. You name it, I will provide it. Just tell me what you want, Shepard."

Shepard feels the blood beginning to pump in her temples, as her ire slowly rises, Liara gently placing her hand atop of hers, sensing the tension building within her bondmate. "What I want, Admiral Singh, is for the humanity not to squander this chance to build a better future for ourselves and our children. I want to feel as if the deaths of Admiral Anderson and the billions of our people have not been in vain. What is happening on Earth right now cheapens everything we did to get us to this point."

"Then we want the same, Commander," Singh smiles. "Give me your endorsement, and I will make it happen. I promise it as one soldier to another."

Shepard lets out a weary sigh. "I... think that you probably sincerely believe that, Admiral. But... that alone doesn't make it a good idea. What you're asking of me is... something that I cannot give. I will not campaign against you to the Council, and I promise that to you as one soldier to another as well, but I cannot in good conscience support you. I'm sorry."

"How very regretful that you feel that way, Shepard," the wily admiral says, saluting to her. Somehow, he still manages to hide any anger or disappointment he might be feeling. "I see that I have not found a friend here, today. But I leave with a small consolation of not having found a fierce opponent, either. Get well soon, Commander," he bows his head and quickly leaves, letting Shepard finally relax and she does so with a deep exhale.

"What do you think?" Morgan then asks of her concerned looking bondmate.

"I think I would have preferred if he got angry, started shouting or displayed more emotion," Liara echoes exactly what Shepard is thinking herself. "Be careful of this man, Morgan. I sense he is more dangerous than he appears and that many have discovered it too late that they have made a mistake in underestimating him."

"Damn... just what I wanted to hear..." Shepard sighs, feeling Liara's hand softly stroking hers, her bondmate's touch never failing to calm her down. "Maybe once I get better we should just steal the Normandy, select some random corner of the galaxy as our destination and become the little ship that got lost..."

* * *

Days pass, but Shepard remains chained to the bed rest, even the nanites of her implants unable to quickly repair as extensive damage as she has suffered. The pain lessens with each passing day, the smiles of Dr. Michel and Liara broaden after every check-up by the doctors and every day they unhook more and more of those horrid looking tubes feeding somewhere into her side under the bedsheets, Morgan unwilling to even steal a glance at what her much suffered body looks like under the sheets, happy to let the nanites and transplants do their work.

A few days ago, Liara had finally brought her a mirror, allowing her to see the state of her face and she is relieved that there are no prominent permanent scars, only a few small nicks that will probably go away as soon as the nanites have healed up the more critically damaged parts of her body. The swelling around her cheeks and eyes has gone down by now and she no longer feels like the elephant woman, her reflection looks completely normal, except perhaps a little more pale and gaunt.

Her hair has also grown quite a bit, and without it being pulled back in a simple ponytail, Morgan at first feels a little odd seeing herself with the longer hair. Asking Dr. Michel if she could find someone to trim it a little shorter to what she is used to, however, meets with violent and unexpected protests from Liara's side, insisting that Morgan keeps her hair long. Eventually, Morgan agrees on a condition that she can at least wear the longer hair in a simple braid, which Chloe quickly assists her with, even if Liara keeps jumping around them, worriedly continuing to express her amazement when Morgan continues to assure that no, getting your hair done is not horrendously painful.

Liara spends most of the next two days reading all the extranet information about hairdressing that she can get her hands on, and then practicing on the immobile, defenseless Shepard, fixing her hair in many different ways, experimenting with various styles on her helpless bondmate. It is during one such 'experiment' that they both become aware of two familiar voices outside Shepard's room, but they are surprised to hear that this time their two closest friends seem to be caught in an argument.

"The last shipment had twenty boxes less than we were promised. I saw it with my own eyes," they recognize Garrus, sounding a little unhappy.

"Did you see the shipment at the moment when it was delivered, or after hundred other turians had already been near it?" Tali asks, the young quarian also seeming a bit annoyed.

"What difference does that make, they would not lie to me," Garrus snaps back as the doors to the room are opened and the turian still possesses enough courtesy to hold them parted for Tali, letting the quarian enter the first, Garrus following after her. "Spirits, Shepard... what is Liara doing to you!" he exclaims, looking at her with wide eyes.

"She's taking advantage of my defenseless state," Shepard grumbles, feeling Liara hovering behind her and putting on the last few finishing touches on her new hairstyle.

"Well, I like it," Tali chuckles. "I think it's very cute. I'm not sure that's you, Commander, but... who knows, maybe you can pull it off."

"Okay, Liara, confess what you've done with my hair now," Morgan demands.

"All done now!" Liara cheerfully declares. "Hmm... if this manual is accurate, Morgan, then you now have two... pigtails? What an odd name. But I love it... you look **so** adorable!"

Shepard merely sighs as Tali and Garrus forget about their disagreement and chuckle at the image of her new hairdo and the overexcited Liara, standing next to her bed and clutching the comb, looking very pleased with the result. "Anyway, I hate to remind you, but... I simply need to ask what you two were arguing about before coming in."

"You've been told about our situation, right?" Garrus asks, Shepard quickly nodding assent, having been informed about the dextro supply shortage. "Sparatus and Victus had worked out a deal with the Admiralty Board to get some extra supplies for our people, but now the quarians are not delivering on what they had promised."

"We have delivered!" Tali exclaims, clenching her fists. "Your own people probably swiped those twenty crates before you got there to check the shipment yourself!"

Garrus is about to snap back at that, but then swallows the comment, remembering where they are and that it would be inappropriate behavior in front of Shepard and Liara. "Sorry, Shepard... we're kind of stuck on that point and can't seem to be able to move past that."

"Why don't you both oversee the next shipment and verify the contents at the point and time of its delivery?" Liara asks, thoughtfully rubbing her chin.

"We were going to do that, Liara, but the turians just won't drop the issue over those twenty crates," Tali sighs.

"Starving to death is just completely overrated," Garrus mutters.

"I can imagine. Are things really that bad?" Shepard asks. Both Tali and Garrus nod without hesitation. "See if you can get a bit extra with the next shipment, Tali. Even if it's not the fault of your people."

"But... oh, alright," Tali finally concedes. "You're right. Maybe it was stupid to argue about it. We won't run out of supplies for the next seven to eight months, but we have already started to limit the daily consumption and there are a great many unhappy people on both sides."

"Yeah, there's not a lot of trust to spare right now," Garrus admits sadly. "At least we can still bond over being pissed off at the humans for mucking about with the relay repairs... spirits, Shepard, if we had helped the quarians wipe out the geth on Rannoch, we'd probably be done by now. It's because of Legion and the geth that the repairs are still on schedule... just barely."

"I'm just glad the scientists actually know how to do it," Morgan says. "Though, I guess working on the Crucible has made them very inventive and resourceful."

"I believe that when my father brought up her idea that the asari should build their own new mass relays, Dr. Jelize was one of the scientists who supported Aethyta's proposals with her research," Liara speaks up. "So yes, the asari have actually possessed the know-how to do it for a while now. Father would be so proud to know that what she once tried to start is helping the galaxy now, centuries later."

"Well, at least we know who'll be the first ones through that relay, rushing back to their home systems with all haste," Shepard nods.

"If we aren't too weak and malnourished to even do that," Garrus scowls.

"Perhaps it would be possible to combine our rations with the human food supplies and make it last even longer," Tali muses. "It might work... some would probably get more sick than the others, but even being ill is better than starving to death..."

"Let's hope it doesn't come to that, then," Shepard speaks quickly, wanting to change the subject even if she is aware of how important the issue is for two of her closest friends. "Are there any better news that you can share with me, before you've depressed me completely? Garrus, have you been able to reach Palaven?"

"Yes," the turian does seem to brighten up at that. "Councilor Sparatus allowed me to use their QEC to get in touch with the homeworld. I didn't get to speak with my parents, I think the time of the call was inconvenient, but at least I got in touch with Sol... my sister, Solana," he adds for Shepard and Liara's benefit. "She lost a leg in the fighting, so she can't do a lot in clearing up the planet, but... well, despite it all, she seemed very upbeat. Happy to see me too, I think... though with Sol, you can never be sure... she loves to tease me almost as much as you do, Commander."

"I've never teased you, Garrus, you must have confused me with someone else," Shepard smiles innocently. "Anyway, glad to hear about your family. And you, Tali, anything new with you? Obviously, uh, not about family... but I know Raan is doing well, and making some political advances as well... looks like the quarians are getting their embassy, that's a good start."

"I hope they won't make us wait for decades before inviting us," Tali says, nodding. "But yes, aside the food shortage, there has been positive progress. We have replaced Xen and Gerrel with new admirals. You know them both, Shepard." Shepard gives Tali her best surprised stare, prompting the quarian to explain. "We promoted Kal'Reegar and Captain Kar'Danna vas Rayya."

"Oh... oh, that is good! It's nice that you have broken with your long-standing tradition with inviting idiots to the Admiralty Board. The last three have actually been very good choices," Shepard chuckles with her usual lack of tact, earning a scowl from Liara.

"You are speaking about Tali's father and aunt, Morgan," she berates, crossing her arms on her chest.

"Yeah... good point, sorry Tali," Shepard adds sheepishly. "Still, Kal is a great guy, and I seem to remember Kar'Danna from our visit to the Fleet. He was one of the few people I didn't yell at and called them names, correct?"

"That would be correct, yes," Tali sounds like she is struggling to contain a chortle under her faceplate.

"And how's the Normandy crew? Anyone's still onboard?" Shepard asks.

"Well, Garrus and I still use it as our quarters," Tali admits, the turian smirking a little at that.

"Ah, good, I was worried a little, hearing you two argue," Morgan says.

"We're... trying not to allow these tensions between our people to affect... other things," Garrus says, a little uncomfortably, both of them still sounding embarrassed when discussing their relationship.

"It will be a test, but I will pray to the goddess that your bond survives it," Liara adds with a small smile, forcing Tali and Garrus to exchange a brief look and then move to stand a little closer, Tali slipping her hand into the turian's welcoming squeeze.

"We intend to survive this, yes," Garrus sounds a little happier now. "Besides... she's been busy playing matchmaker..."

"Really? Who's the victim?" Shepard chuckles.

"Umm... well, Lia's boyfriend died when the Ulnay was destroyed by the Reapers. She was understandably depressed, but then that one time when Kal'Reegar came with us onboard of the Normandy, I got them both talking and she suddenly seemed a lot less downtrodden," Tali explains. "But... it's been rather hard to get them to cooperate. Kal's a lifelong military, so... not much relationship experience there. And Lia's just feeling so guilty for spending time with him, not to mention that she has this ridiculous idea that others will think that she is only chasing Kal because of his new status of Admiral."

"That is not a small baggage to carry, Tali. You are not pushing her, I hope," Liara speaks up, giving the quarian a concerned stare.

"Well... I might have tried too hard at the start, so it almost backfired, but... I got them on a couple of Citadel dates the last two days, and I think those went much better," Tali says, sounding very pleased. "Yes, I'm definitely seeing a lot of progress there."

"Is Jeff still sending her those messages you told me about, Tali?" Liara asks.

"Yes, how is Joker, did you speak with him? Liara's not giving me the opportunity to get in touch with him," Shepard says, suddenly feeling a bit depressed herself, being well aware that her conversation with Jeff will not be a happy one.

"He has laid off from harassing Lia, at least, but he still doesn't want to see you or speak with you, Commander," Tali replies, now sounding dejected. "I'm sorry. We spoke a few days ago, and he was still very... confrontational."

"He blames me for everything, doesn't he?" Shepard asks. _And he is right to do so. My decisions hurt him, undeservedly so. More than they have hurt anyone else._

"I... guess you could say that, yes," Tali nods. "I'm sorry. It's just... unfair on both of you. Unfair because... he didn't deserve any of it, but... you also don't deserve to be blamed for it."

"Knowing Shepard, she will always find something to blame herself for," Liara sighs, gently and lovingly brushing the back of her palm against Morgan's cheek.

Shepard lets out another sigh. "And the others on the Normandy?" she asks then.

"All coping in their own way," Garrus replies. "Steve spends most of the time helping out back on Earth. Kenneth and Gabby are assisting with the repairs on the Citadel. Traynor is the only one who is still doing the same job she did during the war, updating us with any critical news. Oh, and she is also entertaining a very special guest who's once again bunking in the engineering sub-deck. I wish they had warned me about that in advance, I... happened to stumble upon them in... action." The turian sighs deeply, shaking his head to try and clear it from those memories. "Had to rinse my eyes for several minutes after seeing **that**."

"You know, Liara and I tend to get up to something very similar to that," Shepard grins wickedly.

"Gah!" Garrus groans, putting his palm against his forehead.

"Shepard!" Liara also gives her an admonishing stare.

"Sorry, just couldn't resist that one," Morgan gives her lover a guilty smile, then turning back towards Tali and Garrus. "But amongst all this mess, there are also some good news, people, and I think you two deserve to be the first to know. Liara and I... we're expecting."

"Oh... oh, wow! This is big... congratulations, you two!" Tali gushes, as Liara slips her hand into Shepard's, looking down on Morgan with fondness, both of them realizing that now that Tali knows the truth, the rest of the Citadel will be aware of it in the next few hours, then everyone on Earth, and soon the whole galaxy will be informed of these joyous news.

"They haven't even told us what they're expecting," Garrus scratches his head, looking a little lost.

"A baby, Garrus... bit slow today, aren't we?" Tali pokes him in the side. "Liara's pregnant!"

"Oh. Right. Well, that's good news," the turian nods, happy, but still a bit confused. "Then we better get on with bringing this galaxy into a more decent shape, before the baby arrives. Uh... how much time do you reckon we have, Liara?"

"I'm still in very early stages, Garrus," the asari smiles. "You have roughly around nine months to straighten everything out."

"You'd think that after three years of running around ragged and risking our lives, we'd be entitled to a little rest..." Garrus sighs. "But damn it, looking at how much work still lies ahead before we can truly sit down and say 'Yeah, we did it'... well, Shepard, maybe these are the kind of news that we need to remind us who and what we're doing this for."

"Damn straight, Garrus. Damn straight," Morgan says, as they slip into a prolonged, comfortable silence, each left with their own thoughts. _He speaks the truth, _Shepard realizes deep inside. _This unborn child already saved my life by renewing my will to live and fight another day... my bondmate, my child... for their sakes, I can never stop until they can live their lives in a galaxy free from terror. For them... I would do anything._


	134. The Royal Invitation

**Chapter 133 - The Royal Invitation**

"Ooof... who would have thought that walking could be so difficult?" Shepard lets out a pained groan as Liara helps her settle back onto her bed after a series of light exercises.

"I think it's a little early for you to be put onto the treadmill as you demanded, Morgan," Liara shakes her head, a little exasperated. "You don't need to rush this recovery, you know."

"Well... actually, I do need to rush it..." Shepard disagrees, slowly settling into a more comfortable position in the pillows. "But you're right, I tend to get a little... overzealous at pushing myself. Don't know what's taking those damn implants so long, I'm just getting impatient with all this waiting..."

"As someone who has actually seen your injuries..." a pained wince creeps into Liara's expression from the mere memory. "I am not at all surprised that it is taking this long, Morgan. When they cut you out of your armor, your entire right side that the Reaper beam had licked was... I don't really want to recall, but to re-grow all that... no, it is no surprise at all."

"Once again, ignorance proves to be a bliss," Shepard chuckles weakly. "Well... at least Dr. Michel promises that I can be back on my feet in two weeks. Maybe even take a shuttle to Earth and see with my own eyes what's going on down there."

"If you think that would be wise..." Liara looks uncertain.

"Well, I would have you along and I know my beloved bondmate would never let anything bad happen to me, right?" Shepard smiles at the asari.

"You can always be certain of that, love," comes the immediate reply. The temptation to reach out and kiss Morgan is overpowering and she is about to follow through on this urge, but then a knock on the doors interrupts them and Liara pulls away with a slightly frustrated look on her face. "More visitors. Wonderful," she grumbles in a way that makes Shepard laugh.

"Maybe if we stay really quiet and don't answer, they'll go away?" Shepard suggests, not overly serious.

"That is... very tempting, but I have an idea who those visitors are," Liara grins, shaking her head. "There is no way will we be able to deny this particular guest, I'm afraid," she stands up from the bed and walks towards the doors to open them, letting in a brash looking Aria T'Loak, striding in as if she owned the place, followed by two rather timid maidens, looking around cautiously and then greeting Liara and Shepard with shy smiles.

"Aria!" Shepard exclaims, feeling joy at seeing their initially reluctant friend. "And you brought Rila and Falere with you, that is wonderful! However, your group is still one short, isn't it?" she can't resist adding.

Aria grumbles a bit in response. "You know very well why she can't come with us, don't act like a fool, it doesn't become you, Shepard. No... wait, it does," she adds with a wicked grin. "Besides, she said something about visiting you soon, so... get ready for boring and lengthy talk about galactic politics."

"Ah... wonderful," Shepard sighs, watching Liara's reaction with interest as she greets their guests, warmly taking both Rila and Falere's hands in the traditional asari greeting, but not initiating the same welcome for Aria, and then looking a little nervous and trapped when the Pirate Queen grabs her hands for the small welcoming ritual. "I have to say Aria, I think that eye-patch suits you just brilliantly. It's so very fitting."

"It does, doesn't it?" the Queen of Omega agrees. "She likes it as well. Says it makes me look even more dangerous and imposing."

"Yeah, now we just need to get you a peg leg and a parrot, and you'll be a real pirate!" Morgan laughs, then sighing when nobody in the room understands what she is talking about.

"That must be some ridiculous human thing," Aria shrugs, when Rila and Falere face her with questioning stares. "What the hell is a parrot, even?"

"It's a small bird that would sit perched upon your shoulder and repeat strings of profane swearwords at the most inopportune time," Shepard helpfully explains.

"A foul speaking avian?" Aria ponders thoughtfully. "Hmm, this merits further consideration."

"How do you manage to steer the conversation to such bizarre topics?" Liara wonders, giving Shepard a slightly admonishing stare. "Besides, we should not ignore Rila and Falere," she adds, turning towards the two sisters. "How have you two been doing?"

"We were frightened out of our wits when the Reapers seized the Citadel," Rila answers. "But now that Aria is here with us, we once again feel safe and protected. The Kithoi Ward is mostly intact and getting cleaned up quickly. I think that in a few months we will be able to take walks through our ward without seeing any reminders of this terrible conflict."

"Oh, and we made something for you, Commander," Falere speaks up, looking excited as she steps forward and gives Shepard a small OSD. "We recorded some of our sessions together with..." she stops to look at Aria uncertainly.

"It's alright, Falere," Aria says. "They know. You can trust them." Hearing the Pirate Queen make such a declaration of trust towards her and Liara sends pleasant warmth coursing through Shepard, and Liara appears similarly touched.

"Very well. We made these recordings with Rila and Councilor Tevos," Falere continues. "I'm not going to say exactly what it is, but if we're any good then Liara should recognize these musical pieces easily."

"If you're any good?" Aria scoffs. "You're amazing, girl. And so is your sister."

Falere blushes lightly. "I don't think the recording captures everything as well as a true live performance. These pieces are more than just music, the body language and the setting are just as important."

"Well, that just means that Shepard and Liara need to come visit us once Shepard stops slacking and gets back up on her feet," Aria chuckles.

"Yes, that would be wonderful!" Rila agrees enthusiastically. "And Commander, I could make a drawing of you, if you would agree to pose for me. I would be deeply honored."

"Would I have to be in the nude?" Shepard wonders.

"Uh... why..." Rila looks very confused, blushing dark shade of blue.

"Yes, I think you should be, Shepard," Aria nods sagely. "This could be a very interesting... cultural experience."

"Err... perhaps not?" Liara interjects. "It must be one of those human cultural things again."

"Always trying to ruin my fun, T'Soni," Aria scowls. "Still, the offer for a visit stands. I'm sure you will not want to insult me by refusing."

"We will attend, Aria," Liara says, Shepard feeling a little surprised at how quickly the assent is given, considering her bondmate's slight unease around Aria.

"Yes, we definitely will," Morgan nods. "What have you been up to yourself, Aria, other than watching over the girls? And please, no sordid details of your... other certain exploits..."

"Oh, in that case, I have nothing at all to tell you, Shepard," Aria replies with a lascivious grin. "Well, alright, I have been... ugh, helping out a little on the Citadel, when the mood strikes me... which is not often. No visits to that stupid rock down below, I've had enough of that place during your ridiculous suicide mission. Besides, if I showed up there, your Alliance admirals would go berserk, thinking I've come to take control of those moronic merc forces."

"We have been promised living quarters groundside," Liara says. "Morgan feels that she needs to be closer to her people, rather than hiding here in the comforts of the Citadel, and I agree that it would send the wrong signal if we remained cooped up here."

"I can't believe you would still be so concerned over what the others will think," Aria shakes her head in disbelief. "You saved all our asses, Shepard, nearly at the cost of your own life. When I saw you there at the Citadel control, I never thought you were going to make it."

"Yeah... and I very nearly didn't," Morgan sighs. "And I still haven't thanked you for saving my life, Aria. So... thanks."

"Eh... I think I owed you one, Shepard. But the very idea that the bloody savior of the galaxy can't just do whatever she pleases seems a little insulting to me."

"Well, that's humans for you, Aria," Morgan chuckles bitterly. "Heck, I don't think what I did is even good enough for promotion to the rank of Captain with the Alliance!"

"How did the savior of the galaxy come from the clearly stupidest species in the current cycle is beyond me," Aria snorts, then looking at Rila and Falere. "Well, girls, I think that's enough excitement for Shepard. Let us take our leave, so that T'Soni can nurse Shepard back to full health. And do several other things that I'm sure need not be mentioned."

"As tactful as ever, Aria," Shepard rolls her eyes. "Still, I thank you all for visiting, and we'll be sure to return the favor at our earliest opportunity."

"Yes, it was wonderful to see you, thank you all for coming," Liara echoes the sentiment.

"Aw, does that include me too, T'Soni?" Aria asks, making Liara sigh. "You're such a sweetheart."

The farewells are said quickly enough, and Madame T'Loak together with her entourage are already well on their way back to the Kithoi Ward, when Morgan faces Liara with an intrigued look after the asari has once again settled in a seat next to her bed. "I'm clearly missing something about the way you and Aria are acting towards each other," she remarks, her words making Liara blush slightly.

"Aria has a compulsive need to control and dominate all those around her, possibly with the exception of you, Shepard," Liara explains. "I think it irks her that I am not more humble and respectful towards her, especially considering that she is more than five hundred years older than I am. She always tries to reassert her dominance over me, but I will not give her the satisfaction, because if I do that, she will become even more insufferably smug."

"Yeah... I can believe that explanation," Morgan nods. "You do like her, though."

Liara's blush deepens a little bit. "Yes, I suppose I do, not that I can ever tell her so, because such knowledge would give her great power over me."

"It's okay, babe," Shepard smiles. "I like her too. Aria, and her whole strange new family... she's just so... vibrant, exciting and honest in a... certain 'if I didn't like you, you would be dead' kind of way."

"And let's not forget that she is still dangerous, despite having changed quite noticeably," Liara agrees. "In some ways, she reminds me a little of you. The sheer strength of her personality is not always easy to resist. If not for your calming and supporting presence, she might have already managed to crack some of my defenses," the asari confesses. "A part of me still respects her strength and I do not always manage to hide it well enough."

"I do not think she wishes you ill, though. She seems to like you in a strange, awkward kind of way."

"...I think we have spent more than enough time discussing Aria and her motives, already," Liara finally says, indicating that she wants to drop the issue. "We were busy with something far more interesting when we got interrupted by this visit," her bondmate adds meaningfully as she leans a little closer to Morgan, and Shepard finds herself quickly forgetting Aria together with the rest of the galaxy, only the thoughts of Liara remaining on her mind.

* * *

The visit by the asari councilor comes three days after Aria and the girls have made their social call. During this time, Shepard has subjected herself to more and more rehab, adding extra exercise and load every workout. Now that the worst is behind her, the recovery appears to start becoming more swift and Morgan is almost able to move around freely, with minimal pain. The endurance is obviously lacking, but she is determined to return to top shape as soon as possible, hoping that it will help to convince Dr. Michel that she is ready to leave the hospital.

Even now, as Councilor Tevos enters her room, Shepard surprises the asari by slowly standing up from the bed to step towards her and accept her hands in the friendly greeting. "Commander, words cannot express how pleased I am to witness your swift recovery," Tevos remarks, appearing sincerely glad.

"Yes, I'm slowly getting back into shape, Councilor," Shepard nods.

"And Liara, this must be relief for you as well," Tevos turns to warmly greet the younger asari.

"Indeed it is, Councilor," Liara nods, smiling.

"Have you made any plans regarding your future, Commander?" Tevos asks, a little more directly than Shepard has expected her to.

"Not really... though, I have agreed with Admiral Hackett's offer to move to a temporary residence on Earth," Shepard replies. "I imagine they will want to get me involved with the Alliance work, but I have no idea just what they want me to do to restore peace."

"Perhaps you could be more effective in your role of a peacemaker if you accepted the position of humanity's councilor?" Tevos tries, again not mincing any words. "We could make this posting temporary, if you are still uncertain about whether this is something you wish to do. My fellow councilors would support you wholeheartedly."

"I'm not sure that would be a good idea, Councilor," Morgan replies. "I can't be effective if the majority of the Alliance high-ups don't support me... which they clearly don't, considering they want one of their own admirals to take this post."

"Yes, this... Admiral Singh," Tevos speaks the name with great distaste. "Our latest discussions with him have been only borderline civil, he is beginning to display unacceptable forcefulness. It does not reassure me that he would be a good candidate for the role of a councilor."

"What do you mean, Councilor Tevos?" Liara asks.

"As you know, the Systems Alliance is struggling to contain the spread of unrest back on Earth," Tevos moves to explain. "This sometimes endangers our people who have moved groundside to help. The Alliance claims that they cannot provide additional protection if our specialists wander outside of their enclave, and yet, Admiral Singh promises that he would offer this additional protection if we were to support his claim for the post of humanity's councilor. Even more so, during our last conversation, he claimed that containing the rebels is taking such a strain on their forces that as he said, and I quote directly, 'we might no longer be able to guarantee the safety of your people in the Sol System'."

"That sounded an awful lot like a threat to me," Liara looks deeply upset.

"Matriarch Lidanya was with me, and she apparently thought so as well. Her answer to the admiral was... very passionate," Tevos smiles grimly in the memory of that episode. "I had to step in and smoothen things out, but I also did tell Admiral Singh in no uncertain terms that his chances of becoming the humanity's councilor are almost certainly ruined with this outbreak."

"The Alliance think they can blackmail the Council?" Shepard groans. "Lovely, just lovely. Maybe you should just temporarily suspend humanity from the Council, so that we learn our lesson and shape up."

Liara gasps sharply. "You would see this done to your own people, Shepard?"

Tevos shifts her posture, looking a little uncomfortable. "Well, actually... such initiative has already been proposed by Councilor Sparatus. Valern is currently undecided about this move. I am... also debating whether to give my provisional support to this initiative. I'm sorry, Shepard."

"Well... if I was certain that it would provide the proverbial kick to the backside for our leaders, prompting them to shape up... then you would have my full support for this move. Unfortunately... it could also lead to more violence, which we desperately don't need," Morgan shakes her head vehemently. "The simple truth is that the humanity needs a good and strong candidate, and until we can come up with one, perhaps it's better if we don't have anyone, rather than someone who is not well suited for the role. Or someone unwilling," she adds quickly, noticing the way Tevos looks at her.

"If I believed that inviting this Admiral Singh into the Council would bring stability and peace on Earth, I would gladly support him. Unfortunately, I find his candidacy... severely lacking," Tevos continues. "I made my opinion painstakingly clear to this man during our last talk several days ago. Since then we have reinforced our enclaves on Earth, though I do not believe that there will be any serious confrontations. The Alliance do not have the resources to fight on several fronts."

"I must say, Councilor," Shepard remarks with a smile. "You have become far more forceful as of late, compared to how I remember you. I very much approve of this change."

Soft smile reflects on Tevos' beautiful face, Morgan always having found her facial markings particularly delicate and enchanting. "I am not the only one to be changed irreversibly by this war. So many mistakes were made those three years ago, and I consider myself blessed to be alive and in position to work and atone for the shortsighted decisions I have taken. And the close brush with death that I have only recently recovered from, has reinforced my newfound belief that I must act more decisively to better protect the galaxy under our care."

"And perhaps it is also due to the influence of a certain very charismatic and inspiring individual," Shepard adds with a wink.

"That is also likely," Tevos nods, smiling. "I think that the asari would benefit from having more driven and forceful leaders such as Aria and your father, Liara. She has truly brought the clans on Thessia back together and working all as one to restore the beauty of our homeworld."

"Yeah, we could learn a thing or two from Aethyta," Morgan nods.

"Ah, Shepard, I see you have received your gift," the councilor then says, her eyes falling on the OSD on the desk next to Shepard's bed. "Did you like it?" she asks, almost hopefully.

"Are you kidding? I **loved** it!" Morgan exclaims earnestly. "That might have been the most beautiful thing I have ever heard. Which of the instruments are you playing, Councilor?"

"The alo'rai. It is a combination of a string and percussion instrument, not unlike the piano used by human composers," Tevos explains.

"You play it beautifully, Councilor," Liara says, smiling.

"Thank you, Liara. I have had decades of practice in my maiden years, as part of my education. I had not played it for many years, until Falere and Rila asked me to join them. It has been... a wonderful experience to create something so beautiful and emotional together with two very talented maidens."

"Well, I look forward to experiencing a live performance," Morgan adds, lowering her voice a little, even if she does not believe anyone might be listening in. "I imagine that Aria has told you about the invitation that she extended to us?"

"Yes, she did," Tevos nods. "It would be our pleasure to have you join us one evening, Commander. I am certain that you will enjoy the experience, and hopefully, also our company."

"Of that I have no doubt," Shepard smiles. "Even if Aria still tends to make Liara quite jumpy."

"Shepard, please!" Liara exclaims, giving Morgan the distinct impression that she has disclosed something she shouldn't have revealed, quickly sending her bondmate an apologetic stare.

"I'm afraid that can't be helped," Tevos says. "Liara commands power and respect that is uncommon for her tender age, and she herself is not truly aware of the influence she is capable of exerting on our people. Liara, I'm afraid that Aria feels challenged by another powerful personality, and she seeks to find ways to dominate you, to discover something with which to force you into submission and acceptance of her authority. Which I think you are reluctant to give."

"You could say that again," Liara mutters, looking a little nervous. "She's not going to stop, is she?"

"Not until something happens that changes the current situation," Tevos shakes her head. "As you grow older, Liara, she might become more accepting of the respect you command. Until then, however, we will all have to live with this... slightly frustrating power struggle between you and Aria."

"Well, it is quite amusing to watch," Shepard chuckles. "I don't believe that Aria would truly want to hurt Liara or put her in any danger, would she?"

"I find that very doubtful, Commander," Tevos smiles. "I must say, I find myself unusually impatient in anticipation of your visit, Shepard. I am very pleased that our relationship as of late has become warmer, and I look forward to learning more about you privately. And the same goes for you, Liara."

"I must confess being just as intrigued, Councilor," Liara admits. "And I love spending time with Rila and Falere. They... remind me of how I was before..."

"Before Therum and getting rescued by a dashing Alliance Commander who stole your heart," Shepard finishes for her, smiling. "But I agree with Liara's sentiment, Councilor Tevos." _I wonder what she's like privately. The cold, arrogant bitch I used to know seems to be gone by now... and the chance to see a more domesticated Aria... this should be very interesting._ "Though, of course, you still remain my boss as a Council Spectre, so we still have our working relationship to consider," Shepard adds a moment later.

"Ah, it is good of you to remind me of it, Commander," Tevos says. "I have been meaning to ask about your Spectre status. Do you truly intend to keep it?"

"Why wouldn't I?" Shepard asks, a little confused. _If anything, my future with the Alliance looks more bleak than with the Council, _she thinks privately.

"Please, Shepard, we both know that you have outgrown the Spectres, just as you have outgrown us, the Council," Tevos speaks, uncharacteristically humbly. "I cannot any longer in good conscience give you my orders and expect you to carry them out without questions, it would demean us both."

"I would have no problems with taking orders from you, Councilor, and I have come to respect Valern and Sparatus as well. The same would go for the human councilor, and quarian, krogan or geth, should they ever be accepted," Shepard replies honestly. "I would prefer to keep the job and the title, because I have grown used to it, and because I enjoy some of the perks that it gives me. That is, if you believe there will even be a need for Spectres in the new, post-Reaper galaxy."

"The need for Spectres will be even greater than before, Shepard," Tevos says with certainty. "The rules of the game have changed, power bases have been destroyed and are being rebuilt completely anew. There is a new order coming to the galaxy, and with it will come new struggles and new conflicts. If you are willing to stand with us, Shepard, we will have you for as long as you want."

"What about Morgan being too famous and recognizable?" Liara asks, looking a little worried. "Won't that make her less effective as Spectre?"

"Yes, due to the fame of Commander Shepard, perhaps she would not be best suited to say... infiltrate a terrorist network. But we have many others Spectres capable of such tasks. And there might be plenty of work for a Spectre with a name that carries great influence such as the Commander's. Indeed, I can already imagine that sometimes her mere appearance in the conflict zone might ensure that the cooler heads would prevail."

"So, I'd be more like an ambassador for the Council," Morgan says ponderously. "Hmm... yeah, I guess that might work for me. Just don't call on me too often, Councilor. Liara and I, well, we have a... lot of catching up to do."

Liara blushes deeply, breaking into a smile. "Yes... I quite agree. And by the way, Councilor, my answer to your question is still 'no', politics simply do not hold any interest or appeal for me right now. I believe I will be quite busy in the years to come with other... pursuits."

Shepard smirks knowingly, being very well aware as to what Liara refers, while Tevos faces her bondmate with an inquiring stare, prompting the younger asari to explain. "I have plans for several books, Councilor," Liara says, deciding not to mention her pregnancy. "Mostly involving my research of the Protheans."

"Then I will respect your choice, of course," Tevos nods, not showing any disappointment she may be feeling. "But I believe that I have taken too much of your time already, my friends. Please, keep me informed about the time of your visit, I am anxiously looking forward to it."

"You won't have to wait too long, Councilor," Shepard replies, grinning. "I am so hooked up on that music of yours that we'll probably get in touch before the week is through..."


	135. The Brief Normandy Homecoming

**Chapter 134 - The Brief Normandy Homecoming**

Another week passes, and by the end of it, Commander Morgan Shepard is finally able to move around freely without any lingering pain, feeling herself slowly getting back close to her best physical shape. There are more and more procedures to undergo and additional cosmetic surgery just to help the nanites in healing the few remaining ugly scars and patches of blemished skin. The good news is that according to Dr. Michel, she will be finally allowed to leave the hospital in four days.

_Six weeks stuck in this goddamn bed... If not for Liara's constant company, and if not for our friends, I would have probably lost my mind. As it was, she never allowed me to dwell too much on things... and by the gods, there is so much to grieve for... mother, that they took you from me before I had a chance to reconnect with you again... it is so unfair. And David... you were often like father to me... Also, EDI, and all the others... I'll never forget just what we were forced to sacrifice. _

Plans are already being made for the day that Shepard will be released from the hospital. There are celebrations planned back on the Normandy, and Morgan has managed to pull a few details from Liara about the crew already being hard at work in preparing for the festivities. Later in the evening after the Normandy party they have arranged a visit to Aria, Tevos and the girls at their Kithoi Ward apartment, or hideout as far as the councilor is concerned. The morning after that, Lt. Steve Cortez is scheduled to help Liara and Shepard get their belongings onboard of the Kodiak shuttle before taking them back to Earth for the first time since the bloody final battle against the Reapers.

Shepard has been shown some holos of the place chosen as their residence. City of Bradford in West Yorkshire has seen plenty of devastation, but some of the suburbs have remained completely untouched, leaving a lot of unclaimed dwellings, their owners fleeing the larger settlements, never to return. Their temporary home will be amongst one of the neatly aligned rows of houses in the Thornbury district, a comfortable two-storied dwelling big enough to accommodate a large family, but now assigned to her and Liara's personal use. _The population of the British Isles has been cut to around 10% of the pre-war numbers,_ she still hears the words of Admiral Hackett in her ears, having voiced her protests about being given such a luxury. _Shepard, there are a lot of empty dwellings that will never see their owners again._

"There's someone here to see you, Morgan," Liara suddenly interrupts her thoughts, poking her head through the gap in the doors just as Shepard has finished dressing herself. "A pleasant surprise, this time," she adds, opening the doors further to let in one of Shepard's oldest and dearest friends.

"Karin!" she exclaims with delight, rushing forth to embrace the older woman. "You're back on your feet as well, about time! Chloe has been telling me how helpful you have been working with her on my treatment plan..."

"Dr. Michel should take most of the credit for it, Commander," Karin Chakwas smiles. "She is truly an excellent specialist. I merely advised her where I could."

"Ah, Dr. Chakwas, ever the humble. But really, how are you?" Shepard asks, motioning for her old friend to take a seat, Liara deciding to leave them alone, likely having spoken with Karin before letting her in to see Morgan.

"I am fine now, child, the dizzy spells are all but gone and all tests that I have taken show that the recovery has been complete," Karin explains. "Quite remarkable, all things considered. Much as in your case, Commander."

"Yeah, we both had a lucky escape there, agreed. A... lot of the people didn't..." Morgan sighs quietly.

"Yes, I have heard of the death toll. I know it is not easy, but Commander, you need to think about the third that you managed to save, instead of tormenting yourself over being unable to save the rest. They were murdered by the Reapers, not because you or anyone else did something wrong."

_If only that was the whole truth,_ Shepard cringes inwardly. "I'm... trying not to think of it, as much as I can help it. But... I guess I will always carry it with me, in a way," she admits. "Have you seen Jeff, Karin? How is he?"

Karin's face darkens a little as she thinks of their mutual friend. "I still could not clear him for active duty during his last check-up, which was five days ago. So despite what he claims, he is still not fit to fly the Normandy, and it is not just my opinion because I'm apparently biased to always support Commander Shepard. I have had dozen doctors tell him the same thing, because he would not believe me. Anyway, the last patients from the hospital fleets have been moved to the Citadel by now. I think Jeff is in the medcenter of level 13 of Tayseri Ward."

"Tayseri, 13," Shepard repeats to herself. "I will go visit him as soon as I'm able."

"Are you certain it would be wise?" Chakwas asks, concerned. "He appeared very confrontational since I last dared to bring you up in a conversation. He blames you for both replacing him and for EDI's death, Commander. None of those things were your fault."

"Not my fault, perhaps, but still a result of my actions," she replies, remembering something that Mordin told her once long time ago, repeating his words aloud. "Not guilty. Responsible."

"You take too much responsibility upon yourself, Commander, but I suppose I won't be able to change how you feel," Chakwas says sadly. "There is... another issue that I think we should talk about. Which was also the reason I asked Liara to extend me privacy with you."

"Oh? What is it?" Shepard asks, both curious and concerned.

"Observing your implants at work, so to speak, provided us with an incredible amount of useful data that I and my colleagues could analyze to narrow down our earlier estimates. I will tell you what we have learned, if you wish to be privy to this information, Shepard."

"Damn it, of course I want to know! What kind of a question is that?"

"I certainly do not want to know the exact time of my death, Commander," Dr. Chakwas replies. "But I realize you are in a different situation. Very well, I will tell you. First of all, our prediction about the longevity of the implants themselves appear spot on. The first signs of degradation will appear after approximately one hundred eighty years."

"Yeah, I remember you saying something along those lines. It's not exactly asari lifespan, but it's pretty good. I'll take it." _It will at least allow me to see my child grow up and become a young, proud maiden, fates be willing. _"How will I know that the implants are failing?"

"The signs should be very easy to tell. When you suffer an injury, even a small cut, the healing will become slower as the implants lose their effectiveness. Once a certain critical point is reached, the degradation will proceed like a very swift chain reaction."

"Meaning?"

"Meaning, that you could go to bed one evening looking like the vibrant young woman I see before me and wake up a scrunched, old woman in the next morning," Chakwas explains. "Your body would continue to rapidly age until at one point it would simply stop. It would be an easy, painless passing, Shepard."

"If a little shocking and disturbing to those having to watch me crumble before their eyes," Morgan mutters. "Maybe you can come up with something that monitors the state of my implants and warns me in advance before they give up?"

"Yes, that should be relatively simple to design, Commander. I will speak to my colleagues in the science lab about creating a prototype."

"Does Liara know already?" Morgan asks.

"No, she does not," Chakwas shakes her head. "This is for you to decide whether to share it with her or not."

"I will share it, of course. Thanks for telling me everything, Karin," Shepard says, rising from her seat. "But please. I would speak with Liara now. There is no sense in delaying these news..."

* * *

A couple of days later, Shepard manages to talk Dr. Michel into allowing her the brief trip to the Tayseri Ward, Morgan refusing to bring Liara along, regardless of the asari's insistence. Liara had reacted well to the news about Morgan's Cerberus implants, not that it was surprising, considering that most of it was simply a confirmation of what they already knew. The knowledge that they can look forward to many years together, slowly rebuilding the galaxy into a safe place for their children, is something very reassuring, and for a long while Morgan forgets to feel as if this is too much of a wonderful dream that she does not truly deserve.

The idea of speaking with Joker these two months later makes her more nervous than she thought it might. As she enters the hospital on the Tayseri Ward Level 13, catching Jeff's face with at least a week old unshaved beard, sitting in one of the lounges and fiddling around on his omni-tool, she suddenly feels as if looking at her old friend reflects all of her failures back towards her, making her swim in disheartening memories, but there is no way other than to face them, to battle through the unpleasantness.

"Hey," she addresses him simply, standing next to his chair, watching him idly play some kind of extranet game on his omni-tool. "Got a minute?"

For a moment, Joker doesn't reply anything, just frantically mashes some buttons. "Damn it, Shepard, you almost got me killed. Again. Just a moment... let me get back to the base and log out... hate this stupid design," he grumbles, then finally looking up at her. "What do you want, Commander? Unless you've come to give me back the pilot's seat on the Normandy, we don't really have much to talk about."

"It's your job, Joker, we both know that, but the doctors haven't cleared you yet."

"Bullshit," Jeff Moreau replies harshly. "If you'd have listened to the doctors before, I would have never been on the Normandy in the first place. Even when I'm healthy, I'm just one big fracture waiting to happen. You just don't want me there anymore, admit it."

"What? I wouldn't even care, Liara and I are not going to stay on the Normandy, we're moving planetside," Shepard shrugs her shoulders. "You can get your job back as soon as the doctors give you a clean bill of health. That's always been the only condition."

"Yeah, fat chance of getting that," Joker mutters.

"And that's my fault, how? Am I blackmailing the doctors or something?"

"Wouldn't put it past you..."

"Look, accuse me of things that actually **are** my fault, and god knows there are plenty of those, but don't invent stupid accusations just because you're pissed off at me," Shepard cannot restrain herself from raising her voice. "I know you think that you were ready to fly the Normandy into the final battle, but I have seen the medical reports by Karin and three other doctors. Joker, you were a bloody wreck!"

"I would have still done a better job than a stupid quarian," Joker grumbles.

"I'm quite angry with you myself over that, buddy. You want to be pissed off at me? Sure, go ahead, I can take it. But don't take it out on that poor girl!" Morgan snaps. "Yes, you deserved to be the one flying the Normandy in the final battle, after everything we went through together. But I couldn't change what happened on Rannoch, could I? I wasn't about to get you killed by putting you in the pilot's seat while you were still half-dead!"

"Err, Commander... I'm pretty sure what happened on Rannoch could have been averted if you hadn't killed that stupid admiral and caused his psycho girlfriend go all batshit suicide crazy on us."

_Fuck... yeah, he's kind of right about that one, too. I... hadn't even made the connection, but fuck, yeah he's damn right, I'm to blame for that too,_ Morgan feels herself flinching from the realization. "I... I'm sorry, but it happened, and I can no longer change it. Apologizing over and over again won't change anything. I did what I thought was best. I could not always see what consequences my actions would bring."

"Yeah, got that in one, Shepard. Like you didn't know that the Crucible beam would kill EDI?" Joker asks.

"I... knew that it was calibrated to destroy the Reapers. I... did not consider that it meant everything built using Reaper tech," Morgan confesses. "I never truly knew just how much EDI was based on that Reaper code, it just did not occur to me... I'm sorry."

"But if you had known, would it have changed anything?"

_One synthetic, someone who had grown and evolved to become a trusted friend, or the entire galaxy of organics, including dozens and dozens of friends, my bondmate... it is true, but as much as I hate to admit it... EDI would have been the acceptable casualty. _"No, it would not have changed anything, Joker. I would have done exactly the same thing, and I wouldn't have told you about it," she blurts out the cruel, ugly truth, closing her eyes and wincing, mentally expecting Joker's angry retaliation striking her like lashes of a whip.

In the end, Joker's voice sounds very tired when he speaks. "Yeah, figured that. Just... leave me alone, Shepard. I think we're done here."

"I understand," she nods, turning around to leave. "And I'm sorry," comes the whisper, too quiet for him to hear.

"Shepard?" Joker speaks up one more time, before she has left the room. "I don't really hate you for excluding me from the final battle. You might have had a solid reason for that. And I can't blame you for what you did with the Crucible either, not really. But... what I am most angry at you about... is that you denied the little bit of happiness to me and EDI that you did not deny to yourself and Liara. That makes you a hypocrite in my eyes, Commander."

"Then... I guess that is what I am..." Morgan manages quietly, swallowing the lump in her throat as she tiredly limps out of the hospital and quickly seeks out a quiet corner of the Citadel where she can spend several minutes weeping like an inconsolable child.

* * *

Few days later, when Shepard is finally free to leave the Shalta Wards hospital, she finds herself still way too depressed to even think about any potential celebrations on the Normandy, and it takes all of Liara's persuasion skills to help Morgan summon a little bit of willpower and finally climb out of her hospital bed and start getting ready for leaving. She knows that her bondmate is greatly concerned about her somber state of mind, Morgan having seemingly forgotten how to smile after her talk with Joker, and Liara at times had looked quite desperate herself, failing to trigger any reaction in Shepard, no matter how hard she had tried.

With more time passing, however, Morgan has gradually started to feel a tiny bit better, and now reaching Bay D24 and seeing her beloved ship docked, about to enter the airlock and return to the only home she has known for the past three years, her spirits slowly begin to soar. Liara and Chloe Michel follow her, as they walk through the suspiciously empty CIC, the two others guiding her towards the elevator and then selecting the crew deck.

The greeting party is of considerable size, and so is the noise that they make when Shepard and the others enter the mess hall. There are jubilant cheers, colorful banners that welcome her back 'home' and confetti being sprinkled everywhere, in true spirit of a homecoming party that finally puts the smile back on her lips, and nobody is as delighted to see that as her beloved bondmate, smiling back at her.

Almost all of their friends have gathered to meet her, and surrounded by the shroud of friendship and love, Morgan's depression lifts quickly_. I did right by all these people, and they care for me greatly in return. I couldn't do right by everyone, but to expect that of myself would be... unreasonable. I need to start taking pride in the good things I have achieved, not to constantly drag myself down in the mistakes that I've made. Everyone makes mistakes. It is... only human. _

She stops by to speak with everyone who have chosen to attend the welcoming party, starting with her closest friends, Tali and Garrus. "We wanted to invite even more people, and they would have been willing to come, I'm sure," the excited quarian explains. "But we weren't sure if too large crowd wouldn't be overwhelming for you, Shepard. I hope you're having a good time, Commander."

"Besides, I'm not sure we could have arranged for more food, Wrex has already eaten most of it by himself," Garrus chuckles, pointing at the large krogan hovering over the food table and cramming large portions of everything onto his plate.

"It's perfect, thank you two," Shepard grins. "How's everything, are you having any more issues between your people?"

"The situation is much improved, Shepard, after we oversaw the last three shipments ourselves," Tali explains. "I think we will be fine now."

"Yes, I quite agree, I suspect we no longer need to inspect every shipment," Garrus nods. "Those issues are probably a thing of the past by now."

"Hope so," Shepard agrees. "Anyway, must mingle! Say, is that Jack? I simply must talk with her," she says, moving on to her old psychotic-biotic friend, chatting with Samantha in a more quiet corner of the mess hell. "Would you look at that?" she grins, looking at the pair. "My favorite engineering deck stowaway has returned to the Normandy! Good to see you, Jackie."

"Hey, Shepard," Jack replies, sounding a little surly and not very party-like. "Liara. Just needed some place to bunk, really. Figured you wouldn't mind."

"Nah," Shepard smiles. "And I'm sure the fact that Sam is onboard the Normandy didn't contribute to this decision one bit," she adds, watching Traynor blush a delightful shade of red.

"You can check the surveillance vids from the engineering sub-level if you want an answer to that question, Shepard," Jack grins broadly in reply.

"I disabled them," Samantha inserts quickly, lowering her eyes.

"You... what? But you told me that you'd leave them on... aw, damn it, Sam!" Jack complains, making Samantha blush even more fiercely.

"Do you have any plans to return to Earth, Jack?" Liara asks. "Shepard and I are leaving tomorrow."

"Yeah, I don't know... I'm kind of expecting someone in the Alliance to remember about my existence and throw some shitty orders at me," Jack shrugs. "The kids are all gone, Anderson croaked too, damn it, I'm not even sure I want anything to do with those guys anymore. Sam wants me to stay on, though, I know she does."

"Yes, I make no secret of that fact," Traynor nods.

"Got any recommendation, oh omnipresent authority figure?" Jack chuckles, looking at Shepard.

"Whuh? Err... not sure," Shepard shrugs, herself uncertain what to think about the path the Alliance has set itself upon. "I guess you should report to whoever it is you're supposed to be answering to and see where they're assigning you. You can always tell them to fuck off if you don't like what they're asking of you."

"Hey, that's not a completely crap idea, Shepard," Jack agrees. "Alright, Sam, perhaps later you can find someone still alive from the 103rd Marine Division, and ask if they have any uses for a psychotic-biotic, alright?"

As Traynor nods, satisfied, Shepard and Liara move on to the next small group of people, two quarians chatting with Lt. Steve Cortez. Morgan barely manages to notice that the quarian couple release their hands as soon as they become aware of being watched. _Oh, holding hands in public already?_ she thinks at herself, unable to suppress a grin. _We are definitely seeing big progress here, yes indeed. Tali does an excellent job, yes she does._

"Lia'Vael. Steve," Shepard greets everyone warmly, turning to Kal as last. "And Admiral Kal'Reegar, of course. My congratulations about the new post, well deserved, I'm sure."

"Thank you, Commander," Kal'Reegar nods. "So far it has been more tiring than shooting Reapers, but I have been told that I am improving at this strange concept they call 'diplomacy'."

Shepard chuckles. "Yeah, I've struggled with that one too. Much easier to just grab a big gun and shoot the problem, right?"

"Wrong," Liara replies, poking her in the ribs, grinning as Morgan winces.

"Yeah, I thought that she might disagree," Morgan conspiringly whispers to the others. "And how are things with you, Lia?" _I feel like I should express my condolences about the boyfriend, but it has been almost two months and she seems to be healing so nicely that maybe better not to even bring that up,_ she decides.

"Thank you, Shepard, I am doing much better," the young quarian sounds almost happy. "There was just one thing I wanted to ask of you." Shepard nods instantly, urging her to go on. "A permission to leave your service and return to my people. I have grown to care about everyone on the Normandy, but... my people need me, while with the Normandy docked, I am not really contributing here. Besides, I am aware that your old pilot is close to being ready to return to his post."

"Of course, Lia. Permission granted. You did a wonderful job here on the Normandy and it will not be forgotten," Shepard smiles, suddenly finding herself hugged by the young quarian. "Where are they transferring you to?"

"Uh, the Neema needs another experienced pilot," Lia'Vael admits bashfully.

"The Neema? Now, isn't that curious, Admiral Kal'Reegar _vas Neema_?" Shepard asks, winking at the two quarians. "I must say, you should consider yourself quite fortunate knowing you'll soon get your hands on the most skilled pilot amongst your people."

As the two quarians make strangled noises, trying to come up with a suitable reply, Liara and Cortez both let out deep sighs, rolling their eyes at Shepard. "Well, I certainly hope you are more eloquent at the Admiralty Board meetings, Kal," she adds with a chuckle. "But anyway, run along now and enjoy the party, I'll talk things over with Steve for a bit."

"Commander?" Steve asks, as the two highly embarrassed quarians step a little aside.

"How's everything? Ready to drop us off tomorrow?"

"Absolutely, Shepard, just let me know when," Cortez nods. "You know, someone in the Alliance Command analyzed some data readings and figured that I've made the most shuttle trips to Earth to evacuate the wounded. I suspect that Traynor slipped this data to someone, but the girl won't confess. Anyway, they want to pin some kind of medal on me for that."

"Oh, well done Steve, well deserved!" Shepard exclaims, feeling happy for their friend.

"I could not agree more," Liara adds. "If only James was here to see it..."

"Yeah," Cortez nods. "Still can't believe he's gone. Thought nothing could bring that man down... damn, that's Reapers for you."

"He was a good man, and he gave his life for something he believed in," Shepard says. "I like to think that if he had to choose a way to go, this was the way he would have preferred for it to happen, in the thick of the battle, surrounded by the corpses of his enemies."

"Aye, aye, Commander," Cortez agrees. "Tonight, I'll raise a few glasses for him. Hadn't really had the opportunity to celebrate his memory, but now I will. Thanks for remembering him."

"Of course, Steve," Shepard pats him on the shoulder, moving by. "Have a good time, and we'll catch you tomorrow."

Shepard and Liara exchange smiles with Karin Chakwas, sitting at the table together with Dr. Michel and exchanging all sorts of stories from their colorful experiences over a bottle of wine, immersed in their conversation and a little oblivious to the others present. _At least Karin doesn't hate me for replacing her on the Normandy, and hasn't been sending hateful messages to Chloe... _Shepard cannot help but to think as she moves on towards the last of the guests they have yet to speak with.

"Commander!" she is instantly jumped by a very excited Engineer Daniels, sticking her hand in Morgan's face to display a thin golden band with an impressively large stone on her finger. "Kenneth finally proposed! Isn't the ring just beautiful?"

"Well... it's certainly big!" Shepard nods, smiling happily. "Ken got lucky at the poker table for once?"

"Ha ha, very funny, Commander," Donnelly grouses. "This one's from my personal savings. Gabby deserves only the best."

"Ah, young love, such a wonderful sight. I'm very happy for you two," Morgan smiles, looking at two others in this small group, a very familiar human girl as always wearing the hood that manages to obstruct her face in such manner that even a year later Morgan Shepard has no real idea just what Kasumi Goto truly looks like under that hood. Next to her stands the salarian Spectre Jondum Bau, curiously observing their antics and silly banter. "And speaking of young love..." Shepard's grin widens as she turns to Kasumi and Bau.

"Oh no, Shepard, you're not doing that to us, we are above and beyond your childish attempts to somehow embarrass us!" Kasumi laughs, shaking her head. "Anyway, good to see you up and about, Shep. Also, Miranda sends her regards. She regrets that she can't make it today, apparently she's very busy with something back on Earth. The whole message was very mysterious. But she did say that she will make contact with you when you arrive planetside."

"Hmm, mysterious indeed!" Morgan nods. "Wonder what that's all about. Eh, I'm sure we'll find out sooner or later. Anyway, what have you been up to lately, master thief?"

"Eh, playing escort to Dr. Cole and the rest of the scientists, learning more about mass relays than I ever cared to, digging up more Prothean stuff in the Mars Archives... maybe collecting a trinket or two for my personal collection... it's been passable, Shep," Kasumi replies jovially.

"Well, I'm glad you're having fun," Morgan adds. "Liara will probably want to speak more in depth with you about all the new things you've found in the archives."

"Such thought did cross my mind just now," the asari speaks, visibly fighting to restrain her enthusiasm. "Perhaps you should stop by for a visit, once we have settled in on Earth, Kasumi? And... if some particularly interesting specimen happens to find its way into your pockets... well, I would not mind taking a closer look at it..."

"Told you so," Morgan grins, then turning towards the salarian. "And how does the illustrious Mr. Bau factor into all of that, hmm?"

"Those Mars missions can be very dangerous, as you found out for yourself, Shepard," Bau nods sagely. "Miss Kasumi can always benefit from additional security provided by an experienced Spectre."

"Good answer!" Shepard grins, clapping her hands in appreciation. "Well done."

"Also, Shepard, I understand that you have agreed to retain your Spectre status," Bau continues. "Allow me to express my approval of your decision. I will consider it the highest honor to serve alongside as distinguished and respected colleague as yourself."

"The sentiment is appreciated, Mr. Bau," she smiles, turning her head to look at the last guest of the party who is yet to acknowledge her presence, Wrex continuing to gorge himself full with the food, stuffing half of the cherry cake down his throat. "Wrex, is the food really more important than greeting your sister in arms?" she admonishes the old battlemaster.

"Can't talk, too busy eating," Wrex mumbles, reaching out for a large slice of pizza.

"They had him on a diet at the hospital," Bau whispers as an explanation.

"Still, it's very impressive just to watch him go at it," Kasumi sounds almost reverent. "It's... like there is a small black hole at the pit of his stomach where the food just... disappears..."

"You know, that could be true, actually," Shepard nods, chuckling.

"So... Shepard... I hear you're... going back to... Earth tomorrow," Wrex speaks, busy munching, bits of food escaping his mouth as he tries to eat and talk at once. "Going down... to the planet tomorrow... myself."

"Oh right, then maybe we'll meet down planetside, Wrex," Morgan tells him. "You let me know if you find out the truth about those fish, alright?"

"Count on it, Shepard," Wrex grunts in reply, having swallowed the last slice of pizza. "Damn, the only thing this party is lacking is some good booze. Wish your dad was here, Liara."

"Yes, me too," Liara agrees.

"Well, we don't want to get drunk right now, anyway," Shepard replies. "Liara and I have another, slightly more private gathering in the evening, and we should be sober for that."

"Oh, a private gathering?" Donnelly asks, giving them a knowing wink. "Say no more, Commander. Say no more. But feel free to take pictures."

"Kenneth!" Gabby hisses angrily at her fiancé. "You and your big mouth!"

"It's... actually not even close to what you think. It's more of an evening of culture and arts, instead of something debauched," Shepard says, noticing that Liara looks at little amused next to her. "Uh... or at least I hope that I have not been misinformed," she adds, peering at her bondmate.

"No, you are most likely correct... though considering the company, I suspect that sometimes one does not exclude the other," Liara replies quietly.

"Alright... now I'm kind of confused and a little bit curious," Morgan scratches her head.

"And I'm even more convinced that you absolutely must take pictures, Commander," Kenneth Donnelly adds with a knowing grin, then shrugging his shoulders and waving his hands helplessly as his fiancé glares at him. "What? What did I say?"


	136. The Asari Exposure

_A/N: Hopefully the annoying missing e-mail notifications issue has or will be fixed shortly. I hope I have not missed a chapter of some of my favorite stories because of it._

_So, Shepard and Liara visit Aria and Tevos. Oh, I know what you're all thinking now, that there will be all sorts of smutty naughtiness. Tsk, tsk, for shame!_

_Also, before anyone asks, Rila and Falere have a bedroom on the lower floor, and it is quite perfectly soundproof. It's kind of a requirement when sharing an apartment with Aria and Tevos! _

_...and finally... warning for mature content. :P (if you hate that sort of stuff, just skip past the middle section) _

**Chapter 135 - The Asari Exposure**

The performance is carried out in near darkness, only a few strategically placed lights softly illuminate the small stage with Tevos, Rila and Falere, masterfully crafting their beautiful art. Morgan, Liara and Aria sit on fluffy cushions in front of the performing trio, enraptured by the music so deeply that at times they almost forget to breathe.

The equivalent of candlelight makes Tevos' white facial markings appear particularly beautiful, and it seems as if Aria cannot take her eyes off her lover, sitting in the pillows with her back arched perfectly straight, not a muscle moving in her face, obviously touched deeply by the experience and exerting all her mental control not to show any overt emotions in front of Shepard. It takes Aria a great deal of effort to restrain herself so, enraptured by the music, Tevos looks particularly enchanting and spiritual, even Shepard cannot deny this, even if she knows there is only one asari in the galaxy for her, and that is the adorable young maiden sitting next to her with one hand wrapped around her waist.

Tevos' hands move smoothly over the keys of the alo'rai, eliciting a melody that pulls Shepard into a seductive world of fantasy and memories, trapping Morgan between images of her dreams and things long forgotten, like a mental lover's caress that lulls her into something akin to a shallow meld, not invasive or sexual in nature, but still stirring up memories that she has long forgotten herself, and now they drift by her eyes again, but without any pain and sorrow associated with them.

Rila and Falere add their own touches to the entire piece in a way that makes the music so enchantingly symbiotic that after a while Shepard cannot truly distinguish one instrument from the other. The two Ardat-Yakshi also look as spiritual and inspired as Tevos, as if at that moment possessed by the noblest of goddesses, embodiments of something perfectly pure and innocent, and it is impossible to even look at them for too long, their captivating beauty overwhelmingly heartbreaking.

_I cannot understand how Aria is able to keep her eyes on Tevos the whole time. She must be deliberately subjecting herself to this sweetest of tortures,_ Morgan manages a coherent thought, while there is a small break in the performance. She feels Liara pulling a little closer to her, hearing her bondmate's whisper. "The piece is written for an ancient asari string instrument, the l'orikah, but Falere has adapted the use of human violin brilliantly," she quietly explains. "I have only heard this performed twice before, and this is by far the most beautiful rendition."

And then Liara is forced to fall silent again, as the wonderful symphony resumes with Rila taking the lead, playing an instrument the name of which Shepard's translator has simply interpreted as 'the bastard child of oboe and saxophone', but the sound is soft and soothing, and as Falere and finally Tevos join in, it doesn't take long until Morgan is once again completely lost in the world of dreams and memories. The beautiful melodies never draw upon memories that would cause her pain, however, nor do they touch upon her darkest feelings, guilt and self-loathing that she carries deep inside, this meld-like sensation is almost as soothing as joining her mind with Liara's and being reassured by her bondmate's calming essence.

She is startled to also see images of her childhood, something she has not thought about in many, many years. The rare private moments with her mother, when she had stopped being the cold Lieutenant-Commander, and remembered that her daughter should not be expected to answer to her by saluting. The image of Hannah applying medi-gel on her bruised knees and elbows, raw from crawling around the ducts of whatever ship her mother had been serving at the time. A brief flash in the mirror, showing her mother struggling to finish wrapping up Morgan's birthday gift, a model of the Alliance's first dreadnaught. _Gods, did... she really do that for me? I can't remember... could have never remembered, if not for this... _

There is also an image of her very young self, maybe seven or eight years old, being held in the arms of a large man, kind expression on his cleanly shaven face. The corners of his dark brown eyes tug in small creases as he smiles broadly, holding the tiny girl in his arms against the cool glass, both of them looking outside the window, at the cold, starry and vast space outside. "One day, this will all belong to you, Morgan," he speaks softly, and she remembers herself feeling safe in those strong arms.

_That was my dad... gods, I had almost forgotten what he looked like. And... that was on Arc, wasn't it? Right before he went on the mission that proved to be his last..._ she realizes, her heart swelling with the intense emotions, bubbling over and she is not sure that she will be able to contain it the same way as Aria manages to, not even Liara's comforting touch bringing relief, the asari herself seems to be struggling to keep her face straight, no doubt assaulted by fond memories of her own childhood.

The music stops then, and Shepard slowly slips out of trance, finding her cheeks covered with fresh tears, feeling the overwhelming urge to get out for a moment and take in a breath of fresh air. "Excuse me," she quickly mutters, quickly breaking away from Liara's hold on her waist, rushing towards the opened doors leading to a small balcony. She swiftly wipes her cheeks clean, taking one deep breath after another, trying to calm herself from the overpowering experience, taking comfort from the darkness of the artificial night of the Citadel outside, watching the quiet, still avenue under the balcony, barely any passersby out on the streets at this time of the evening.

Having spent a few minutes sorting out her head, Shepard is about to turn around and walk back inside, thankful to the others for giving her this moment of privacy, but just then Tevos steps out on the balcony, obviously getting a little concerned over the time she is taking. "Shepard, are you alright?" the councilor asks. "We hoped you would enjoy our little performance, we deeply apologize if it brought you discomfort."

"No... gods, no, far from it... that might have been the most beautiful thing I have ever listened to," Shepard replies with such passion that it makes Tevos blush lightly. "It was just... overwhelming, but... in a good way, I think. A very good way."

"Then I am relieved to hear it, Shepard," the asari smiles. "As far as I know, no human has ever been allowed to experience this, so I was a little cautious about the idea. However, Aria and the girls insisted."

"I am glad that they did. Truly. Even if I don't know just what exactly happened. It was... more than just music, wasn't it?" _I wonder what Aria saw. I can only imagine... Liara has told me that her clan is very powerful, influential, but also scandalous and full with individuals of... questionable repute. I wonder... what was her childhood like?_

"For our people, this is what we understand as music. We have a completely different word for the simple, contemporary version that you might have been exposed to as asari 'music' before. But this, as they say, is the real thing."

"I guess it's a little bit like the distinction with human classical music as well," Morgan muses. "Though... Beethoven kind of did nothing for me, to be honest. Nothing like this anyway."

Tevos smiles again. "Would you like to rejoin us inside again, Shepard? The girls have finished setting up the table and we can eat. Perhaps another unforgettable experience awaits you, Commander."

Morgan simply nods and follows Tevos back inside, Liara taking her by the hand as they step up to the simply but elegantly decorated table, the two Ardat-Yakshi sisters assuming the role of caring hostesses, making sure that everyone's plates and glasses are full. Aria has opened a bottle of Noverian rum for herself and looks reluctant to share it with anyone else, and it suits the others just fine, happy to enjoy the sweet and less alcoholic elassa.

"Oh... you cooked human food?" Morgan asks, looking at the contents of her plate, instantly recognizing the Swedish meatballs together with a mix of what looks like rice and vegetables, of which probably not all are of Earth's origin. "You shouldn't have bothered, really!"

"It's not human food, Shepard," Aria tells her, having kept uncharacteristically quiet after the musical experience, still having difficulties in taking her eyes off Tevos.

"Seriously? But it's meat, isn't it?" Shepard says, poking one of the round pieces of ground meat and spices before shoving it into her mouth and tasting it. "Heck, it even tastes like Swedish meatballs. Delicious!"

"It is an asari recipe, Commander," Falere assures her. "It is not very popular anymore since meat has decreased to a much smaller part of the asari diet these days, especially compared to human diet as I understand?"

"Yeah, we're the uneducated meat-eating barbarians," Shepard chuckles, taking another bite and savoring the rich flavor of spices, surprised at the sweet aroma but somehow her taste buds seem to heartily approve of the unexpected taste.

"There is a theory that every civilization in the galaxy has a version of a recipe for these 'Swedish' meatballs, as you call them, Commander," the smiling councilor explains. "So far it has proven to be surprisingly accurate."

"I wonder if Protheans also had a recipe like that," Liara wonders, herself deciding to pass on the meat in favor for extra rice and something that looks a bit like a flat vegetable pie. "If they all really were like Javik, they might have made these meatballs from all the races who would not subject to their domination..." she adds with a sigh.

"Heh, you're probably right," Morgan chuckles, continuing to clear her plate quickly, finding herself slowly becoming very attached to the taste. "You know, I probably wouldn't starve on Thessia."

"Why, Shepard, have you made plans already?" Aria asks, looking curious.

"No... we haven't really discussed much long term," Shepard exchanges a brief look with a slightly ponderous Liara. "There's no rush, anyway. We'll be stuck here for a bit and can take our time deciding." _I wonder where she will want to raise our blue baby? Thessia would make a lot more sense, so she can be around her own kind... but am I ready to live in an all asari society? If this evening is anything to go by, then... that's a resounding hell yeah!_

"And what of your own plans, Aria?" Liara asks. "The situation on Omega remains a complete mystery, does it not?"

"Yeah. It was full with indoctrinated Cerberus bastards, so I'm not sure what to expect once I go back and see for myself what's going on. I am guessing everything Reaper related is wiped out, but what about the indoctrinated ones?" Aria wonders.

"From what we have learned, those who have been irreversibly indoctrinated for a lengthy period of time have perished from brain hemorrhages and rapid decay of nervous systems," Tevos explains. "Those who have been indoctrinated only recently stand a good chance at complete recovery."

"So, basically, Omega will be sitting there ripe for taking once we can get out of this useless corner of the galaxy," Aria smirks. "And before you ask, yes, I do intend to go back and rebuild. And I will take the girls with me, I don't want them to come under more scrutiny which is what will happen if we stay here for too long."

"At least Aria has promised to make Omega into something less..." Rila stops there, looking around and trying to select some kind of properly inoffensive word. "...uh, disgusting?"

"That sounds... encouraging," Shepard says, not immediately sure what to think, then turning her head to look at Tevos, the councilor remaining quiet while Aria discusses her plans. "You know, it's probably not my place to intrude on something private, but-"

"You're right, it's not your place, Shepard," Aria cuts her off imperiously. "But rest assured, we will figure out some kind of arrangement, and for now you don't need to be concerned about anything beyond that."

"Aria will explore possibilities to acquire a legitimate front for her... dealings," Tevos finally joins in to explain. "If she can secure a certain amount of credibility for herself, the link between us might no longer appear as... scandalous to some."

"Eh, fuck 'em, I say," Aria grumbles, emptying her glass of rum in one big gulp, then quickly refilling her glass.

"Well, in that case, I propose a toast," Shepard surprises everyone, raising her glass of elassa and then having to explain exactly what she is proposing. "It's a... uh, human thing, where we all take drinks to either express honor or goodwill. So... I was thinking of proposing a toast to the future. To the uncertain future in hopes that it will bring good things to us all."

Everyone smiles and drinks to that, slowly finishing the dinner afterwards. "That was a lovely meal, thank you, Rila and Falere," Liara says, bowing her head to the two young asari, Shepard vehemently agreeing.

"Oh... thank you, Liara, and you too, Commander," Rila accepts the praise, then nodding at the councilor. "But Tevos did most of the work, I think."

"At least as much as Rila and I," Falere agrees.

"Well, councilor, you're certainly an asari of many talents," Shepard grins, impressed. _Damn, now I'm wondering what Tevos would look like scurrying around the kitchen and wearing an apron. That's kind of... strange, but somehow cute image..._ she admits to herself, turning to look at Liara. _Then again, we're moving to a house of our own... maybe I'll get to see Liara being busy in the kitchen too... providing she doesn't cause a disaster..._

"It was all part of my upbringing and education," Tevos explains. "At the expense of any sort of biotic training, which nearly proved fatal," she adds with a sigh, gently rubbing her chest in the spot where the husk had pierced her flesh with its claw.

"In any case, Liara and I want to thank you for the lovely evening," Shepard says. "Though it is getting very late, and we should start getting back to the Normandy."

"Why bother?" Aria shrugs. "We have a whole upstairs bedroom sitting unused. The bed is far more comfortable than anything on your ship, I'm sure. Just open another bottle of your sweet wussy juice and enjoy yourselves."

"I agree with Aria," Tevos nods enthusiastically. "Rila and Falere will prepare the guest bedroom for you, won't you girls?" The two Ardat-Yakshi react immediately, eager to be helpful as they dash upstairs to the upper floor to get to work.

Shepard exchanges a look with Liara, wanting to gauge her bondmate's reaction, but Liara appears calm and perfectly fine with the proposition, perhaps as a result of Aria having been exceedingly polite towards her the entire evening and not making the younger asari nervous or embarrassed. "Very well, we'll stay for a sleepover," Morgan finally agrees with a smile, reaching out to open a fresh bottle of elassa. "I'm so glad this stuff doesn't give me hangovers..."

* * *

When Shepard finds herself suddenly awake in the middle of the night, she is not immediately certain for the reason of what has caused her usually heavy sleep to be interrupted. She feels searing heat hitting her cheeks, however, as soon as she recognizes the nature of the sounds that penetrate the wall from the adjacent bedroom. There is no doubt as to exactly what Aria and Tevos are up to, and for a moment Shepard wonders whether the asari couple are aware of just how thin the walls are between the two upper floor bedrooms.

_Not that I would expect Aria to care. In fact, maybe she's taking some kind of perverse, kinky pleasure from knowing that we can hear them, I wouldn't put that past her. And I definitely wouldn't put past her keeping Tevos unaware of just how well we can hear them..._ Shepard thinks, shifting uncomfortably in the bed, trying to hide her head under the pillows to muffle the sounds, but it doesn't seem to be working. _That higher pitched, rapid moan probably belongs to Tevos. The deeper groans sound more like Aria... oh yes, and the cursing gives her away, Tevos probably would be a well mannered lady in the bed, too... _

Morgan continues to squirm, trying to ignore the sounds of heated coupling from the next room, but finds herself unable to do so, feeling her nipples quickly stiffening against the soft linens, feeling the spark between her legs beginning to quickly ignite and demanding attention. She flips herself on her back in the bed, unsuccessfully fighting herself as her fingers sneak down across the planes of her stomach towards the juncture of her legs, slipping between her thighs as she catches the edge of the duvet with her teeth to silence herself as her fingers meet with the sensitized flesh between her legs. _Gods, it has been far too long, and I'm not sure I can restrain myself,_ she thinks frantically. _Perhaps I should wake Liara... or..._

As her fingers begin to make gently circling motions, her hips arching a little, she turns her head towards Liara's sleeping form, freezing from the sight that opens to her eyes, the fire within her increasing tenfold. Liara is no longer sleeping either, and she can see that the blanket covering her bondmate is moving slightly with smooth, regular strokes.

"Liara, you..." she finds herself whispering, barely managing to keep her voice from breaking.

"Goddess, Morgan..." the asari replies instantly, and suddenly in one smooth motion, they are a tangle of limbs, two burning, sweaty bodies clinging to each other, Morgan's hand disappearing between her bondmates thighs to find evidence of her embarrassingly powerful arousal.

"Need you..." Liara moans softly, barely able to control herself. "Must... stay quiet... not let them hear... Aria... never hear the end of it..."

Shepard nods knowingly, unable to speak, having lost all ability to form coherent words, simply slipping two fingers of her left hand into Liara's mouth, feeling her lover's sharp teeth digging in as Morgan herself buries her head into Liara's shoulder, starting to nip and suck on the asari's tender flesh. Liara is in no condition to initiate a gentle, gradual meld, having already worked herself into an overpowering state of arousal. The joining of their minds, when it comes, immediately cuts to their very cores, and the amount of released, pent up emotion makes them both unable to exert any kind of control over the encounter.

Two sets of hips grinding against each other quickly send them crashing over the edge, their need for release too overpowering after two months of waiting for this moment. The ecstasy is so powerful that Shepard finds herself still rocking her hips against Liara's leg, after she has finished swimming in the complete blackness of sensory overload, her teeth having dug deeper into Liara's neck than she had intended, coming close to drawing blood. Which is something that Liara's teeth have done to her fingers still stuck between her bondmate's lips, the asari continuing to twitch under her with powerful aftershocks, both clinging to each other tightly, well aware that they might have just been moaning at the top of their lungs without knowing it, neither of them actually caring whether that has been the case.

Morgan pulls her aching fingers away from Liara's mouth, then pressing her lips against the asari's, the soft, deep kisses intended to ease them through the warm afterglow. Unfortunately, the noises from the other room have not decreased, quite the contrary. Aria seems to be putting Tevos through a rigorous session of lovemaking, the councilor desperately trying to remain silent, but failing utterly and miserably, and the Pirate Queen herself seems to be very close to losing control.

The sounds are not allowing the fiery spike of arousal within Shepard to dissipate, and Liara appears to be faced with a similar problem, starting to suckle on Morgan's tongue more insistently, her hips slowly gliding against Shepard's leg, coating it with warm wetness. "Gods," Morgan whispers, somehow managing to pull herself away from Liara's lips, even if it is the last thing she wants to do. "Will they... ever stop?"

"Don't..." Liara whimpers, clutching Shepard tightly and pulling her back close. "Need... more..." she manages semi-coherently, Morgan watching her bondmate's eyes already swimming in blackness.

"The Reapers couldn't kill me, but this just might," Morgan whispers, feeling the familiar sensations of the meld beginning to encroach at the edges of her consciousness, this time Liara still managing to maintain a semblance of control, enough to slow themselves down and make the joining of their nervous systems a little more gradual and less shockingly intense.

At some point of their joining Morgan becomes agonizingly aware of Liara's curled fingers slipping beneath their bodies, seeking their prize and Shepard instinctively raises her hips just a little bit, then lowering them when Liara's hand is in position, swiftly impaling herself on her bondmate's fingers, meeting no resistance as the asari's digits slip deep inside her. The meld has reached almost its maximum intensity by this point, where she is able to feel every emotion that Liara is experiencing, echoing back through their bond. Her hips begin to buck against Liara's hand on their own accord and she wonders how she is even still conscious, her body reacting on pure instinct, perhaps subtly directed by Liara through their bond to enhance the pleasure that she is receiving. She begins to slip towards the edge of that familiar sea of blackness, her elbows failing to support her weight as she falls heavily on Liara's chest, but her hips never cease that steady rhythm and finally she hears Liara's last vestiges of composure also breaking with a deep, throaty moan, her bondmate forgetting that she is supposed to remain quiet.

The last thing that Morgan manages to do before she becomes completely lost in shared explosion of overwhelming pleasure, taking a deep plunge into the comforting waves of blackness, is to pull herself up a little and clamp her lips down against Liara's to muffle their cries, no longer willing to get her fingers nearly bitten off. Dark spots continue to swim before her eyes as she feels their bodies slowly coming to rest, and fortunately Aria and Tevos have quieted down as well, giving them a reprieve.

Liara still hasn't regained the ability to speak as Morgan finally slides off her bondmate's drenched body, not moving away, cuddling against Liara's side and wrapping her arms around the asari, still breathing heavily with ragged gasps. "Wonder if they... heard anything..." Morgan manages to speak weakly, pressing her lips against Liara's shoulder.

"Don't... care..." Liara replies after a lengthy pause, her breathing slowly returning to normal. Not long after, they are both sound asleep, Morgan snoring softly alongside Liara, tired, but for once enjoying sleep that is not troubled by dark thoughts and nightmares.

* * *

The next morning, while Rila and Falere serve them delicious asari style breakfast, consisting mostly from strange but delicious fruits and juice, Shepard is busy studying Aria's face for some hints of whether the Pirate Queen has noticed any of their nocturnal activities. However, Aria T'Loak is very good at disguising her emotions and not revealing what she desires to keep hidden, so Shepard is forced to quickly admit her defeat, remaining in the dark about the extent of Aria's knowledge. At least she is not making any lewd comments, remaining perfectly cordial with her and also towards initially very hesitant looking Liara.

"So you're heading back to Earth today, are you, Shepard?" Aria eventually asks, when they are slowly about to finish off the breakfast, the two Ardat-Yakshi sisters coming to sit at the table as well.

"Yeah, in a couple of hours," Morgan replies with a nod.

"Drop us a line once you've settled in, and we'll come to visit you," Aria speaks decisively, looking at her new stepdaughters. "Would you like that, girls?"

"Yes, I'd love to see Earth!" Rila exclaims enthusiastically, Falere nodding just as excitedly.

"That sounds like a great idea, and the house looks big enough for you to do a sleepover at our place," Morgan nods, the connection between her brain and tongue still unreliable at this early hour and she mentally winces, wondering what exactly had prompted her to say those words.

"We, ah, can discuss the details at a later stage," Liara offers diplomatically, trying to save Morgan's blushes. "After all, you have been generous hosts to us, so it would be only polite to reply with the same in return. A shame that the Councilor had to leave so early, we wanted to thank her for the lovely evening, too."

"I'll pass it on, don't worry about it," Aria nods. "Her schedule is often very irritating. Those turians are crazy about early morning meetings, sadistic bastards the lot of them."

"I'm starting to think that the poor Councilor doesn't get nearly enough sleep," Shepard says, then again mentally facepalming as she sees Aria briefly pausing and giving her an incredulous stare, followed by a knowing grin, as Liara completely gives herself away by snorting the juice through her nose, shocked by Morgan's gaffe, then having to hastily apologize for the embarrassment.

"Uh, maybe it's time we leave, they're probably already expecting us back on the Normandy," Morgan suggests, a little awkwardly.

Liara immediately pounces on the opportunity for semi-dignified getaway. "Yes, I believe it is time, once again, thank you all for the lovely company," she speaks, rising from the table and dragging Morgan up with her.

As they walk towards the doors of the apartment, Shepard suddenly receives a painful elbow jab between her ribs, punishment for her indiscretion, but still she cannot help to stop grinning like a madwoman when looking at her exasperated bondmate. _Oh yeah. That was totally worth it._


	137. Home Surveillance Benefits

_A/N: Unless you hadn't noticed it before, I like to place Liara into difficult and controversial situations, and generally be mean to her. Wasn't there some kind of saying about always hurting the ones we love or something? Poor Blue, I'll make it up to her eventually, that's a promise. :) _

_Also, with the Easter weekend coming up, I'm debating whether to bother and put up a new chapter on Saturday, or just delay it until Tuesday. If you're reviewing this, please let me know your preference. ;) _

**Chapter 136 - Home Surveillance Benefits**

As the Normandy shuttle closes in on the quiet little Bradford suburb of Thornbury, Shepard is not at all surprised that their arrival is greeted by a tenacious downpour of rain. Cortez helps them carry their luggage out of the shuttle and she is unpleasantly surprised by how cold it is, harsh wind whipping her face and the raindrops chillingly cold against her skin.

"Damn it, I'm glad we brought extra set of clothes," she mutters at herself. "It's not supposed to be freezing like this in early November and on the Isles."

"Remember what Singh said about the nuclear winter effect and temperatures being lower across the globe," Liara speaks as they quickly dash across the small patch of green yard towards the entrance leading into the tidy looking house, fumbling with their bags as they squeeze in through the doors into a more welcoming atmosphere of friendly warmth.

"Ah, Shepard," the very familiar figure of Admiral Hackett greets them in the large and comfortable living room. "Glad you made it. Come, I'll show you around."

The next quarter of an hour is spent on Hackett giving them a small tour of the house. The first floor consists of a small foyer, bathroom, kitchen and the living room, while the upper floor has two relatively large bedrooms and something akin to a saloon with a snooker table that looks to have been dragged in just recently. There are still a lot of mementos of the house's previous owners scattered about, despite the Alliance cleaning crew having brought most of their personal belongings down to the basement.

"And you are absolutely certain that we can have this gorgeous house all to ourselves?" Shepard asks for the fifth time, having switched on one of the vid screens, flipping through the various news and entertainment channels available. _Heh, no wonder they have restored those so quickly. Distracting the hungry masses with cheap entertainment and reruns of Vaenia, _she thinks at herself.

"Yes, Shepard," Hackett sighs. "As I have been trying to tell you, the previous owners have been confirmed as deceased. They won't be returning to reclaim their property. In fact, most of the neighborhood is full with such empty houses awaiting someone to come and settle in."

"We keep hearing about the fighting, Admiral Hackett," Liara asks, a little concerned. "How safe is the surrounding area? Are there any Alliance operations being staged nearby?"

"This is probably the safest of the big cities in Britain, Dr. T'Soni," Hackett replies. "The mercenaries have established their bases more to the south of the island, closer to London, while Terra Firma and the resistance have failed to find support in the Bradford area, mostly because it has suffered the least from the invasion."

"You say that, Admiral, but we still saw mostly just piles of rubble when coming in to land," Shepard shrugs.

"True, but there are some districts near the city center that have miraculously avoided large scale destruction," Hackett explains. "People there are actually attempting to live normal lives. There are pubs, workshops, a small theater, an old museum and other establishments still operating. But I will allow you to discover everything on your own."

"What, you're not throwing me right into some super important mission for the Alliance, sir?" Shepard asks. "Frankly, I'm shocked!"

"We have better uses for a woman of your talents than to needlessly put you on the front lines, Shepard," Hackett shakes his head.

"**Now** he tells me that!" Shepard can't resist her quip, making Hackett sigh.

"Just take a few days off, Commander, explore your new surroundings. I'll get in touch with you in three days and then we'll have a lot to talk about, I'm sure," he says, about to leave, before remembering something and pulling out what looks like credit chits, but of slightly different color and shape. "You'll need these," he says, scanning and activating them with his omni-tool, passing two of them to Shepard and one to Liara. "As an officer of the Alliance, the regs entitle you to extra supplies, Shepard."

"What the... fuck is this?" Shepard demands, less than diplomatically.

"Commander, you won't be able to just waltz into a general store and buy everything your heart desires. The supply chains have not yet been restored and there's no telling how much time it will take," Hackett explains, looking rather unhappy. "This allows you to receive a week's worth of food supplies at the nearest designed Alliance warehouse. Nothing fancy, only some basic MRE's."

"So, I get two of these crappy chits and Liara just gets one?" Morgan asks, unable to keep her voice from turning edgy.

"Uh, Dr. T'Soni is actually not entitled to any supplies from the Alliance, she would have to receive hers from the asari enclave, but I'm just giving this to her as a small favor," Hackett looks very uncomfortable by now, facing a rather angry Shepard. "And your rank makes you eligible for an extra portion of the goods, that's just how it is, Shepard."

"Great. And the average Joe out on the street has to drag out his existence with bare minimum, I gather?"

"We must conserve food, Shepard," Hackett says. "The southern hemisphere is also experiencing catastrophic crop failure. We need those relays repaired almost as urgently as our dextro friends, so that we can ship in extra goods from the colonies. I understand that people are not happy about this, but they simply do not see the big picture of what would happen if we did not limit our resources as much as we can."

Morgan grumbles, finally relenting. "Maybe you're right. Still, I don't think that people should be expected to feel comfortable with the military simply swooping in and taking control over every aspect of their lives. Is the martial law still truly necessary after all this time?"

"If every place was as relatively peaceful as Bradford, I would not deem it necessary, no," Hackett sighs. "Sadly, that is not the case. Commander, I feel that you are still very much out of the loop with the true situation down here. I suggest that you use these three days to learn as much as you can. The Alliance News Network is as always a reliable source to lean on."

_Alliance Propaganda Network more like._ "Just... please, don't send any journalists our way, Admiral," Shepard warns. "We've brought all our weapons here with us, and if someone like that bint al-Jilani shows up, I'll just shoot her and invoke my Spectre immunity."

"I'll try to do what I can to keep the reporters away from you, at least for a while," Hackett smiles thinly. "Well, I should probably get out of your hair and let you two get accustomed with the place. We'll talk later, Shepard." With that he salutes and leaves, nodding to Cortez at the doors.

"Will you be needing anything from me, Commander?" Steve asks, stepping closer.

"I don't think so, Steve," Morgan shrugs. "Not sure how we're expected to get around though. Walk? I doubt I should just keep you here to provide taxi services for us."

"It's been taken care of, Shepard. There's a used skycar in the backyard, with your permission I'll go put some finishing touches on the repairs to make it both safe and flyable."

Shepard simply nods gratefully and Cortez disappears from her view to return to his tasks as she looks around the place, not sure what to think of the situation. Everything seems so incredibly surreal to her, suddenly having a place of their own with Liara, at least for the near future. Simply by looking outside the window and seeing the calm suburban setting of neat rows of houses, one could actually pretend that the Reaper invasion has never happened, the view not offering any evidence of it, and yet to Shepard everything about this peaceful scenery feels incredibly fake.

_And what am I supposed to do here, anyway? Sit on the sofa and watch news vids or cheap action flicks, while chewing some old energy bars or slurping on nutrient paste? This can never be my life. This has to be some kind of a short transition phase. We need to rebuild quickly, need to find some new purpose for ourselves in this brave new world, _she thinks, watching Liara walking around the living room with a puzzled expression on her face, hesitant to touch anything, also clearly feeling as if she did not belong here. _Damn it, maybe we should have stayed on the Citadel or the Normandy instead of coming down here to this dreary pit just to be some kind of symbol for the Alliance... I still don't know what they intend to do with me, but I know one thing. I will not be used._

"Strange, isn't it?" she speaks to Liara quietly.

"Yes, I... I'm not quite sure what to do," her bondmate replies. "You know... back on the Citadel, I didn't lie to Tevos about that book. I have actually written a fair amount of content while you were recovering. I guess I can always crawl into some quiet corner and work more on it. Doing something familiar calms me."

"Wouldn't do much for me, though," Shepard smiles to her, Liara nodding acceptingly. "There are two bedrooms, upstairs. Maybe we should decide on which one we will claim as our own?"

"And how you do propose we do that?" Liara asks, the faintest of smiles on her indigo lips.

"Well, we christen the sheets in both bedrooms and see which one feels better," Morgan boldly suggests.

"I'm sorry, Shepard, but my translator suffered a glitch there."

"Ah, it's not important," Morgan smiles, taking her bondmate by the hand. "Come upstairs with me, and I'll show you exactly what I meant by that..."

* * *

"It's been three days since the last surprise inspection," a quarian soldier, standing in one of the many cargo bays of the liveship Rayya, tells his two fellows. They are standing in front of a stack of crates prepared for loading into the docked transport shuttle and then shipped down to the enclaves on the planet. "Yes, I reckon we should be safe."

"How many this time, five or ten?" one of the others, the sole female amongst the bunch, asks.

"Let's start with five and see how much noise those spiky bastards make," the first one replies, as they start to carry several of the supply crates prepared for the turians away and onto a smaller private shuttle. "Damn, this stuff is worth more than any amount of credits right now. A few catches like this and we'll be rich beyond our wildest dreams."

"Just hope that bitch and her lackeys won't come and ruin all our grand schemes," the third soldier pipes up, sounding angry. "But I heard that she's been saying that she expects no more trouble with the shipments, so I'm guessing we're in the clear."

"By the way, I'm not doing this to get rich," the female says, looking reproachfully at her two partners in crime. "Some idiots on my sister's ship stole from the supplies that were meant for the whole crew, and now everyone there are starving. Well, except the thieves, but they pretend to be starving too not to give themselves away."

"That's rough," one of the men replies. "Damn, if a certain admiral wouldn't care so much that the turians get their full share, none of our own would have to starve. Screw that bitch."

"Yeah, damned turian lover," the other male soldier agrees. "We call her Tali'Zorah vas Palaven now."

"You two, stop chattering there and help with this last crate!" the female calls out to them hurriedly, then together with the others quickly loading the last of the supplies onboard the private shuttle. "Alright, take her away!" she calls out to the shuttle pilot, but nothing happens. "What's the matter, don't you-"

She is cut off mid-speech as the shuttle doors slowly open and a lithe figure of a female quarian steps out, displaying her activated omni-tool. "Shit! That's not our pilot!" one of the soldiers exclaims worriedly.

"The pair of tits kind of gives it away, genius!" the other man berates his more nervous colleague. "Who the hell are you and what are you doing here?" he growls at the stranger.

"My name is Admiral Tali'Zorah vas Palaven," Tali replies mockingly, enjoying the way the three culprits jump from surprise. "Everything you have said during the past five minutes has been recorded with my omni-tool."

"Ah, hell... I had a bad feeling about this," the female soldier groans, hanging her head in shame.

"Wait... if she's here alone..." one of the men boldly suggests, the others looking at him in shock.

"Are you crazy? She's on the Admiralty Board! What are you saying?" the female exclaims.

"Just let him speak," Tali says encouragingly.

"I don't want to be exiled or incarcerated back on Rannoch, so he has a point... if we could get away with making her disappear..." the other male appears ponderous.

"No! No, I did not agree to something like this, I won't let you shoot-" the woman protests loudly, watching one of the soldiers going for his pistol, but then a harsh voice coming from behind interrupts them all.

"There will be no shooting of anyone here today!" Admiral Kar'Danna vas Rayya announces loudly, arriving on the scene of crime with a dozen of quarian marines. "Men, seize those three miscreants and throw them in the brig! I will not allow desperate times turn our people into animals willing to stoop to theft and murder!"

"Just a moment, Admiral Kar'Danna," Tali speaks up before the marines have managed to escort the stunned thieves away. She walks up to the sobbing female soldier and looks upon her. "What is the name of your sister's ship?"

"...the Zak'hiri," comes a strangled sob.

"I will make sure that they receive additional supplies to compensate for what was stolen," Tali promises. "You will still answer for your actions here, but I am sure that the evidence I will supply should provide you with extenuating circumstances."

"Keelah... thank you... thank you, Admiral Zorah... I'm so sorry..." the woman cries desperately as the marines take her and her two fellow conspirators away, leaving the two admirals standing side by side in the cargo bay.

"That couldn't have been easy for you, Tali," Admiral Kar'Danna says. "I'm sorry you had to hear some of those insults."

"It's alright, Admiral," she lies convincingly in return, trying to hide the hurt in her voice. "But we still need those relays fixed... and we need them fixed soon..."

* * *

"Hmm... everything seems to be in order," one of the turian marines grumbles, holding a datapad in his hand, having finished going over the delivered supply stash from the quarian enclave. "Heard there was some trouble on the Rayya again, apparently they caught some of those suit-rats stealing before they could get away with the supplies," he tells his fellow soldiers.

"It's just undignified that we, proud turians, should be forced to even do something like this," the other soldier snarls, appearing deeply unhappy. "Those useless louts only stepped into this war when it was almost over, and now we're forced to depend on their generosity? Damn insulting, that's what it is."

"Yeah, but what do you expect with leaders like ours? Fedorian wouldn't have stood for any of this nonsense. He'd have sent a black ops squad to raid the quarian warehouses, grab all the supplies, wipe all evidence and then issue fervent denials. Damn, I miss that sly old bastard. He had everyone fooled about how noble and heroic he was, but it's just what we need right now."

"You know, we could pull off an op like that, if we wanted to. I'm just saying," one of the marines says thoughtfully. "Wonder what our current leaders would say about that!"

"Hah, Sparatus just keeps walking into walls, too busy staring at the asari councilor's tits to notice anything else," the other marine chuckles. "Victus has gone all soft with this diplomacy shit, going from one tea party to another and not caring about starving grunts like us. And Vakarian..."

"Well, he's fucking a quarian admiral. That says it all. Pretty clear where his loyalties lay... between the legs of some quarian wench."

The other one laughs aloud. "Our own women not good enough for that one, I guess. Usually a sign when a man can't be trusted."

"You know, I'm thinking maybe we should swipe some of these crates and then claim the quarians tried to double-cross us again. Make them sweat a bit, mess with Vakarian and his quarian squeeze, might be fun?"

"That would be an exceedingly bad idea."

"What, why?" the first marine turns towards his comrade. "It's quite devious, I thought you'd like it."

"...wasn't me who said that," his companion replies, as they both swirl around to face an extremely irate turian wearing a deep blue heavy armor, bearing down on them. "Oh... shit!" he exclaims, watching Garrus Vakarian take a heavy swing and with one blow knocking his fellow marine unconscious, the body limply falling to the floor.

"Uh... Vakarian, sir, I can explain!" the other marine pleads weakly.

"Don't bother," Garrus snarls. Another punch and a thud of a collapsing body follows. "What a pair of fucking disgraces..." he sighs, stepping over the prone bodies and walking away. "We really need those relays fixed... and we need them fixed fast..."

* * *

The permanently bleak daylight outside of the window is slowly winking away, giving place to an all encompassing darkness, that fortunately also hides the depressive and grey landscape surrounding Villa Shepard. Lt. Cortez has returned to the Normandy some time ago, having fixed their skycar, but Liara feels no desire to get out of the bed and talk Shepard into taking them out for a brief trip. Lounging on the comfy double bed in the bedroom they have selected as theirs after extensive 'testing', Liara is lazily browsing through some extranet news sites on her omni-tool, hearing sounds of skycar chase and weapons fire from downstairs as Morgan appears busy watching some human director's weak attempts to copy the popular Blasto series and cash in on the fame of the hanar Spectre.

Liara powers down her omni-tool and climbs out of the bed, about to descend downstairs and join Morgan for some mindless entertainment neither of them cares about, but then she stops midway on the stairs as she hears the familiar and cute sounds of Shepard's light snoring. Shaking her head and smiling, she turns around and walks back up to their bedroom, unwilling to disturb the rest of her beloved, knowing that Morgan needs to recuperate as much as she can before the Alliance once again thrust her into running errands for the greater good of all humankind.

The young asari scientist closes the bedroom doors behind her as she steps inside, an idea suddenly forming in her mind, Morgan's nap providing an opportunity for her to do something that she is rather unwilling to even consider, but with a deep sigh, Liara is forced to admit that she has ran out of other options. She switches the omni back on and quickly types a message to someone, placing a request to open an audio channel.

"T'Soni, what a pleasant surprise," she hears Aria's voice moments later, pleasantly surprised that the Pirate Queen does not try to show off her authority and force her to wait a few minutes. "Have you two settled in there?"

'Yes, thank you, Aria," Liara replies quickly. "It is... well, the house is nice, I suppose."

"Nothing like the T'Soni Estate on Armali, I bet."

"But better than some archeological digs I went to, at least," Liara smiles as she says those words.

"Well, I'll make sure to drop by one day to check it out," Aria replies. There is a small pause in the conversation, as Liara tries hard to think just how to bring the topic up with Aria, but the Pirate Queen loses her patience first. "Why don't you just cut to the chase, T'Soni?" she asks sharply. "Neither of us are fond of this kind of ridiculous small-talk."

"I... very well," Liara hesitates, feeling her heart starting to beat more rapidly. "I have... something to ask of you, Aria. I guess you could call it a favor..."

"My favors come with a price, you know that, don't you?"

"I... know, and I am willing to pay any price," Liara breathes out her reply. "You... are undoubtedly aware of my... condition?"

"Of course. Third or fourth month, I think-"

"Fourth."

"Yes, as I thought. And I know people do all sort of stupid and desperate things during the war, T'Soni, but this just might trump everything," Liara sighs, hearing the exasperation in Aria's voice. "You are aware of the dangers of giving birth at your age, I trust."

"Only too well," Liara says, shaking her head sadly. "That is why I am turning to you. With my father back on Thessia... I don't have anyone else to turn to. Aria... you're a mother, you've given birth to Liselle. I don't ask this favor for myself, but for my child... if there is anything you can do to help us, anything at all..."

"Are you sure you want my advice and not that of a qualified doctor?" Aria asks, sounding a little surprised now.

"I have an obstetrician on the Citadel, Aria," Liara replies. "She's been helpful and informative... but I believe I require a more... practical aid."

"Such as?" Aria's voice instantly shifts from surprised to intrigued.

"She said that for the child to have any chance at developing properly, I must establish a mental connection with the baby as soon as possible," Liara quickly explains. "I... should have been able to do that by now, I think... but somehow, I'm not sure why, I haven't managed to reach the consciousness of my child."

"Yes, fourth month, you should have built a solid bond by now. This is troubling, T'Soni."

"Then you understand the amount of my desperation, Aria," Liara admits ruefully. "I suspect that it is because Shepard is the only one I have ever melded with, aside my mother. And with her being human, I just... don't have enough experience in melding with my own people. I am so very stressed and worried about it all, meditation is not helping in the slightest, and-"

"Fine, I'll help you, T'Soni," Aria swiftly cuts her off, Liara breathing out a massive sigh of relief. "You know what it means, though? I would have to help you build this connection with your child, and for that I would need to meld with you. Are you willing to trust me with that?"

"I most certainly do **not** trust you, Aria T'Loak, but I still must do it for my child," Liara quickly replies. "And I know that if something should happen to me, Shepard will kill you. You know that as well, don't you?"

"Yes, I believe that she would make the attempt," Aria says. There is a brief pause in the conversation again as they both consider their positions. "So, will you come meet me on the Citadel, or do you want me to visit you down on Earth?" Aria asks eventually.

"Perhaps the next time I visit the Citadel. I... still have not decided just how to explain this all to Shepard," she confesses. "I would... very much appreciate if you could keep this to yourself, until I've told her the whole truth about the situation."

"Fair enough. What chances did the doctors give you?"

"...you don't want to know, Aria."

"Under fifty percent?"

"...yes... considerably under fifty percent..." Liara feels her chest constricting painfully as she speaks those words.

"Fuck, that is not good," even the aloof and uncaring Aria T'Loak sounds a little moved by that. "And you want to make Shepard aware of it, given all the shit she's going through? Damn, in her place, I wouldn't want to know. Wallowing in uncertainty for eight months, that's... cruel."

"You... think I shouldn't tell her?" Liara gasps. _Damn it, I just lied to her about the pregnancy itself, and that was more than I could bear... I can't lie to her again, I just can't!_

"If your foolish conscience demands you speak the truth, just tell her that the pregnancy at your age is a little more complicated. You don't have to give her the exact odds, do you?"

"Well... I'll think about it," Liara replies, still uncertain. _It is true that she's been so depressed about everything... Hannah, David, EDI, Joker, the situation here on Earth... the thought of having a child is something that now gives her the strength to fight. If I... take that away from her, she might collapse. I can't get into the pattern where lying to my bondmate becomes a habit I slip into easily, I won't let that happen, but... perhaps in this instance Aria is right and a little white lie is acceptable... _

"As for my price," Aria suddenly speaks, startling Liara a little, the maiden having slipped deep into her thoughts. "I think I already cashed in a little favor from you last night, T'Soni. I must admit, you completely surprised me, I didn't expect you to be so bold.'

"I have no idea what you're talking about, Aria," Liara replies defiantly, feeling a blush creeping into her cheeks.

"Shepard's little comment at the breakfast table made me curious and I decided to check the home surveillance feeds from last night. You worked as an intel broker on Ilium, correct? And it never occurred to you to make a sweep for something like... hidden cameras? I really need to thank you and Shepard for the spectacle you provided me with."

"...Aria T'Loak, you are a horrible, awful asari and you should feel very ashamed if this is true and you are not simply messing with me... again!" Liara rants aloud, forgetting to keep her voice down.

"'Don't worry so much, T'Soni, I have no plans to leak it onto the extranet, or anything like that. It's just for my... private collection," Aria replies smugly. "I think I will enjoy watching it again and again together with Tevos... she likes that kind of kinky stuff."

"How could you invite us into your home as your guests and then betray our trust like that? Oh, I was so right to say that I can't trust you one bit, Aria T'Loak!" Liara seethes in anger. "I should have known from the way you acted so nice, letting us stay overnight... if Shepard knew about this, she would be so mad with you!"

"Careful now, T'Soni... remember that you have asked me for a considerable favor," Aria reminds her, instantly deflating Liara's anger. "Just calm down and think about it rationally. Perhaps providing me with a little bit of innocent and harmless entertainment isn't such a horrible price to pay if it gives your baby and yourself a better chance to survive the childbirth."

"I... I..." Liara takes a few deep breaths, slowly starting to calm down from the anger, trying to swallow her shame and embarrassment. "I... suppose you are right, Aria. Just please... no more games," she adds, already knowing that she can't expect that of someone such as Aria T'Loak.

"I am not going to promise that, T'Soni," Aria sounds smug in her reply. "Besides, you should feel flattered that the Queen of Omega herself finds you and Shepard intriguing and attractive."

"I... uh... think this is a good place to end this conversation, I will let you know when I'm coming to the Citadel," Liara rambles quickly, then switching off the omni-tool as she feels a slight wave of warmth spreading through her body and then she immediately becomes angry at herself when she realizes that some part of her does find the mere thought of such vid existing just a little titillating. _Ugh, I don't really want to think about that. Must distract myself with something that absolutely does not remind me of Aria. Because I hate her now. A lot. Yes. _

The only thing that Liara knows to be capable of distracting her effectively enough is the company of her bondmate, and so she proceeds back downstairs into the living room. Thankfully, Morgan is no longer snoring softly, the human has curled up in one corner of the sofa, watching the vid, but not appearing terribly interested in it. For a while, Liara simply stands on the last step of the stairs, wondering whether her bondmate has overheard her shouting at Aria upstairs, but the sounds of skycar chases and gunfire appear to be loud enough to have prevented that. _It's amazing how completely different she looks wearing these civilian clothes, _Liara ponders as she watches Shepard, quiet in thought at the sight as she takes in Morgan's baggy trousers and simple grey sweater. _She looks... so small, even. I don't think anyone would recognize her as the woman who saved the galaxy, unless they knew... _

_And she still looks so very young. I guess those pigtails I keep on insisting she wears have that effect, _Liara smiles at herself, thinking how Shepard has stopped even trying to discourage her from fixing her hair the way Liara loves it._ And that pointy, slightly upturned nose... she looks like a human... uh, maiden? No, that's probably not the right word. I think it was 'teenager'. Yes, if she wanted to, she could make herself look almost like a teenager.. as long as nobody looked deep into her eyes and saw all the pain, the deaths, the heartache... _

Finally, she breaks out of her thoughts and approaches Shepard, slipping onto the sofa and resting against her bondmate's side. "Hey, mind if I join you?" she asks, feeling content in the way Morgan's arms wrap around her, not interested in the vid in the slightest, just feeling the compulsive need to be close, while still remaining deep in her own thoughts.

"Anytime," Morgan replies softly, then proceeding to lazily explain to Liara the overly simplistic plot of the movie, but stopping as soon as she realizes that the asari is not truly interested in the action vid.

_This is so very enjoyable,_ Liara tells herself, as always finding the much sought comfort in her bondmate's arms. _But... can I live down here if the only thing I can enjoy is her touch?_ She wonders how serious Morgan is about staying on Earth, knowing that even if the relays are currently not operational, their talk about the future cannot be put off for too long. _Can I be happy here? I... just don't know. I'm tempted to say that I'd be happy anywhere with her, but... is that really the case, or am I making a sacrifice I shouldn't be making? _

_Perhaps we both need more time to get used to the conditions here, even if the first impressions are... a little depressing. Maybe I could learn to love this place, but it is just so dark, wet and dreary, not vibrant, colorful and glowing with traces of eezo like Thessia. And... and our child, wouldn't it make more sense for her to grow up on an asari world, what would she do on this barren rubble-covered rock, faced with xenophobia that many of these Terra Firma supporters still display openly, what education could we provide for her? No, no, for the sake of our child, I must persuade Shepard to move to Thessia, as soon as we can... _

_...then again, maybe it's a bit premature to plan for the child, _Liara thinks, remembering the conversation with Aria. _But I need to tell Morgan something. Aria is right, she doesn't need to know the depressing odds, after all they are just that, merely odds. What were our odds to defeat the Reapers? Thousand times worse than what our child faces. And I think the longer I delay this conversation, the more stressed I will become, and that is not good for the baby, either... might as well just get it over with, _she firmly decides.

"Morgan?" Liara finally dares to speak up softly, as the credits of the vid roll and her bondmate's attention is returned solely towards her.

"What is it, love?"

"I need to tell you something," the asari says quietly. "There are things about my pregnancy that... you should be aware of..."


	138. What's Your Game, Ms Lawson?

_A/N: Here you go, for those who wanted to see a new chapter up on Saturday, please enjoy. :) And have a Happy Easter, folks. _

**Chapter 137 - What's Your Game, Ms. Lawson?**

Several days pass, with Shepard and Liara trying to get used to their new home and surroundings. Liara's explanation that due to her young age, her pregnancy might be slightly more complicated than normally had at first made Morgan deeply worried and almost frantic. Only after Liara had repeatedly insisted that she was taking all precautions and closely following the instructions provided by her obstetrician, Morgan had been able to calm down a little. The following day, Shepard had managed to make Liara rather irritated by continuing to pester her with questions whether she could do anything to help her bondmate and their child, Liara finally snapping at her and claiming that if she wished to help, she would cut back with tiresome questioning that only served to make the asari frustrated and annoyed. The thought that her inquiries might be upsetting Liara and interfering with her attempts to bond with the baby had then forced Morgan to drop the entire issue.

There were more concerns on Liara's part, and Morgan felt delighted that her bondmate shared these worries with her, such as her lover's guilt about the terrible timing of her pregnancy, nervousness about bringing a child into galaxy ruled by uncertainty. In this case, Morgan had reassured Liara quickly, herself feeling guilty from knowing that if not for this unborn child carried by her bondmate, she might not have mustered enough inner strength to fight and live again.

As for Liara's reluctance to raise their daughter on Earth, Morgan had never harbored such intentions in the first place, having always imagined their beautiful blue children to grow up amongst their own people, no matter which asari world, or even the Citadel, it would be. Even though the Reaper War had culminated with the battle for Earth, Morgan herself has never harbored any desire to remain in the Sol System, she has never called Earth her home, and she simply cannot imagine that changing, no matter how much someone might try and force her to remain, she knows she is not cut out for this kind of life grounded on Earth.

_I wonder if they'll manage to fix those relays before our child is born?_ That is the one question on her mind, and she sends a few messages to Kasumi, urging her to get some updates from either Dr. Cole or some other scientist involved in the project. The reply is as inconclusive as she had predicted it might be, estimates between six and nine months. Liara herself is early in the fourth month, her belly slowly starting to swell even if it does not appear very prominent yet, the asari period of gestation apparently being close to twelve months.

Once they had agreed that they will not be staying on Earth after the birth of their child, Liara had appeared far more relaxed, even if Morgan hadn't been able to shake off the feeling that her bondmate was still troubled over something. To distract the asari, Morgan had spent the past few days thinking up various things for them do, mostly involving exploring the countryside, mainly the partly ruined city of Bradford.

Hackett had advised them against wandering into the city unarmed and in civilian clothing, and Shepard quickly came to understand the reason for the warning, even if Bradford could be considered relatively peaceful. While she feels that she could get away by wearing her torn up jeans and loose hoodie, remaining inconspicuous and blending in with the crowds, it is not an option for Liara. And even walking around fully armed, the asari has received a fair share of less than friendly stares, most people not recognizing her and the role she has played in saving their asses, only seeing yet another alien who eats the same food as they do, and because of whom their daily allotment of supplies is so miniscule.

With Shepard's N7 armor giving her instant recognition, something she hardly desires, the pair had eventually decided to limit their forays into the city, neither one of them drawing too much joy from the excursions. The visit to The Black Swan, one of the rare surviving pubs in the city, had been slightly more enjoyable. Past the curfew hour, there had been only Alliance military personnel on the premises, and they had cheered at them and convinced the owner to supply Shepard with free beer for the evening, an honor which Liara had frowned upon and called dubious.

Once Morgan had learned of the steep cost of drinks, with most breweries now either leveled to the ground or drained of their supplies, she could well understand the owner's reluctance to be so generous. With credits rendered useless as a currency on Earth, the costs for drinks were being covered by withdrawals from the food supply chits, and once Morgan had learned of this, her desire to indulge in her slight boozing habits had evaporated instantly, refusing to sacrifice her supplies to feed a parasitic pub owner.

The slight xenophobic undertones in some of their dealings with the locals had soured Liara's feelings about life on Earth even more, and Shepard herself hadn't so far particularly enjoyed the days they have spent in Bradford. Living in this kind of posh, normal looking family home creates a disconcerting illusion of normalcy that is ruined as soon as they leave the house or switch on any of the news channels, faced with the stark reality of the uncertain situation in the galaxy surrounding them. Morgan often feels as if all she wants to do is to rest, as if she is tired of it all, and yet she finds herself unable to sit around the house for days, soon beginning to feel very restless, and Liara is affected exactly the same way, unable to find any sort of peace of mind.

In the evening of the third day, Shepard finally receives a message through the official Alliance channels, quickly setting to read it on her omni-tool. "Ah, fuck it, I was afraid of this," she swears angrily, having digested the message.

"What's wrong, love?" Liara asks, taking her eyes away from the news vids, switching the screens off.

"Looks like I'm expected to show up early tomorrow in Manchester to deliver a rousing speech to the Alliance forces stationed there," she grumbles. "Oh... and the speech is attached, how very thoughtful."

"You're not allowed to speak your own mind?" Liara looks a bit stunned.

"Admiral Singh apparently doesn't think so, for he has crafted this little literary gem for me," Morgan replies, starting to read the speech, her brow wrinkling as she goes through the text. "Son of a bitch," she states, having read the entire speech.

"I do not think that it is biologically possible for Admiral Singh to have been spawned by a canine, is it?" Liara wonders.

Morgan chortles a brief laughter. "No... of course not... it was an insult. If he thinks I'm reading this... he'll be sorely disappointed."

"What is it that you object to, Morgan?"

"Well, there are good things here, too. The patriotic rah-rah, and all that shizzle," Morgan shrugs. "A great deal of recounting the heroism of the Third Fleet... which he commands, incidentally... and not much if anything about the sacrifices of the Hammer forces."

"That hardly seems fair! He is still trying to force you into endorsing his candidacy for the Council post," Liara looks upset too.

"And I'm not really comfortable with asking people to report about possible resistance sympathizers while offering additional supply share as a reward," Shepard snarls. "There will be a lot of desperate people willing to sacrifice their neighbor in order not to starve to death. I knew this was going to happen, I just knew that he would try and do something like this after our talk on the Citadel... Hackett would never ask me to go along with this shit."

"What are you going to do? What are our options?"

"Well, I'm going to creatively modify the speech, of course. Then, I'll just sit and wait for the reaction, before I decided anything further," Shepard replies. "I think he is aware that he has no rights to force me into repeating this tripe, that's why he has remarked that this speech is only a suggested guideline. It is a test to see whether I will bend and break."

"This is all wrong, we should not be fighting the Alliance," Liara turns away, disheartened by the turn of events. "This role they have imagined for you, and by extension, for us... I'm not sure I can tolerate it."

"I don't intend to spend our time here fighting Singh and his crowd," Shepard shrugs. "But I can't expect Hackett to protect me from them, he will probably be quickly undermined if he tried. However... I think there's a way out, if things with the Alliance get too sour."

"Your Spectre status!" Liara realizes instantly.

"Exactly, my sweet," Morgan smiles. "In fact, I believe I will not wait until the situation becomes intolerable, I'll make sure we have a way out in place before I start to bicker with Singh and his fellows. Just let me do this one thing..." she activates her omni-tool and quickly types a message to send on the encrypted Spectre channels. "There, hopefully she notices it soon."

"Are you asking Tevos for a favor?"

"Just requesting a meeting for now," Shepard replies. "Basically, I plan to ask her to invent some kind of task for me that would supersede anything that the Alliance tries to throw at me. Maybe there's even something that the Council does need a helping hand with and we could step in, that would be even better."

"I think that sounds more rewarding than leading Admiral Singh's political campaign," Liara agrees, as the omni-tool beeps again, Shepard receiving a prompt reply.

"Well, that was quick," Shepard opens the message, breaking into a broad smile as she reads it, explaining after Liara's insistent tug on her sleeve. "She hopes we enjoyed visiting her and Aria, and says she would be thrilled to see us both again soon. And Tevos is certain that she can think of something for me to do, but she wants to discuss it with Sparatus and Valern first. She is asking to meet me on the Citadel in two days, and she hopes that you will accompany me."

"Gladly," Liara nods. "Anything to escape this bleak place. And I am due a visit to my obstetrician, Morgan. I think I will use this trip to the Citadel to sort it out."

"Yeah, that sounds like a good idea," Morgan nods absentmindedly, not focusing on Liara's words, but more on the tone of the asari's voice which once again suggests to her how unhappy her bondmate is in this place. "I'm... trying to think of something else we could do to make our stay here more bearable. Maybe we could invite some of our friends to come and stay for a bit?"

"That would help, but Tali and Garrus are so awfully busy with their own problems, and I can't blame them," Liara remarks.

"We have more friends than just Tali and Garrus," Shepard argues. "Anyway, I'll see if I can arrange something to make this a bit more fun."

"Morgan, please, do not bother on my behalf, I will be fine," Liara shakes her head.

"Well, I would enjoy some kind of a distraction myself," Shepard smiles. "I suppose we could always visit some of the enclaves, I'm sure people there would be more friendly-" her omni-tool beeps again, this time prompting her to accept a vid call. "Heh, speak of the devil," she chuckles, seeing Wrex's face popping up on the small holo screen.

"Shepard. Liara," Wrex greets them politely.

"Good to see you, Wrex," Liara smiles back.

"Yeah, how's it going on Earth? I was just thinking about you, Wrex," Morgan says.

"It's amazing, Shepard. I'm standing here by the river with both my feet in the water. Shepard," Wrex says gravely. "There really are fish in the water. It's amazing. Real fish. In the water. You've got to come see this. How soon can you be here?"

"Uh... Wrex, we're going to bed soon," Morgan shakes her head, grinning. "I could come visit you and Grunt in the krogan enclave in a few days."

"But Shepard! There are fish in the river! What if they are gone in a few days?" Wrex looks worried.

"Uh, Wrex, it's perfectly normal for fish to be swimming in the river," Shepard rolls her eyes. "They'll still be there by the time we arrive."

"Really?" Wrex blinks, a little disbelieving. "Amazing. I think I'll put the new Aralakh Company on the watch anyway. Fish in the river... who would have thought?"

"Right... well, just keep watching the fish until we get there, Wrex," Shepard says, sighing inwardly. _I guess the locals must be happy that the krogan are too enraptured by the fish to cause any trouble. Then again, the Alliance probably expected them to help more with rebuilding, than just standing around all day._ "Anyway, we're going to bed now, Wrex. See you in a few days!"

"Right, take care Shepard," Wrex nods. "Damn, I love this planet. It's... just amazing!"

* * *

"Well... that's going to make things even more interesting," Shepard remarks, sitting down on the sofa in the living room, Liara cuddling against her side, watching the Alliance News Network broadcasting urgent news about the shuttle of Admiral Kormilko being shot down over Bristol, leaving no survivors. "An excuse to clamp down even harder."

"I saw no mention of you giving your speech on the Alliance controlled channels, though some of the private networks broadcasted it," Liara says. "I do not think that Admiral Singh will appreciate your reminder to your fellow soldiers that they have a duty to refuse carrying out an illegal order, and then proceeding to elaborate what falls under the scope of illegal orders."

"Yeah, I think that my Alliance spokeswoman days are over, as far as Singh is concerned," Shepard chuckles. "I haven't heard from him since, but I did hear from Hackett. Gave me a praise and said that one of the admirals, Willoughby, has withdrawn his support from Singh's corner as a result. It's not enough, but the cracks are starting to show... and now with the death of this hard-line supporter of Singh... hell, Hackett wants me to continue, but I told him I might have some Spectre work lined up, and I think he understood."

"I wonder who would be so bold to assassinate an Alliance adm-" Liara's words are cut short by the brief chime of the doorbell and the couple exchange curious stares. "A visitor at this hour?" the asari wonders, looking at the pitch black darkness outside.

"I hadn't actually got around to inviting anyone," Shepard remarks, getting up from the sofa and advancing towards the doors, wondering for a moment whether she should keep her pistol at the ready or not, deciding against it, knowing that Liara is nearby and able to provide biotics at moment's notice. As she opens the doors, she does not immediately recognize the person standing outside on the doorstep. The woman is wearing a jet black trenchcoat, stylish fedora atop her head, the dark hair pulled back in a simple braid. "...Miranda?" Morgan finally realizes after a bit of almost indiscreet staring. "What prompted this hot image change?"

"If you would let me in, I'll try to explain," Miranda replies curtly. "It is freezing out here."

"Oh... sure," Morgan quickly pushes the door wide open, letting the ex-Cerberus officer step through and into the small foyer, then showing her inside the living room.

"Evening, Dr. T'Soni," Lawson says pleasantly, greeting Liara. "I apologize for the late intrusion."

"Good to see you, Miranda," Liara smiles, rising from the sofa to take Lawson's hand in a greeting. "Did you hear?" she says, pointing at the news screen. "They killed one of the Alliance admirals!"

"Yes... a real tragedy," Miranda deadpans in reply, then looking back at Morgan. "That was quite the performance today, Shepard. I was in talks with Admiral Singh at the moment when it was broadcasted. It was quite amusing watching the color of his face go from parched yellow to bright purple."

"...wait, what were you doing hanging out with Singh?" Morgan blinks.

"That's what I wanted to explain, but until hearing your speech this morning, I could not be certain where your sympathies within the Alliance lay. I figured it would be with Hackett, but I needed to be sure."

"Of course I'd support Hackett, now what's this all about?" Morgan snaps impatiently.

"You may be aware that I earned a little bit of recognition and goodwill with the Alliance courtesy of my actions during the battle for Earth," Miranda begins to explain. "When this political struggle began, I thought to use it to my advantage. I sought an audience with Admiral Singh and offered him my services, claiming that I could use my Cerberus past to infiltrate the newly forming Terra Firma and the resistance movement supporting it."

"I sense that's not the whole story..." Morgan guesses.

"It is not. Admiral Nitesh Singh is scum and the Alliance are choking under his command. But I needed Singh to believe that I am working for him. Fortunately, I have my unsavory Cerberus reputation that makes him believe that I would be genuinely accepting in doing his dirty work," Miranda chuckles. "The truth of the matter is that I'm playing both sides... or at least that was the intention at the start. I've spent enough time with both sides to learn more about them, and I have to admit that my sympathies have shifted towards the resistance and Terra Firma."

"Terra Firma? But they are the violently xenophobic group that spawned Cerberus in the first place!" Liara exclaims, a little worriedly.

"Yes, that is true," Miranda admits readily. "But I believe they are different now. There was an element within the group that blamed the aliens for the shortage of food supplies, but the intel that I have supplied them with lately has shifted their hatred back towards the Singh sympathizers within the Alliance."

"What did you find, Miranda?" Morgan asks.

"The situation with food stores is a blatant exaggeration," Miranda replies. "The Alliance brass has access to vast quantities of food supplies stored in underground bunkers all across the planet. All information of their existence has been carefully wiped and kept in complete secrecy amongst select few."

"I can't believe Admiral Hackett would know about these resources and keep quiet!" Liara exclaims, looking angered.

"I do not think he is aware, they have been very creative about covering their tracks. Even if someone uncovers information that such depots have existed, the records show that they have been destroyed by the Reapers. This is not the case. The primary focus of the Reapers was not to destroy our food sources. Shepard... there are enough supplies on Earth to keep everyone fed for three years, which is more than enough for the nuclear winter effects to fade and enable us to restore our agricultural supply chain."

"So, these food stores are simply used to exert control over people?" Liara gasps, understanding the machinations.

"Makes sense to me," Morgan nods unhappily. "They can use this lack of resources to just keep the people in line." She then gives Miranda an inquiring stare. "By the way, how did you manage to get all this information? I didn't think you could pull of such an impressive hacking job, even with being irritatingly perfect and all!"

Miranda gives a small laugh. "Oh, I had some help. Tell me, Shepard... did anyone recently mention to you that I'm up to something back on Earth?"

"Oh... right. Kasumi, at our Normandy homecoming party!" Morgan realizes.

"Indeed. She's very good at what she does," Miranda's smile broadens. "I'm sorry about missing the party, Shepard. I hope you'll forgive me and agree that what I have been doing is important enough to decline the invitation."

"Of course, Miranda," Liara replies in Morgan's stead. "What they are doing is despicable! We need to make the population aware that they are being deceived!"

"No," Morgan shakes her head, surprising Liara. "That is not the way. It will simply incite more violent riots. More and more people would die, and Singh probably has enough soldiers loyal to him and his fellow admirals, people who would not immediately believe us even if we presented them with irrefutable facts."

"Exactly," Miranda nods. "If we want to limit the losses of our people who have already suffered too much, we need a different approach."

"We need to sever the head of the snake. Restore control to Hackett and his supporters by taking out his detractors..." Morgan starts to speak, then freezing and slowly turning towards the news vids, still lamenting the great loss of the heroic Admiral Kormilko. "...just like that..." she says, turning back towards Miranda.

"I'm sure it was some sort of a technical issue with the shuttle that caused it to crash," Miranda shrugs, refusing to elaborate.

"Very well, I can see the wisdom behind this plan, but... would Terra Firma and the resistance be willing to work with someone like Hackett?" Liara asks. "Can you be sure that the hostilities will cease as soon as Singh and his fellows are removed?"

"I can't be sure of anything, Liara, but I'm confident that I can at least get both sides to sit down and start talking," Miranda sighs. "It's a hell of a lot more promising situation than we have right now."

"Singh and his bunch will be more careful after what happened today," Morgan remarks.

"Yes, but it might also scare those on the fence to reconsider," Miranda shrugs. "Oh, and Shepard... I know that you're probably sick of them wanting to drag you around and show you off like a heroic poster girl, but... if you could just muster up a few more speeches like the one today, maybe it'll get more than just Willoughby to reconsider. I've heard that LeClerc and McIllis could be open to persuasion as well."

"Ugh," Shepard grunts unhappily. "I'll see what I can do about that. I did have a meeting scheduled with Councilor Tevos on the Citadel tomorrow, regarding some Council work."

"You could do always do both," Liara suggests. "I know it would be a lot of effort, but your people need you right now."

"I suppose so..." Shepard finally agrees. "All I really want from Tevos is some kind of legitimate excuse not to do Alliance work when I find it ethically unacceptable. The rest of the time I'm happy to do anything that advances Hackett's position and deteriorates Singh's status."

"Good to hear, Shepard," Miranda nods. "I knew I could count on you, Commander. Oh, and a word of advice if you're going back to the Citadel. Make sure to stop by some restaurant and have a good meal up there, because as I'm sure you've noticed, it's impossible to get anything decent down here. I still keep a residence up on the Citadel just for that purpose."

"Citadel still has a decent stock of food supplies, I take it?" Morgan asks, receiving a swift nod. "But probably not enough to help out people down here?"

"They have just enough to keep four to five millions fed for a little over a year," Miranda replies. "What they could spare wouldn't plug the tiniest hole down here. And the Council has issued a decree that forbids any food supplies to be brought outside the Citadel, fearing that someone would try to steal anyway."

"Probably a smart move on their part," Morgan nods.

"Yes, I must admit that even if they were completely useless and incompetent at the beginning of the conflict with the Reapers, they are doing all the right things now," Miranda Lawson agrees. "They have enforced fixed prices on all goods sold on the Citadel to prevent inflation, and also forbidden use of any other currency or barter than the good old credits, just to keep the economy from collapsing. Everyone caught abusing these laws faces serious consequences. Basically, they can kiss their businesses goodbye."

"This kind of regulated economics cannot be sustainable in long term," Liara says, shaking her head.

"I imagine the Council knows as much, so we better make sure those relays are repaired fast enough," Morgan nods.

"Well, I've told you everything I had to share with you for now, Commander," Miranda says, tugging on the belt of her trenchcoat, getting ready to leave. "Just keep doing the good work down here, and we'll stay in touch, alright?"

"Sure, Miranda," Morgan says, accompanying her to the door. "Be careful, alright?" Miranda nods swiftly, disappearing into the night, her skycar likely parked somewhere close.

Shepard is still shaking her head by the time she returns to rejoin Liara in the living room. "This is one tangled web of intrigue, isn't it, Morgan?"

"Yeah... gods, what a mess," Shepard grumbles in reply, starting to look around the place until she spots the small wall compartment, unlocking it to find several bottles of amber liquid inside. "Ah, I thought this place was supposed to have a drinks cabinet. Hmm, Lagavulin... Donnelly would approve, I think. Just what I need right now... you game for a glass... oh, damn, I'm a complete moron, forgot about the baby."

"I would rather not risk it, even if a single glass would likely not cause any ill effects, Morgan, asari pregnancies do not work quite the same way as human," Liara smiles, then stretching a little seductively on the sofa, making Morgan's mouth become slightly dry and her hands tremble a bit as she pours herself the drink. "But Commander... do not get too carried away with your whiskey... I had other plans in store for us, and they do not involve nursing a drunk bondmate..."


	139. The Ties That Bind Them

**Chapter 138 - The Ties That Bind Them**

"Commander, it is a pleasure to see you," Councilor Tevos smiles at Shepard as she receives her visitor in the asari representative's private office at the Council chambers. As she takes Morgan's hands, it feels as if every new greeting between them becomes warmer, but Shepard is pleased by this, herself feeling happy to see the councilor. _Didn't think I'll ever feel like that about meeting Tevos, but hell, stranger things have happened..._

"Councilor," she bows her head, accepting the seat. "The pleasure is all mine."

"How are you finding life on Earth, Commander?" Tevos asks curiously.

"...it has been difficult to adjust," Shepard confesses. "Even more so for Liara, she often feels very anxious. The fact that some humans still feel a little wary of aliens is not helping."

"That is regrettable," Tevos shakes her head sadly. "I had hoped you would bring Liara along, after I received a notification that you had arrived on the Citadel together."

"Oh, she would have liked to come, but she had to..." Shepard pauses a little, unsure if Liara would approve of her spreading the news of her pregnancy. _Well, it's not like she can hide it anyway. _"Uh, she needed to see her obstetrician, and I am simply not keen on seeing another doctor for as long as I can help it."

"Trust me, I understand the feeling," the councilor winces slightly, inadvertently tracing a finger across her chest where the husk had pierced the tender flesh with its claws. "And please accept my congratulations. Of course, we had noticed it during your visit, but I did not think it would be polite to discuss it, since you did not make a mention of the fact."

"Thank you," Shepard smiles. "So, how is everyone?"

"Just fine, thank you for asking. Rila has been working on your portrait, Shepard, but she expressed a wish to see you again before she can complete her work." Tevos then hesitates, a slight hint of a blush creeping into her cheeks. "Commander, I wished to apologize for... whatever discomfort Aria's actions caused for you and Liara..."

"Huh?" Shepard blinks. "What... I thought Aria was surprisingly polite and pleasant the whole time during our visit? What specifically are you referring to, councilor?"

Tevos' blush deepens rather considerably. "Err... I... please, Shepard, ignore what I said. I did not realize that by not being asari you would not have paid attention to... such details, and as such would not have taken offense. It was my mistake to make you aware of it, please, forgive me."

"Uh... okay?" Morgan is still not sure what is going on, but manages to shrug her shoulders. "I think you're overreacting, though, Liara would have noticed Aria acting inappropriately, but she made no mention of it, so there are no lingering issues between us."

"She did not make a mention... oh... I am very relieved to hear that," Tevos says, managing to quickly recompose herself, while Morgan makes a mental note to ask Liara just what she was supposed to feel insulted about.

"And the invitation to visit us on Earth still stands," Morgan adds.

"I appreciate that, Shepard, but with the latest news about this Alliance admiral being killed, I do not think that I wish to risk taking a shuttle down to Earth. Aria has expressed interest, but I have forbidden her to take the girls along."

_Forbidden? And here I didn't think anyone could forbid Aria T'Loak anything. Hey, I think I know why I like Tevos a lot better now, she has become bossier,_ Morgan smiles, thinking to herself. "Yes, the death of that admiral has really poured a lot of oil in that heated frying pan," she says. "Are you feeling any recriminations from the way the Alliance have been acting lately?"

"Our relations have eased up, a little surprisingly," Tevos replies. "And since Admiral Singh no longer bothers us daily about the Council nomination, our people on Earth can breathe a little easier. However, I understand this is a result of the Alliance intensifying their efforts to break the local resistance, who have in turn became more hostile towards the military. Truly, Shepard, I am saddened and dismayed about the actions of your people. And I do not say this with the condescending implication that the asari would never be at each other's throats like that... our history has plenty of shameful moments as well."

"Well, at least we're leaving your people out of it and you can all focus on rebuilding the relays quickly, as humans continue to shoot each other," Morgan chuckles grimly. "We do have some plans how to end it, though... and the favor I asked of you is one part of this overly complicated plan."

"I see. As it happens, Commander, I think we can actually work out something mutually beneficial," Tevos nods. "I have discussed your proposition with both Valern and Sparatus. They both agree that we could benefit from someone who coordinates the efforts between our enclaves down on Earth. Being the eyes and ears of the Council, so to speak."

"That seems like quite the responsibility," Morgan remarks.

"The work to repair the relays runs slightly ahead of schedule, but we are certain that it can be hastened even more. We have several of our Spectres trapped in the Sol System with us, but considering that you are already stationed on Earth, you would have always been our first choice," Tevos explains further. "Thus we have agreed to establish the temporary position of the Council Relay Task Force Supervisor and extend an offer for you to accept this post."

"I accept, even if I would like to know the nature of tasks that I would have to perform," Shepard says.

"Well, as it happens, I already have the first task prepared for you. For some reason, the amount of scrap metal salvaged by the krogan recovery teams has dropped significantly over the past week and as of late we have had difficulties conducting meaningful conversations with Urdnot Wrex. He always claims to be too busy to speak with us. Shepard, I need you to go to the krogan enclave and get to the bottom of this, we need the krogan pitching in as well, or else they will not earn their Council nomination!"

Morgan inwardly rolls her eyes, already knowing the explanation of this mystery, but thinking that perhaps on this occasion the councilor does not need to know the whole truth. "Understood, Councilor," she says simply. "Liara and I will head over to investigate and kick krogan asses back in shape if needed, you can be sure of it."

"Thank you, Shepard," Tevos smiles, pleased. "I would like the krogan to be good allies, worthy to sit next to other species on the Council, and for that to happen we cannot risk them acting... unreasonably. We must... tame them, so to speak, before they feel the need to reproduce to dangerous numbers."

"Yeah, I agree," Shepard nods. "I'd advise you to get Matriarch Aethyta involved with everything that has to do with krogan relations. She is a true expert."

Tevos cannot help but to let a lilting laugh escape her lips. "You are very wise, Shepard, that is an excellent advice," she agrees wholeheartedly. "She has assumed a very enthusiastic leadership role in leading our clans to restore Thessia quickly. But once that is done, I will not allow a precious resource... no, a valued friend and ally like Aethyta to fade into obscurity by tending a bar somewhere on the other side of the galaxy."

_She really has learned. She may yet become a true leader of the galaxy, _Shepard again thinks approvingly. "Are there any other interesting political developments that I should know about, Councilor?" Morgan asks.

"The motion to temporarily suspend humanity from the Council has been since vetoed by Councilor Valern before I could even come to my own decision in the matter," Tevos begins to recount items of interest. "The salarians have only just begun sending their specialists down to the planet, so I think he simply did not want to worsen the relations with humans and endanger his people. Perhaps it is for the best."

"Yeah, I wasn't completely certain that this was the right course of action," Shepard agrees.

"The quarians are making the most of the invitation to establish an embassy on the Citadel. Admiral Shala'Raan has assumed the position of a temporary ambassador to her people, and because of her efforts, we are all quickly seeing the worthiness of the quarian people. They are proving to be hard working and reliable allies, who understand and value peace above conflict. I would expect to see the quarians accepted on the Council as first."

"That's very good to hear," Shepard says. _Without certain idiot admirals in charge, the rest of them appear pleasantly reasonable overall. Whoa... hadn't noticed how well that would apply to humanity right now! _

"As for the krogan... the offer regarding the embassy is still on the table, but they have not done much with it yet, and we need something positive soon," Tevos continues, looking at Shepard. "I will remain hopeful that you can bring them to their senses."

"I'll certainly try my best," Morgan nods. "And what of the geth?"

"Their diligent work and exemplary behavior has managed to convince the other councilors, and we have invited the geth to also establish an embassy on the Citadel. It is... certainly a new and interesting experience, dealing with this synthetic race. Particularly this ... platform that calls itself Legion and speaks so highly of you, Commander. I am learning to appreciate the often very creative insights provided by this geth."

"I'm not going to lie to you, Councilor. It is my deep belief that ensuring the goodwill of the geth is almost as important as 'taming' the krogan, if we want to have any sort of lasting peace in the future," Morgan says. "It fell to our cycle to break the old adage that the created will always rebel against their creators, and now we must put in our best efforts to preserve this peace and cooperation."

"I believe we are off to a good start, despite a few setbacks," Tevos smiles. "Legion has even offered to send the geth to any Council world they would be invited to and help in its restoration. We were quite taken aback by such generosity, and though the salarians and the turians appear a little concerned about inviting the geth to their homeworlds, I believe that I might be able to convince my people to accept it, as I am certain that it will help to rebuild Thessia and other asari worlds more quickly."

"I think you will not regret it, Councilor," Shepard agrees with a smile, before checking the time. "Hmm, I think Liara will be free soon, and we have agreed to meet at one of the restaurants on Kithoi Ward. If there's nothing else..."

"There is nothing else that requires your attention, Commander," Councilor Tevos rises from her seat, coming around the desk to wish her farewell and accompany her out of the office. "I hope to hear from you soon, Shepard. And please, know that I will always appreciate another more informal visit from you or Liara, if you would be willing to consider it."

"Certainly, I think we both would like that as well, though I foresee we will be quite busy in the coming days and possibly weeks," Morgan says, before taking her leave. "But maybe we can squeeze in a dinner on the Citadel at some point."

"There is a place on the Citadel that I have often used for more informal talks, and which has miraculously survived the war, despite being close to Zakera Ward. Their cooks are extremely skilled, and their staff pride themselves in the privacy they provide. It would be safe for Aria to join us there."

"Sounds brilliant," Morgan grins. "Let's keep in touch and sort out details later. But now... now I need to be off and meet Liara!"

* * *

Liara cautiously looks around the abandoned Shalta Wards apartment that Aria has given as the place for their meeting, along with the access codes for the electronic lock on the doors. The apartment appears in a better shape than the rest of the buildings on this level of Shalta Wards, though a layer of dust has settled everywhere, a clear sign that nobody had visited this place for months. This particular hideout of Aria's is located at the very bowels of the ward, the traffic through the neighborhood had been slow and Liara had met only a few unsavory individuals on her path, wisely deciding that she was not an easy pray and staying out of the way.

The entire level still appears in a very poor shape and even the gangs have moved elsewhere in search of better targets to mooch. The keepers had understandably placed this level of Shalta Ward very low on their priority list of things to fix, and on her way to the apartment, Liara had been forced to employ an impressive mix of biotics and acrobatics in order to scale large piles of debris and garbage lying in the streets.

Once inside the apartment, Liara slowly walks around the living room, trying not to touch anything, hoping to avoid causing a cloud of dust to rise and assault her nostrils. She eventually strolls up to the window and patiently waits, staring at the morbid, post-apocalyptic scenery outside, quickly coming to understand why Aria prefers to stay at her Kithoi safe-house instead of this depressing looking pit of gloomy despair.

"Ah, you're finally here. Good," Aria's voice suddenly startles her, Liara swirling around to notice the Pirate Queen strolling into the living room, carrying a glass with some kind of electro blue tinted beverage. "I almost thought you had reconsidered," she grins at Liara in a way that makes the young scientist slightly more nervous and uncertain whether this meeting is such a good idea after all. "I'd offer you a drink, but… probably best not to risk it," Aria's eyes drop to the level of Liara's slightly swollen belly as she speaks.

"It is not necessary, I'm not thirsty," Liara speaks up quickly in hopes that it will hide her nervousness. "I'd prefer to get this over with quickly, Aria-"

"Yes, what a flattering attitude, T'Soni," Aria rolls her eyes in reply. "Keep this up and I might just reconsider my offer for aid."

"I… I meant no disrespect, Aria," Liara mumbles, lowering her eyes.

"I know you did not," Aria nods, pointing at the nearby sofa. "Now sit down and try to relax as much as you are able."

_Easier said than done in the presence of Aria T'Loak_, Liara sighs to herself, perching in the furthest corner of the sofa, as far as possible from Aria. _She is right, though, I need to try and relax… I must remember why we are both here… she's not here to harm me, we're allies now… perhaps even reluctant friends._

"T'Soni, I have no patience to indulge in this ridiculous shy and demure act," Aria growls, reaching out with her hands, swiftly and insistently pulling her closer. "You know perfectly well that physical contact will help greatly in what we plan to do. Your struggling will only make this much more difficult."

"I… I know, it's just that…" Liara manages, finally giving up her weak attempts to resist, handing Aria the control that she likely craves and allowing the elder asari to settle them both in comfortably next to each other. Feeling Aria push her head down on her shoulder before snaking an arm around her back at first makes her want to break free from the light embrace, but Liara once again reminds herself just why is she going along with this, the resolve to help her child clearing any slight discomfort that she might have felt.

"Just sit still for a while, like this, breathe deeply and try to relax your thoughts. Free your mind and remember your meditation," Aria instructs, as Liara is more concerned how to stop thinking that the firm hand gripping her shoulder and the leather-clad thigh tightly pressed against hers belongs to the infamous and intimidating Aria T'Loak. "Better?" Aria asks a few moments later.

"I think this is as relaxed as I can be given the circumstances," Liara mutters, unable to quite loosen both her body and her mind as much as she would like to. "Let's just… go ahead with this…" she adds, her eyes beginning to darken as she forces her consciousness to seek out Aria's mind, to initiate the forming of mental connection… suddenly finding herself as if harshly slapped through the link.

"How very rude, T'Soni," Aria chides her. "Remember who you are. This is not up to you to initiate."

Liara feels her cheeks burning with shame, knowing full well what Aria means by that. Amongst their people, it is considered a very poor form for a maiden of her age to be the one to latch onto the mind of a matron at least five centuries her elder, if not more. "I'm sorry… I've just grown so used to melding with a human and having to initiate all our melds…"

"Understandable. Now, shut up and let me do all the work," Aria growls impatiently, and soon enough Liara begins to feel the essence of the Pirate Queen beginning to push at the back of her mind, insistently forcing her way in, as it is to be expected of someone like Aria, brushing aside Liara's small efforts at resisting.

For a while, Aria is content to keep the meld shallow, allowing them both to adapt and get used to each other's mind, a flurry of conflicting emotions surging through Liara as she feels traces of the essence of the formidable Queen of Omega, her undeniable strength and overbearing willpower combined with sweeping brashness, flair and irreverence. Through it all, however, Liara is surprised to also feel a streak of protectiveness, something that closely reminds her of Shepard.

_'I like what you've done with the place, T'Soni,' _she hears Aria's thoughts echoing within her mind. _'So much so that I am very tempted to stay for after hours.' _

_'Aria... this is no joking matter,' _she sends back, along with a wave of frustration, hoping that Aria does not feel the extent of her desperation.

_'Very well. Just hold on tight, T'Soni, and don't break the link with me. I will try to sense your child... but to do so, I will need to go deeper. Are you ready?' _

_'Yes.' _A few tremors of fear seize her body as Liara speaks the words, but Aria simply wraps her hand more tightly around the maiden's shoulders, the physical contact providing the little reassurance that she needs. _'I am ready.'_

Liara possesses no adequate means to describe what happens next, she concentrates only on one thing and that is to maintain her connection with Aria, not really certain what the Pirate Queen is doing, only feeling parts of her mind being flipped open, the sensation as if she was slowly getting stripped naked by Aria's wantonly exploring hands, her body shaking from the effort, but still she refuses to let go, the thought that Aria is bringing her closer to her child giving her the strength to endure.

Then, suddenly, everything is calm again, and Liara almost seizes with panic thinking that Aria might have failed, but then sensing relief along with slight frustration seeping over the open mental link. _'T'Soni, you carry... so much shit here that it's hard to dig through all of it. How can you even function with this misplaced guilt and other crap eating at you like this?' _

_'Let's... just not get into that, now. We're here for other reasons.' _

_'Fair enough. I'm just using the opportunity to tell you that you're being stupid,' _Aria's thoughts feel a little amused as well as frustrated. _'I needed to sort through all that shit to find a way to reach the child... no wonder that you were blocked, with your limited experience. But I have found her.' _

_'Goddess... I almost feared that... can I see her? Please?' _

_'Of course, bringing you to the child was the whole point. But Liara... you need to be prepared. When I probed the mental link to the child, she sensed that I was not her parent and withdrew in fear.' _

_'What... what should I do?' _

_'You need to instantly make her feel loved and protected. Muster the entirety of the feelings you have and then, when you are ready, follow me and reach out to her. Tell me when you are ready, and I will bring you across.'_

Liara tries to mentally gather herself, as much as she is able, but she does not have to do anything specific to conjure the feelings that Aria speaks of, her essence is brimming with the love and protectiveness for her unborn child, filling her with newfound strength and determination. _'I am ready, Aria. Show me the way.' _

For a while, she closely follows Aria's essence floating as if through a misty veil, wondering just how the other asari is able to find the way through her consciousness, but suddenly all those thoughts are brushed aside as she feels... something, close by, an essence of someone else, tiny, weak, frightened... but also bright, and so very beautiful. _'There, can you sense it?' _she hears Aria in her mind again.

_'I can feel her... goddess, she is so beautiful... should I just...' _

_'Yes, just push through to her, and let your feelings pour forth and do the rest.' _

Liara can feel Aria respectfully remaining behind as she submerges into the last barrier of this deep void that still separates her from the baby, beginning to swim towards the child, trying to reach out with all the love she can summon. _'My baby... my child... you are so beautiful... come to me, please... don't be afraid...' _For a moment the amount of fear wafting towards her from the small, bright bundle of joy almost makes her hesitate, but Liara does not allow herself to stop, pushing forward with increased urgency. _'Let mommy protect you, little one... let my love be your shield... please, you don't have to be afraid... never again, now that I'm here...' _

And then... then there is only acceptance, as her consciousness washes over the tiny but powerful bright beacon, anchoring her love and allowing her to become one with her child, fusing the connection between the young mother and her baby, and making it permanent. Soon enough, Liara becomes completely overwhelmed by the sheer brilliance, joy and delight enveloping both herself and the child, all individual thoughts and senses merging into a single, powerful expression of love, happiness and protection, as the bond between the mother and her daughter gains strength, grows and expands rapidly, much to the joy and relief of them both.

Some undeterminable time later, Liara finally shakes free from the meld, finding herself lying on the sofa, instinctively reaching out to touch Aria, but the other asari is gone, both from her mind and from her immediate physical presence. The sensations of having felt her unborn child are so overpowering, that Liara cannot stop the tears of happiness flowing down her cheeks, ceasing only when she hears Aria giving a polite cough nearby.

Liara quickly bolts up from the sofa and wipes her face clean. "How... how long?" she does not immediately recognize her own voice from the hoarseness.

"Roughly forty-five minutes," Aria shrugs, standing by the window, her face having slipped back into that emotionless mask of hers. "Which means that Shepard will start looking for you soon. You should get ready to leave."

"I... I think I'm good to go," Liara manages, despite her legs still feeling a little wobbly and shaky. "Aria... it was beautiful..."

"I know," Aria replies curtly, as if she wouldn't want to elaborate, but it is enough for Liara to sense that the Pirate Queen knows perfectly well what she is talking about.

"I'm... not sure how I can ever thank you properly for-"

"Please, T'Soni," Aria cuts her off, almost sharply. "I hate these declarations of gratitude. Good way to piss me off. Let's just say... perhaps you or Shepard will have a chance to repay me with a favor. I like the thought that you both will be properly motivated to aid me should I require it in the future."

"Of course, you should never doubt that," Liara nods fervently.

"I don't. And actually... I have one more thing for you," Aria points at two crates placed nearby the doors. "It was meant for the girls, but they insisted that I give it to you instead."

"What's in those crates?" Liara wonders.

"Frozen fruit from Thessia, last supply to ever make it off from the homeworld," Aria replies with a smug sense of satisfaction. "Raided a nearby restaurant to get it. That nutrient paste doesn't do much good for the child, but this stuff..." she nods at the crates again. "Eezo rich. Just what the baby needs."

"I don't understand this at all," Liara shakes her head, bewildered and confused. "Aria... why are you being so... so nice?"

Aria walks up to the younger asari in that swaying step of hers, bringing up her hand to briefly and gently caress Liara's cheek. "That is for me to know, and for a curious and impertinent young maiden to lose sleep about," she says with her trademark grin, making Liara sigh inwardly. "But I'll tell you one thing, T'Soni. The thing you did... trusting me enough to let me into your mind? That was pretty gutsy... and that kind of thing goes a long way with me," she nods approvingly, before pointing to the doors. "Now come on. Let's grab those crates and get out of here."

* * *

Most of the items on the menu in the restaurant they have agreed to meet in have been checked as unavailable due to shortage of supplies, but fortunately for Morgan, human dishes seem to be unpopular in this part of the Citadel. There is plenty of pasta to choose from, and she selects simple spaghetti Bolognese before uploading the menu to Liara's omni-tool, the asari having informed her that she is on her way from the doctor's appointment. Due to their excellent planning skills, two delicious looking servings of pasta are delivered the very moment that a radiant looking Liara strolls into the restaurant, looking over the tables to spot her bondmate.

"How did everything go?" Morgan asks, watching as Liara ravenously digs into the food, almost forgetting to first exchange a tender kiss with Shepard.

"Oh, just fine, the pregnancy is proceeding according to the plan," Liara manages, finding it a bit of a challenge to eat spaghetti in a dignified way. "I'm due for another visit in two weeks, but the doctor was very encouraged by the progress we've made. She says that my chances of uncomplicated delivery have improved rapidly."

"Hey... that's brilliant news!" Shepard replies, feeling instantly elated. Despite Liara's reassurances that the complications are unlikely to be severe, she has been feeling a little worried about the baby, and these news lift a massive weight from her shoulders. "I... couldn't be happier to hear it, love," she reaches across the table to briefly give Liara's hands a loving, reassuring squeeze.

"Yes, I am delighted and relieved as well," Liara beams at her happily, before sucking a loose spaghetti string into her mouth with an amusing audible pop.

"I was just wondering... you know how I'm kind of allergic to the doctors right now, but... is

there perhaps something else that I should be aware about asari pregnancies? I'm not expected to do anything at all, until you just pop the baby out or something? I've been reading up in the few quiet moments we have-"

"Morgan, I'm still quite early in my pregnancy," Liara shakes her head with reassuring smile. "I might need assistance once I enter the later stages, but not before the last two or three months, so please, there's no need for you to concern yourself with these things right now. You can focus on the tasks you need to do. And speaking of your job, how was the visit with Tevos?"

"Oh, fine, fine," Morgan nods. "I have my first mission, too, visit the krogan enclave, kick their asses and get them back to work. You're welcome to come with me and help."

"I'd love to, it will be fun to see Wrex, Grunt and Kurin again," Liara smiles, before resuming her struggles with the disobedient spaghetti.

"Also, Tevos would like to spend more time together informally," Shepard adds. "We agreed on a dinner in some restaurant that she uses for her diplomatic dealings. It would allow Aria to join us as well."

"Oh... that is good," Liara agrees, a slightly odd, unreadable expression on her face at the mention of Aria's name. "And a restaurant is a public place, so it should be nice and safe."

"Safe? I don't think we need to be worried about getting shot on the Citadel," Morgan asks, curious at Liara's odd choice of words. "Also, Tevos spent considerable time apologizing about something that Aria did... do you have any idea what it might be?"

Liara immediately blushes deep purple and lets out a small groan. "Oh, goddess... so it was true... and she shared it with Tevos? Morgan, please, I can never see Councilor Tevos again, not in the next few centuries!"

"Now hold your horses, Aria shared what with Tevos?" Morgan presses, totally in the dark over what is happening. "Come on, babe, you're killing me with anxiety here!"

"No... no, no, no, I can't say, I won't say it!" Liara looks both horrified and embarrassed at the same time.

"Alright, in that case I'm messaging Aria myself," Shepard sighs, activating her omni-tool. "I'm sure she will be kind enough to explain!"

"Don't!" Liara squeaks. "I... uh... I can't even say something so terribly embarrassing... but here, let me type it to you in a message..."

Shepard rolls her eyes at Liara's antics, patiently waiting until she finishes typing and then sends the message. As Morgan opens the text message and slowly begins to read it, her eyes slowly begin to widen with every word she reads, and her face assumes color similar to the Bolognese sauce on her plate. "She... she didn't..." she only manages a strangled gasp.

"I'm afraid she did," Liara nods, letting out a pained sigh. "And then she shared it with the Councilor. Goddess, I won't be able to sit at the same table with them now!"

"I, err... see what you mean..." Morgan manages. "Do you think that Tevos would mind if we tracked down Aria and killed her? Just a little bit?"

Liara only answers with a slightly embarrassed giggle. "Perhaps let's not be too hasty... but give me time to think about it for while... maybe I will be able to figure out a way to get back at her..."


	140. Krogan Gone Silly

_A/N: Just making a note that while I think 'Aria and Aleena are the same person' theory has a lot going for it, I have decided to ignore it for the purposes of this story. Aria and Wrex have no previous knowledge of each other apart from hearsay. :) _

**Chapter 139 - Krogan Gone Silly**

It is already dark by the time Liara and Shepard return from the Citadel, Cortez once again being kind enough to play taxi pilot for them. Having thanked Steve they jump out of the shuttle, Morgan turning towards their house and with surprise finding that it is not sinking in complete darkness, instead there is a sparse light coming from the living room window. "Liara, did you switch everything off before we left this morning?" she quietly asks her bondmate.

"I'm quite certain I did, yes," Liara replies, her hands beginning to glow as she readies her biotics in anticipation of unwelcomed intruders.

"Let's not be too hasty," Morgan speaks calmly, making sure she can quickly draw the Carnifex, but leaving it at her belt for now, opening the door and quietly walking inside. "No burglar would do that," she whispers, pointing at a pair of black boots of small size neatly tucked together in the foyer. "Unless you bought a new pair of shoes while I wasn't looking."

"Those are not mine," Liara shakes her head and together they advance into the living room, discovering the scary intruder in the shape of a lithe female figure dressed in a black form fitting suit, her face covered by a hood, as Kasumi Goto is lazily stretched out on their sofa, busy watching some kind of old melodrama vid.

"Hey guys!" she finally acknowledges their presence with a cheerful exclamation. "You don't mind me dropping in, do you?"

"Kasumi, well that's a surprise," Morgan can't help smiling as she regards the cat-like thief. "You know, we could have shot you by accident."

"Ha! That's a laugh," their friend giggles in reply. "Besides, I'm too cute to be shot."

"Well, can't argue with that," Morgan nods, realizing that she feels a little thirsty. "Can I get either of you something to drink?" she asks, watching Liara perch on the side of the sofa and then slowly pushing Kasumi's stretched legs away to make more room for herself. "We have water... hmm, and water. Never mind, I'll just grab a pitcher of delicious water."

"So, how did the visit with the asari councilor go?" Kasumi asks when Shepard returns from the kitchen, carrying a pitcher of water, for the lack of better options choosing to sit on the fluffy sheep rug in front of the sofa.

"It was just fine," Morgan says, not in the slightest surprised that Kasumi knows, the thief herself looking a bit disappointed when neither of her hostesses show any curiosity about it. "I had written the date and time of my appointment on a datapad, which is no longer where I left it. Meaning that you have been snooping around, Kasumi."

"Me? I don't snoop! I... investigate!" Kasumi tries to sound hurt but fails miserably. "Anyway..." her eyes fall on Liara's bulging belly, smile spreading on her full lips. "I haven't properly congratulated you both so here goes... congrats!"

"Thank you, Kasumi," Liara smiles back at the thief. "I don't suppose you have any plans to contribute to the depleted population of Earth?"

"Hey, it's not like you're going to contribute to the population of Earth, Liara," Kasumi chuckles. "You've got Shepard playing for Team Thessia now!"

"And not one bit sorry about that," Morgan nods fervently. "Besides, you did not answer the question!"

"Huh? Oh no, no way," Kasumi shakes her head. "Even if it was biologically possible, and it is not, there's the whole differences in aging to consider. He's twenty nine, so I don't know, ten more years? Seems cruel to adopt a child when you know that his father isn't going to be around to see the kid grow up, you know? But..." the young thief suddenly cuts herself short, realizing that a human and asari partnership would encounter the same problem. "Ugh... well, crap, I'm really sorry to have brought that up."

"Well, the implants are giving me quite a bit more time compared to the average human," Morgan explains, not really feeling too excited about the chosen topic of conversation, even if she knows that it had not been Kasumi's intention to bring it up. But now, their friend clearly expects her to elaborate, and Morgan does not want to appear rude. "Around two hundred, they say," her words are accompanied by an appreciative whistle from the young thief.

"Not bad at all, Shep, not bad!" she chuckles. "But you've had to pay one heck of a price for it, and I'm not really sure I'd want to take that kind of a deal. I mean, dying and then being put back together by Cerberus, just not my idea of fun time."

"Those were... dark days," Liara says quietly, almost looking eager to change the topic. "Where is Spectre Bau, Kasumi? If that's not rude to ask," she then asks, finding reminiscence about the past a little unpleasant.

"Oh, Councilor Valern sent him on a very important Spectre mission," Kasumi explains, sounding a little annoyed. "Apparently one of the top salarian scientists has gone missing from the turian enclave. The turians claim that he left on his own volition, and another report verified that he had wandered into a sector controlled by the Eclipse. So, it's not hard to imagine what happened, but the fool was supposedly carrying important intel."

"Eh? What the hell for was he carrying that with him?" Morgan wonders.

"Bau's got a theory, and I agree with him. He thinks the scientist wanted to cut a deal with the mercs, trade the intel for some supplies. But looks like the poor guy miscalculated, and the mercs decided to keep both the intel and the supplies. Bau's running ragged, trying to sniff down the traces of that intel."

"And while your boyfriend is busy, you just decided on an innocuous social visit, right?" Morgan asks, grinning. "And we are supposed to believe that?"

"Well... I heard from Miranda that you responded positively to the things she laid out before you," Kasumi's voice becomes slightly more businesslike. "So I figured I'll drop by and find out for myself what you two think of it all. Oh, and also, I was doing a delivery nearby and things got a bit hot, which made me miss my ride back to the Citadel. So I was hoping..."

"We do have a guest bedroom, so of course you can stay, Kasumi," Liara smiles.

"Sure, we'll be happy to let you sleep over. But tell us, just what is it that you are doing for Miranda?" Shepard wonders.

"Oh, just some hacking and innocent intel gathering, Shep, nothing fancy. By the way, I also forgot to congratulate you on your new appointment, too," Kasumi adds, chuckling. "I'm guessing that was all part of the plan... and if so, well done! "

"We're kinda still a bit in the dark over a lot of things, we just know that Miri wants to take out Singh and his little chorus of yes-men. Which Liara and I both approve of, but how Miranda intends to do it, and what's going to happen after that, well, we can only guess," Shepard shrugs.

"I guess it comes down to trusting Miranda, because she's playing so many sides at once that it gets really confusing," Kasumi admits. "I mean, after one of those admirals completely accidentally steered their shuttle into a rocket's path, the others have become a little paranoid!"

"I imagine they would suspect an inside source being involved into something like that, yes," Liara nods in understanding. "Is Miranda in danger?"

"Not anymore," Kasumi grins broadly. "Singh and the other admirals were running tight checks on all their moles after the accident. The delivery I brought in just recently... that was used to implicate one of Singh's men as a double agent for the resistance. I saw soldiers drag the screaming guy away just before coming over. Ah, got to love anonymous tips."

"So Miri's in the clear?" Shepard asks, still being a little concerned.

"She's a smart lady. But she needs to give Singh and his bunch something, or else they'll start suspecting foul play," Kasumi explains. "So we came up with this crazy scheme. Miranda still has a bit of a pull with the merc forces down here. So, she leaked intel about some crucial supplies in an abandoned warehouse to the local Blue Suns squads, who of course moved in quickly to secure it. Then, she reported to Singh that the resistance have moved in to secure the warehouse, and the Alliance jumped on the tip. From what I heard, they brought in so many troops and tanks that they completely leveled the warehouse with the supposed _'resistance'_ inside."

"So Admiral Singh feels gratitude towards Miranda and you have cleared Earth from several dozens of violent mercenaries?" Liara says ponderously. "I think that is a definite win-win scenario."

"Yeah... I think so as well, even if my mind is spinning in circles from all this twisted intrigue," Morgan sighs. "I just hope that Miranda doesn't get lost in the web she is spinning herself."

"This is the kind of thing she excels at, Shep," Kasumi says confidently. "And I guess I can play the game as well, too. You just don't have that kind of brain, my dear Shep, you're a 'See Reaper, Kill Reaper' kind of a girl. And we love you for it, really, we do!"

"Kasumi is right," Liara nods with a smile, finding herself grabbed by the shins and slowly pulled down from the sofa and into Shepard's embrace.

"Oh, you two, get a room!" Kasumi giggles, watching Morgan claim Liara's lips in a soft, lingering kiss.

"You read my mind, Kasumi," Shepard grins, reluctantly parting from her bondmate's lips. "You absolutely read my mind..."

* * *

"It is such a shame that Kasumi would not join us for this visit to the krogan enclave," Liara remarks, sitting in the passenger's seat of the skycar, watching Morgan steer the small vehicle across the landscape dotted with small rural communities nestled one against other in an endless row of houses and farmsteads, most of them ruined and abandoned.

"Well, she's one busy bee, no doubt she has another important errand to run, hacking to complete and secrets to steal," Morgan smiles as she replies.

"She and Miranda seem to complement each other very effectively. If only the game Miranda is playing would be... a little more transparent," Liara says thoughtfully.

"Well, if it would be more transparent, then the admirals might catch onto it, too," Shepard tells her bondmate. "Let's just do our part and hope that we were right to trust Lawson. I think we are. Kasumi wouldn't go along with it either if she wasn't certain."

"Yes, for all her apparent childish manner, she seems to have a good and sensible head on her shoulders," Liara smiles fondly.

"Curiously enough, even after knowing her for almost a year, I still have no idea what she really looks like under that hood. I'm sure she's quite pretty, but how she manages to hide her appearance is... almost uncanny. I'm often getting this urge to just grab her and pull that hood off to take a good look at the girl underneath."

Liara laughs. "And you don't get that with Tali?"

"Nah, I mean, it's just accepted as normal with quarians... hey, maybe Kasumi is part quarian," Morgan chuckles, the skycar slowly approaching their destination, a small settlement outside Newcastle-upon-Tyne. "Well, picturesque Ryton, here we come... what the..." she lets out a gasp, staring at the view below them. There are groups of excited krogan standing knee deep in the River Tyne, pointing excitedly at something in the water, some even clapping and bouncing excitedly, causing large waves that naturally scare off the fish, and earn them angry shouting from their fellow krogan.

"They really like their fish," Liara remarks, also looking a bit stupefied.

"Well, time to kick some sense back into them," Shepard slowly sets the skycar down in a clearing close to the riverbank and they both get out, being immediately approached by a large krogan and the smaller figure of an asari by his side. "Ah, there's Grunt and Kurin. They seem unaffected by this fish madness, at least!"

"Shepard! Good to see you!" Grunt meets them with bellowing laughter, mangling Morgan's hand in a fierce shake, while at the same time she is certain of seeing Grunt being much more considerate when taking Liara's hand. "Come to bring some sense back into the old man and the others?" he points towards the river, Morgan quickly recognizing the red armor worn by Wrex, the clan leader surrounded by a crowd of the younger krogan.

"Just what is going on here?" Liara turns to Kurin, perplexed.

"Beats me," the other asari shrugs her shoulders. "They just decided that watching fish is more exciting than lifting rubble and collecting salvage, I guess."

"I'm just relieved that Okeer did not impart anything about fish," Grunt says, chuckling.

"Yeah, getting dumped in favor of fish would have been a new low for me," Kurin agrees.

"Nah, that's not going to happen, baby," the large krogan growls affectionately, patting his asari bondmate's shoulder. "But this... inaction is starting to get really boring. Need something to kill. Or well, at least some granite chunks to throw around, heh-heh!"

"Well, we're putting a stop to all this silliness," Morgan decides, heading straight for Wrex in a determined step. "Wrex! Wrex, get out of the water, you silly krogan! Yeah, I'm talking to you!"

"Keep your voice down, Shepard, you're scaring away the fish," Wrex growls back at her.

"...yeah, so what? Big deal! Now get over here and explain yourself!" she demands.

"Explain what?" Wrex slowly slumps towards her.

"This?" Shepard angrily gesticulates towards the water. "What the hell?"

Wrex shrugs noncommittally. "It's just... great. Watching them swim. You know? Just... great. Beats heavy lifting, that's for sure."

"You seem to have forgotten something, Wrex," Morgan growls at her old friend. "The embassy? Ambassador work? Campaigning for the spot on the Council?"

"Ah... that. You make it sound so important, Shepard. Can't it wait?"

"It **is** important and **no**, it can't wait!" Shepard yells, her face slowly starting to change color from the exasperation. "Wrex, the quarians have overtaken you in the race for that spot and are about to get rewarded with a place on the Galactic Council! They have been working diligently, showing themselves off as great allies, while you have been... watching sodding fish swimming around in the river!"

Wrex looks a bit incensed now. "Damn those quarians, stealing our rightful place!" he snarls, clenching his fists, crackling with biotic glow.

"Well, providing your support during the war was a huge bonus, but that alone won't cut it, Wrex. You need to continue working together with the others, and then the councilors will see the worthiness of the krogan. But as it is now, even the geth are about to surpass you, they have also been given embassy rights on the Citadel, and they certainly are not standing around idly, watching fish swim or grass grow."

"What? The quarians I can just about tolerate, but they'll trust the flashlight heads before the krogan? Unacceptable! I'm tempted to just tell the Council to go and screw themselves, ungrateful bastards the lot of them!" Wrex rages.

"The councilors all as one want you on the Council, Wrex, I can promise you that," Shepard tries to appeal to Wrex's sense of reason. "But they also want to see you putting in a bit more effort into earning that spot. You may think that you have earned it already, but they also made humanity wait for so long that we became increasingly angry and frustrated... so please, just be patient, get those krogan asses out of the river and back to work, and you will have your Council spot in no time!"

"Hmph," Wrex grumbles. "Maybe I should pay a visit to the Citadel and remind them all why they should feel properly thankful to the krogan."

"Sure, do that, but also kick your clan down here to pick up the slack," Morgan says, then thinking of something. "I spoke with the asari councilor yesterday, and she was asking about you, feeling concerned. She really wants the krogan to join the Council, but she feels as if you're letting her down a bit, because she can't support your case as effectively as she could if you were putting in a bit more effort."

"Asking about me, was she?" Wrex grins. "Well... I better drop by the Citadel and reassure her that we want to remain the best of friends. I mean... the fish are great and all, but they don't have a nice pair of-"

"Nice pair of what, Wrex?" Liara asks sweetly, stepping closer.

"Err... nice pair of eyes, like the Councilor," Wrex quickly corrects himself. "And I'll kick these louts back to work, too, immediately," he turns around to yell at his clansmates. "All of you, krogan! OUT OF THE WATER, NOW! We have work to do, now get into the shuttles and off to the city!"

A chorus of collective 'Awww!' echoes around them as groups of dejected looking krogan hobble towards the shuttles. "The fish will be there by the time you get back, guys," Morgan offers supportively.

"But it will be too dark to see anything!" a particularly young krogan cries.

"Well, use flashlights, or grab a pair of geth with you on your way back," Morgan chuckles. "It will be even more exciting, I'm telling you!"

The krogan looks at her, blinking rapidly. "You... you might be right! Shepard, that's an amazing idea, night-watching! I'll tell the others all about it! You really are a true Hero of the Krogan!"

"Glad to be of help," Shepard smiles, turning her head towards Liara. "What do you think it says about me that I can only do successful diplomacy with krogan?" she whispers to her bondmate.

"Hey, I'm a quarter-krogan, so I definitely approve of your efforts," Liara grins back at her. "But I think I'll better drop a line to Councilor Tevos and inform her that a very friendly krogan is on the way to meet her," she whispers, watching Wrex making his way towards his private shuttle with the intention to return to the Citadel. "Perhaps Aria could provide assistance in discouraging Wrex."

"I don't think it will be necessary," Morgan chuckles. "Wrex seems to appreciate her in purely aesthetic terms... or at least, I hope he still remembers my warning not to cross the line. Eh, I think he'll do just fine, he might be a bit crude, but otherwise he's almost a perfect krogan gentleman."

"Well, thanks for that, Shepard," Grunt says, stepping up to them, Kurin in tow. "Another day of this nonsense and I would have gone into blood rage from boredom."

"He's not joking, you know," the asari next to him says, looking serious. "Thanks for the assist, Shepard. I was completely at a loss, myself."

"Don't mention it," Shepard sighs deeply, feeling a little relieved. "But the next time they get distracted by something ridiculous... do me a favor... don't wait a whole week before letting me know..."

* * *

"We should have done this a while ago," Garrus remarks, stretched out on the bed, watching on with a short pang of regret as Tali quickly hides her delightfully pale skin under her protective bodysuit. He has secured rights to use a long abandoned luxurious apartment in Bachjret Ward, and this has been their first night spent together in this new temporary residence, being able to consummate their relationship in much more comfortable conditions than provided by the Normandy.

"I agree," Tali says, finishing fastening the clamps of her suit and then injecting herself with another dose of the antibiotics, just in case. "You must have had an apartment of your own while working for the C-Sec, though. I'm guessing it is no longer available for use?"

Garrus snorts. "Thankfully. A small rodent hole at the very pits of Shalta. I don't want to set my foot in there ever again. It would be unworthy of you, anyway."

"That's sweet, but you know that we quarians have learned not to be choosy about our surroundings," Tali replies, coming back towards the bed and then perching down on the edge, before slowly lowering herself down next to Garrus. "That said... this is nice. Really nice. I mean... the Normandy memories will always remain special, but it was just... awkward at times."

"I'm just amazed nobody ever walked in on us," Garrus remarks innocently.

"I don't think I would have been able to live that down," Tali gulps. "I must say, I prefer being relaxed and comfortable to the constant thrill of getting caught."

"Heh... speaking of getting caught... I understand there was another issue with the supplies a couple of days ago?" the turian asks.

"You have received everything as promised, haven't you? If there are some troublemakers, we'll deal with them internally and you don't need to concern yourself with that."

"Just don't feel comfortable hearing that," Garrus shrugs. He does feel a little guilty for not mentioning the two turian troublemakers who had come up with the crazy plan to raid quarian warehouses, but then manages to convince himself that they have learned their lesson and would not dare to act on that idea. "I was about to loosen the control over what we're receiving, and this isn't helping. Means we both need to waste our time on trivial issues when we could be doing something more meaningful. And... I don't just mean this."

"So you're also subscribing to the rhetoric that my people are not doing enough to help yours?" Tali asks, her voice sounding a little strained now. "It seems to be picking up in strength, as I feared it might."

"Are you absolutely certain that you can't share a little bit more? It's hard to keep people in line when they are starved," Garrus sighs.

"Garrus, I have explained already that we can't restore the capacity of the Rayya to what it was. Keelah, we brought Sparatus and Victus onboard and gave them a tour to show them that no, we are not lying about the damage suffered by our liveship," Tali sounds increasingly frustrated by now. "The projections are the same as they were before, we can maintain the current rate of produce for seven more months, after that we run out of reserves, and the daily allotment falls dramatically."

"And the relay repairs are scheduled to take six to nine months, barring some last minute surprises," Garrus sighs. "This might get ugly, especially once we come close to that breaking point."

"That's why our people need us as calm voices of reason, they don't need us to sow even more doubt about whether the others are really doing as much as they could to help," Tali says. "And we definitely do not need the kind of pressure that Councilor Sparatus is putting on Auntie Raan. She is very unhappy with some of the insinuations laid before her."

"Ah... I might have heard something about that," Garrus nods, shifting his weight in the bed to turn onto his side and look at his lover.

"Yes, he made the suggestion that if the quarians would increase their shipments, then our inclusion on the Council could be hastened."

"How much is he asking for?" the turian asks.

"Garrus!" Tali exclaims angrily. "It doesn't matter what he's asking, it's the principle of the thing! How dare he put us under such pressure, is starving our people even more severely justified to gain us the place on the Galactic Council? It would be immoral!"

"I don't know... we're all sacrificing something," Garrus shrugs. "It's not like he's saying that unless you give us more supplies, we're going to veto your inclusion."

"That's going to be his next move, I just know," Tali snaps.

"Hey, now that's not fair! Now you're making baseless assumptions about what he is going to do!" Garrus protests, then letting out another deep sigh. "Ah, damn this... look at us, arguing about these things... when we know it's the last thing we should be doing. I hate this situation."

"Yeah..." Tali agrees quietly. "Listen, Garrus... I... I apologize, I don't want to let this situation come between us, though... it is hard, and it will get even more difficult..."

"We won't let it come between us, my Chiktikka, I promise," Garrus says with determination, wrapping his arm around Tali's waist and pulling her closer, relieved that the quarian does not resist, slipping into his embrace. "We'll get through this, somehow... together..."

* * *

"Took you long enough," Aria comments in a hoarse voice, lying on the bed in the bedroom of her Kithoi Ward apartment, watching Tevos entering and quietly closing the doors behind her.

"I plead guilty to the charge of neglecting the great Aria T'Loak. I will shortly submit to your mercy and you will be free to do with me as you please," Tevos offers a sultry smile, watching Aria immediately squirming on top of the sheets, taking a deep breath to steady herself. "But the girls wanted my attention as well, we have not spent as much time together as we would like to. Falere has been rewriting another classical piece to fit the violin, and she wants us to practice soon, and Rila wanted to show me her latest sketches... they are lovely, by the way."

"Yes, they are, but why are you still standing there clothed?" Aria asks, assuming her imperious voice.

"I could undress, but the girls have not retired yet," Tevos grins. "Are you certain my appearance would not simply frustrate you knowing that you cannot do anything with me yet?"

Aria bites her lower lip, before letting out a silent curse. "Undress. It will please me."

"Your wish is my command," the councilor smiles, reaching behind her back to undo the zipper of her robe, feeling it slipping down across her skin to pool at her feet. Completely bare, save for her panties, she slips onto the bed, remaining a little away from Aria, feeling the Pirate Queen's eyes greedily exploring her curves. "I think I heard the sound of doors closing downstairs. It seems that I will shortly have my opportunity to thank you for the assistance earlier today."

Aria's lips tug into an amused grin. "The famous Urdnot Wrex, himself. I must admit, he was... very tolerable, for a krogan. Rather liked him, actually. Well, as soon as he got the message that staring at your chest is the limit to as far as he's allowed to go."

"Possessive, are we not?" Tevos teases. "In any case, I am glad that the situation was resolved without violence. After all, Urdnot Wrex is an old friend of Shepard's. And he seemed to be approving of you as well."

"Yes, we hit the Purgatory for a round of drinks after you were done talking," Aria chuckles.

"Speaking of Shepard..." Tevos starts to speak. "I received another message from her a few hours ago. She and Liara both apologize, but they are forced to cancel our dinner plans for the time being. They claim to be very busy."

"Annoying. I was looking forward to mess with their heads some more," the Pirate Queen lets out a wistful sigh.

"I think they are very embarrassed and self-conscious, after they both learned of that horrible, awful thing you did," Tevos says, a little reproachfully. "I worry that it might have destroyed the seeds of relationship I had hoped to build with them both."

"You worry over nothing. They just need a little bit of time to get used to it," Aria chuckles. "Besides, I already know how to fix it."

"...why does that not fill me with confidence?" Tevos sighs, giving Aria a slightly disbelieving stare.

"Ah, I will enjoy proving you wrong, my dear councilor," the Pirate Queen replies confidently, before a more saucy grin spreads on her lips. "And speaking of certain vids... I think we should definitely watch it again."

The mere mention of _that_ recording makes Tevos quickly close the distance between herself and Aria, pressing her delightfully nude form against her lover's side. "I really... shouldn't... allow you to drag me into this... debauchery," she manages, putting up one final token protest.

"I was not asking for your opinion," Aria's smile broadens as she observes Tevos' reaction, her lover driven wild so quickly by the insatiable lust. "I said that we are going to do it, and it was not up for discussion."

"As you would have it, Aria... but on one condition," Tevos whispers, her lips and tongue already working on Aria's neck, leaving a trail of kisses. "Get out of those clothes... now."


	141. Awkward Distractions

_A/N: Regarding the last part of this chapter, I feel that this would be the perfect opportunity for me to thank Rae D. Magdon for providing an inspiration with her lovely stories. And for making Aria/Tevos pairing a canon for many of us. :) _

_Also, I need to apologize for the misleading author's note way back in chapter 46... or 47. I mentioned that a certain character would not be a part of this story. It would have been more accurate to say that she would never step onboard of the Normandy. But a certain reporter makes her appearance now... and I am sure she will become an instant hit with the readers. :) _

**Chapter 140 - Awkward Distractions**

"I assume by now you have all read the reports of our successful operation in Leeds, delivering a crippling blow to the resistance," Admiral Nitesh Singh speaks proudly, addressing his fellow admirals over a vid conference. "And we have verified the legitimacy of one of our most important agents as a result. Furthermore... hmm, where is Admiral LeClerc, why has she not signed in yet?"

"Willoughby was making overtures with her, I fear that LeClerc has abandoned us to link up with her and Hackett," Admiral Chen remarks sourly. "I was afraid that the two women won't have the stomach for this kind of thing."

"Well, I don't exactly blame them," Admiral Trevor McIllis of the Sixth Fleet speaks up. "I'm having a hard time convincing the men under my command that we should be fighting our own people, while the cities lay in ruins, factories are no longer functional, and we are squabbling over the last bit of resources."

"At least I hope you still understand why we are doing this, Admiral McIllis," Singh says sternly.

"Of course I do. Though the justification... becomes less and less satisfying with every passing day," McIllis snaps unhappily.

"We can't reason with the resistance, we all know that," Mayorov argues. "They will squander all the precious supplies in a few months, without considering the long-term implications. Bleeding populist hearts, they just want to make sure the majority of the population supports them, but they don't have any clue as to what they are doing!"

"Hmm, maybe so," McIllis shrugs his shoulders. "I understand that Hackett is in talks with some of the resistance leaders, trying to parley for a ceasefire. He claims that the opposition is very reasonable and their arguments only logical."

"Well, if he can get them to lay down their weapons, we will all benefit from it," Singh grudgingly admits. "It's not that we are fighting by choice, Admiral McIllis, it is purely out of necessity."

"Singh, are there any news about the Council post?" Chen asks in his squeaky voice. "Perhaps if the Council finds your character to be lacking the necessary qualities, we could consider another candidate."

"Don't dream that they would react more favorably to any of you. We are all high in the ranks of the military and complete unknowns to them, I suppose it is only logical that they are hesitant, preferring to deal with someone they know, such as Hackett. Or Shepard," Singh shrugs, looking a bit irritated. "We need to put more pressure on the alien governments, intimidate them into accepting us, but we can't do that while we are still fighting the resistance and our power base is not strong enough! With that in mind... I would like to hear the individual reports regarding your territories."

"Shanghai and Tokyo are firmly back under the Alliance control," Chen reports. "Fighting continues to remain fierce in Beijing. The Blood Pack have decided to make Beijing their base of operations, and we have had some minor setbacks in smoking the vorcha packs out."

"We have reclaimed St. Petersburg and Kiev, but Moscow appears to be beyond recovery. Radiation levels will make the area inhabitable for many years to come," Mayorov delivers his latest update. "Our marine divisions are getting overstretched, however, there is simply too much territory to try to hold at once."

"Ignore the rural areas, concentrate on the key industrial centers, as I have told you," Singh says. "Seize all weapon's manufacturing facilities, we must starve the resistance of ammo supplies. If we can't finish this quickly and decisively, we will bleed them dry slowly."

"We managed to drive the resistance from a Sirta Foundations facility and warehouse near Montreal," McIllis adds. "Unfortunately, they had already moved most of the medical supplies, but we did recover some raw materials, as well as obtained capacity to produce more medi-gel ourselves."

"Good, good, everyone, let's keep up the excellent effort," Singh nods, looking pleased as he looks to be bringing the proceedings to a conclusion, but as soon as McIllis closes his connection, he turns to the other two, suddenly appearing very annoyed. "Damn it, now he's wavering too! We can't lose him! The Sixth Fleet would slip from under our control, and we'd lose the whole North American theater!"

"I hate not being able to discuss our motivations openly in these meetings," Mayorov complains. "Then again, I don't think that he would react well if he knew that we are actually sitting on massive stockpiles of basic supplies."

"No, there is a line that he will not cross," Singh nods. "However, perhaps it might be possible to discourage him from leaving our little circle. His daughter is somewhere on Earth, I hear that she is a doctor. We could use her as a leverage."

"That... or we could demonstrate what happens with those who dare to change their affiliations," Chen suggests. "LeClerc and Willoughby have spat in our faces with their decisions to pull out. Perhaps... if one of them would meet with an unfortunate accident..."

"LeClerc," Mayorov decides instantly.

"And that wouldn't be because of her turning down all your amorous advances, Alexei?" Chen's face twists into a wrinkled grin, earning him a string of expletives. "But I do approve of your choice, she has always been a stuck up, argumentative bitch."

"Very well, so it is decided," Singh nods. "Poor Sophie will suffer a regrettable and lethal accident... I will have one of my people take care of it. There is one final matter that we need to address. Shepard. What are we to do with her?"

"It is clear that she will not work with us, time to let go of that illusion," Chen shakes his head. "You are still pulling the strings in Geneva, aren't you, Nitesh?"

"Yes, the Alliance News Network is sympathetic to our cause. They will do what we ask," Singh nods. "What are you proposing?"

"The good Commander Shepard is doing a lot of harm to our plans with her passionate speeches," Chen's face twists into that wrinkly, disturbing grin again. "Perhaps we could try to erode the Commander's credibility."

"That could work," Mayorov adds. "There has to be someone out there holding a grudge against the Commander."

"I think you're onto something, here. I'll speak with my people in Geneva to see if we can arrange some... educational documentaries," Singh nods, smiling. "We will speak again in two days, comrades," he speaks, severing the connection and ending the vid conference, this time for real.

* * *

"Damn it, that was hell of a hard work," Shepard grunts, kicking off her boots in the small foyer and stepping inside the living room, the warmth and growing familiarity making it a strange but pleasant feeling of belonging, of being home. _Damn, even this dump is growing on me, given enough time. Though I guess it's not really so bad, it's probably all down to Liara's presence anyway._ "Are you sure that your doctor would approve of you exerting yourself so much?" she asks, turning towards Liara, the asari plopping down on the sofa and answering with a cute yawn.

"I didn't even realize I was this tired," Liara confesses. "But don't worry, physical exertions such as these won't harm the baby." They have spent the past three days in the quarian encampment, together with the geth organizing the first delivery of sensitive eezo containing components to the science teams working desperately to get the mass relays operational. The same turian carrier ships that have assisted with the Crucible construction are on hand again, providing Dr. Cole and her team comfortable on-site facilities for the assembly of the components and passing them onto the engineers for further use.

"That's good... just asking, because I'm completely worn out," Morgan says, smiling as she stretches her pleasantly aching body. "And even though I feel terribly out of the loop after this, I don't want to give in to the temptation of watching the news feeds now, or else we'll end up sitting on that sofa past midnight."

"Yes, you might be right about that, Morgan," Liara concedes. "I must confess... after being away for a few days, working hard as this, coming back here almost feels... nice."

"I was thinking the same just a moment ago-" Morgan chuckles, but the irritating beep of an omni-tool message interrupts her. "Hmm, Garrus has placed a vid call. Wonder what he wants at this hour," she muses, accepting the call and seeing the seemingly always severe face of her turian friend showing up on the screen. "Hey, Garrus, what's up?" she asks, sitting down on the sofa, Liara freeing some room for her so that she too can join in on the conversation.

"Shepard. Liara," he adds, noticing the asari's face poking into the view over Shepard's shoulder. "I'm sorry for disturbing you so late in the evening. Tali sent me a message when you left the quarian enclave, didn't want to bother you while you were working."

"Has something happened?" Shepard asks, tensing a little, immediately feeling Liara reacting to it, beginning to gently caress her back. "There's always something, isn't there?"

"A few things, Shepard," Garrus nods, uncomfortably. "None of them really good, I'm sorry to say."

"That's okay, Garrus. You don't really have the face for delivering good news anyway," Morgan manages a weak smile, trying to guess what might have possibly gone wrong now.

"Have you been watching the news lately?" Garrus asks.

"Not for the last three days, Garrus, we just got back as you know," Liara replies.

"You should consider switching on the Alliance News Network. There has been another murder."

"What now? Is Hackett... please tell me it's not him!" Morgan exclaims, her heart starting to skip.

"No, but I understand this Admiral Sophie LeClerc was a friend of Hackett's," Garrus explains. "She and her retinue were all captured and summarily executed following a visit to the newly reopened skycar factory in... what was the funny called place, oh yes, Detroit. Several bodies of dead Eclipse soldiers were found on the scene, conveniently implicating the mercenaries."

"Mercenaries, nothing, they wouldn't have done something as daring as this without a good reason," Shepard snarls. "It's payback for leaving Singh's supporter camp, that's what it is. Probably trying to intimidate anyone else who considers defecting. Gods... those assholes are getting desperate enough to resort to something this drastic, killing a fellow admiral!"

"Hopefully our mutual friends working with the resistance can stop the situation from escalating," Liara adds, but leaving it at that, not wishing to reveal Miranda's involvement to Garrus without the woman's permission.

"They are using this to raise a huge rallying cry and push for a strike against all detractors," Garrus says. "The fact that this Admiral Singh seems to have monopolized the voice of the Alliance is very unfortunate. Can't Hackett do anything about it?"

"Probably not, other than to set up his own news broadcasting network, but that would send a very strange signal, and even now he doesn't want the Alliance to appear fractured... even if it already is," Morgan nods knowingly. "I'll have to speak to him again and see if we need to change our tactics or something..."

"Sure you don't need extra security down there?" Garrus asks, sounding a little concerned.

"They wouldn't dare to try anything against us," Morgan says dismissively.

"I bet that's what LeClerc thought, too," the turian mutters unhappily.

"Kasumi did some fiddling with the surveillance and alarm settings during her last visit, so I think we should be alright," Liara explains, trying to calm their friend down. "But thank you for caring."

"Yeah... thanks for the bad news, Garrus," Shepard nods, about to close the comm link. "We really should be-"

"Wait, I was just getting started, Shepard," Garrus interrupts her. "Why did you think I have such a sour disposition? Because I had painfully twisted that stick up my ass?"

Shepard breaks out in guffawing laughter. "Oh... that's brilliant, I need to remember that one. Well... pile it on, you grim sadist."

"I saw an announcement about some upcoming broadcast on the Alliance News Network. It was called something 'The Real Truth Behind the Reaper War' or some such idiocy."

"Hmm..." Shepard winces a little. "Guessing from how they haven't asked me or Liara... have they asked you?" she looks back at Garrus, the turian shaking his head. "Yeah, the real truth isn't what they're after here."

"I pulled the list of participants, Shepard," Garrus says, looking angry. "Most are humans, obviously. Armchair generals and military 'experts' who were nowhere to be found during, you know, the actual war. A few asari, salarians, and turians as well... and I know both the turians. Irritating bastards, always opposed everything I did... definitely not my supporters, and by extension, not yours either."

"It's okay, I get the picture, Garrus," Shepard sighs.

"What is it, Morgan, what are they doing now?" Liara whispers worriedly.

"Smear campaign. I don't know who's the target yet, me or Hackett. But either way, it's not going to be pretty. Hell, we might need to relocate back to the Citadel if it is effective enough."

"But... but they cannot do this to you, I cannot believe it!" Liara is shaking, she is so terribly upset. "You... gave so much of yourself, you were ready to give your own life and you nearly did, and this is how they repay you? I... goddess, this is... unthinkable!"

"Let's hope that there are still many who feel the same way as you do, babe," Morgan says, comfortably wrapping her arm around Liara's waist. "Garrus, I don't suppose anyone from the Normandy, or from our circle of acquaintances is invited?" The shake of the turian's head is all the answer she needs. "Heh, I can already see the sequel... 'Commander Shepard: Deconstruction of a Myth'."

"Well, if your own people do not appreciate what you did for them, I am sure that the rest of the galaxy does, and if they ever dare to forget, I will remind them in the strongest possible terms!" Liara exclaims passionately.

"That's sweet, babe," Shepard grins, gently hugging Liara and holding her close. "I'm sure that the people who matter will never forget what we did, and I made those sacrifices for them, not some abstract crowd of ungrateful bastards."

"Had to deal with some of those myself, so it's not like turians are somehow more reasonable than humans," Garrus sighs, then straightening out as he appears to remember something. "Listen, Shepard... there was one last thing. Not sure if it's good or bad, but thought you should know anyway."

"What is it, Garrus?"

"Chloe told me that they have given Joker the all clear yesterday. But he's not been assigned back to the Normandy, since they are currently not planning to deploy the ship. So, he's been reassigned groundside. I understand he has been given quarters in Bradford, not far from where you are."

"Oh... well..." Shepard is not immediately certain what to reply. "We don't really head into the city much, just to pick up our weekly allotment of MRE's. I doubt we'll run into each other to create potentially awkward situations. And if he wants to talk, well, I'm sure he knows how to find me. I don't think he wants to, though, from how our last conversation ended."

"It's just not right that you two aren't talking anymore," Garrus shakes his head. "What happened on Rannoch and later with EDI wasn't your fault."

"I... would like to think that it wasn't, but..." Shepard begins, then stopping herself. "Look, it's something I'm trying not to think about too much, alright? Great, now I won't be able to sleep for sure."

"Eh... sorry, Shepard," Garrus' head slumps dejectedly. "My fault."

"No, don't worry, Garrus," Liara speaks, trying to sound upbeat. "I will ensure that she has a good night's rest, you can be sure of it."

"Heh... alright, Liara. For once I do not feel like saying 'too much information'," Garrus manages a less depressed expression. "Once again, sorry to be the bearer of bad news. Goodnight, you two."

"See you, Garrus," Morgan nods, switching the omni-tool off and turning towards Liara, suddenly feeling utterly demoralized and tired. "Everything seems bleak and depressing again," she mutters.

"Come on, let's get you upstairs," Liara climbs out of the sofa, pulling Morgan's heavy feeling frame up with her. "What you need is a relaxing shower and afterwards... another reminder of what we're both fighting to secure..."

* * *

"Shit, they really rip you off for a decent beer here," Joker grumbles, sitting at the bar in the Black Swan pub, watching the bartender withdrawing a considerable amount of currency from his supply chit as a payment for the foam covered beverage. "Good thing I've got another one of these babies safely tucked away," he then chuckles, accepting the chit back from the bartender.

"Oy, you don't look like one of them big shots that sometimes hang around the place," the redhead behind the bar grumbles in a deep baritone. "Left your uniform with the rest of your laundry, eh, sonny?"

"Ha ha, very funny. I'll have you know, I'm the best pilot in the whole damn Alliance fleet," Joker says proudly, catching a stare of a beautiful dark haired woman on the opposite side of the bar. He quickly checks over his shoulder to make sure the woman is not staring at someone behind his back, finding nobody there. When he turns his head back around, he notes with surprise that the attractive lady is smiling at him. "Used to fly Shepard around during the big war, you know," he says, loud enough to make the woman at the bar overhear them.

"You don't say?" the bartender wonders, not sure whether to believe him or not. "She showed up here once with an asari in tow. Don't think she has time for folks like us, though, too busy with her alien friends and all."

"She hasn't been here since?" Joker asks, feeling his shoulders tense a little from the mention of Shepard's name.

"Nah, just that one time, probably decided the place wasn't to her liking," the bartender mutters. "Shame. She would have brought in crowds as a regular."

"I wouldn't be part of those crowds," Joker shrugs, taking several large mouthfuls of the drink, feeling the cold liquid slide pleasantly down his throat. "Damn good stuff, this. Wish I could afford more than this one measly mug."

"Well, take your time with it then, son, don't lap it up in one go," the bartender advises him, moving away to address the needs of his other customers, while Joker slips into thoughtful silence, watching the foam in the mug slowly subsiding as dark thoughts creep into his mind. _Whatever dipshit decided to send me down to this damned hole and not back to the Normandy... probably Shepard, she wouldn't want me around anymore after that last talk... shit... maybe I shouldn't have said some of those things, but... if she had done things differently... damn, it could have all been so different! I wouldn't be this pathetic broken wreck stuck here, grounded, like after Alchera..._

The cup empties rather swiftly despite his intentions to nurse it through the rest of the evening, not looking forward to returning to his cold, lonely apartment. _They give me a vacation and send me to this fucking place, what a joke. Then again, I guess it's horrible everywhere. Think I heard someone doing a supply drop to Cairo and mentioning it was snowing in North Africa. What a goddamn fucking mess. _

He is startled from his depressing contemplations when another mug of beer is placed in front of him. "What the hell? Told you I can't afford another one," he grumbles, staring at the bartender.

"It's been paid for," the man grunts and turns away, not interested in a lengthy debate, seeing another group of customers approaching.

"Paid for? By whom?" Joker calls out, but there is no answer.

"You looked like you could do with another drink, flyboy," a sultry female voice comes from behind him, and Joker swirls around to regard the gorgeous raven-haired temptress with those stunning green eyes that had been observing him from the opposite side of the bar.

"Appreciate it, miss," Joker nods, tugging on his baseball cap to straighten it. "But just who are you that you can afford to buy beer for guys you don't even know? I mean, don't you need to save your own supply chit not to starve?"

"I don't have to worry about that, flyboy," the woman replies mysteriously, sliding into an empty seat next to Joker and he feels a surge of heat rushing to his temples, partly from the drink, but mostly from the presence of this undeniably attractive and not particularly overdressed companion. "And I am someone who hopes to make your acquaintance, Flight-Lieutenant Moreau."

Joker almost spills his beer from surprise. "Wow, someone actually recognizes me? How?"

"Information is my trade, Mr. Moreau... is it alright if I call you Jeff?" she asks with a disarming smile, receiving an immediate nod. "My name is Diana. Diana Allers."

"Hey, Diana, pleased to meet you," Joker says, still remaining a little wary. "Are you an information broker or something?"

"Not... quite. I want to be honest with you, Jeff," Allers speaks, maintaining her most charming smile. "I'm with the Alliance News Network."

"Ah... figures," Joker grunts, turning away. "So you want something from me. Everyone wants something."

"That means you want something too, Jeff. Maybe we can help each other?" Diana asks.

"What I want..." he gives a hollow sounding laugh. "Nobody can give me that anymore."

"I can try..." Allers says alluringly, the perfectly manicured hand sliding across her bare knee towards the thigh, playing a little with the hem of her skirt, pulling it a little upwards and watching Joker's eyes following the movements of her hand as if entranced. "Jeff, I think I can make you forget whatever it is that you're mourning and trying to forget here... at least for a while..."

_Fuck. Maybe it's what I need to stop thinking about her... I mean, why the heck not? Shepard stood in my way with EDI, but she won't be able to do anything about this..._ "And what is it that you want in return, Diana?" he asks.

"Not much," she replies. "I want to hear about your experiences while serving under Commander Shepard."

"Fuck, if you're looking for someone to sing her praises, I suggest you look elsewhere," Joker snarls.

"But I'm looking for quite the opposite. There already are way too many singing her praises, so much so that I am struggling to believe that this icon they are building could be real. I want someone to provide a more realistic view of Shepard... I mean, surely she must have made some mistakes along the way was well? Yet nobody speaks of those now. Do you think you could help with that, Jeff?"

"Oh boy, lady... you have **no** idea," Joker replies, then suddenly feeling uncertain, slight sense of wrongness washing over him. "Not sure it's something I should share with the entire galaxy, though."

"Jeff, you are stuck in a cold, lonely dump, forgotten by those you used to call your friends, now celebrated heroes of the galaxy, but they clearly don't have time for you. You can't even afford a decent beer," Allers tries to convince him. "You deserve more than this, and you know it. I can help you get it. Starting with... making you feel less lonely..." she gently takes his hand and places it on her knee, watching him freeze from the touch, wondering if she has gone too far.

"Damn it, Diana... you put up the most compelling arguments," he finally sighs, nodding in agreement. "Fine, I'll tell you what you want to know. Some of the things will blow your mind."

"That's wonderful," Diana grins, keeping his hand on her knee. "Perhaps you would like to finish that beer... after which we could retire somewhere more private..." The speed with which Joker quaffs his drink and then eagerly follows her out of the pub makes Diana Allers' lips form a victorious smile.

* * *

"Shepard! By the goddess, Shepard!" Liara's voice startles Morgan as she is slumped at the kitchen table, half-emptied whiskey glass in her hand. It is already late in morning, but it remains dark outside, sleet pouring down from the skies, as if tailored to her mood. "Weren't you expected to be in the asari enclave by now? Matriarch Lidanya must be waiting on you!"

"I sent her a message and we agreed to postpone the meeting until tomorrow," Morgan whispers, rubbing her aching head. "Please... babe, stop shouting... I feel... really tender right now."

"I was not shouting," Liara says sternly, but she does lower her voice. "And you are not tender, you are drunk. I know that the meeting was simply a routine update and ironing out logistics, but it was still more important than getting drunk, was it not? And what's this?" she asks, grabbing a datapad that has slipped down on the floor, Shepard making a quick lunge to pull it away from Liara, but the asari is nimble enough to avoid her attempt. "It's a list of names?" she asks, starting to read the contents of the datapad, her face falling when she realizes that it contains names of all their friends that have perished during the past few years. "Oh, Morgan... why?"

"I felt as if I was starting to forget," Morgan whispers. "Living here in this beautiful house with you, it... I don't know, sometimes I manage to forget everything we've done, the things we have gone through, and... it makes me feel as if I'm living a lie. I should not forget the weight of my decisions! Never!"

"I... don't know what to say. Sometimes this life on Earth feels very absurd to me as well," Liara confesses quietly. "But all I know is that you deserve to be happy. We have been over this, and yet you keep slipping back into... into this hole of self-pity. What can I do to make it better, Morgan, there must be something?" she looks devastated.

"Ah... shit, please, Liara, don't worry, I'll pull myself together, I promise," Morgan suddenly feels very sober from the very sight of her bondmate looking so forlorn and distraught. She picks up the half-empty bottle of whiskey and takes it back to the drink's cabinet, placing it back with the two not yet opened bottles of Lagavulin. "Damn it, I'll try to get a better handle on this, sweetheart, I'm making you worried and that's not good for you, or the baby," she whispers, having returned to the kitchen, pulling Liara closer.

"It's alright, Morgan," Liara replies, holding her tightly. "I saw what you were going through, remember? When I committed the greatest crime imaginable for an asari."

"Gods, are you still going on about that nonsense? I told you I am not holding it against you. You did it to save me, and I am thankful for it."

"Do you realize what you just said, Morgan?" Liara asks, pulling a little away, staring at her with a serene smile in those blue, earnest orbs.

"...err, what did I say?"

"If I am not allowed to punish myself for doing something horrible to save you... why should you subject yourself to endless torment for making some hard decisions to save the entire galaxy!"

"...well, when you put it like that..."

"Yes, I do put it like that, Morgan," Liara's voice is tender and chiding at the same time. "We will mourn and remember our friends as they deserve, but if I ever catch you drinking your sorrows away because you have succumbed to your foolish and unreasonable martyr complex, I am going to do what no Reaper did. I am going to completely kick your ass, Morgan Shepard!"

Shepard does not reply for a long time, staring at her bondmate with wide eyes and just when Liara is starting to become a little anxious, Morgan begins to laugh like a madwoman, Liara joining in, hesitant at first, but then as loudly as her bondmate, both of them shaking, tightly embraced, tears spilling onto their cheeks as they giggle like crazy.

"Oh god... I needed that so much..." Morgan breathes out as they finally part.

"Yes, it seems as if you did," Liara nods, looking happy from being able to help. "Oh, and I might have something else that will improve your mood," she adds, smiling at Morgan's inquisitive stare. "I received an OSD from Aria with a new recording that Tevos and the girls made. Since you have decided to stay home today, I think this might be a good opportunity to listen to it together and relax."

"Oh, that does sound great," Morgan nods. "How about we put it on upstairs in the bedroom? I'd like to stretch on the bed and be all properly relaxed as I'm listening."

"Sure, that's a good idea," Liara approves, and together they walk back upstairs, Shepard dropping on the bed and settling comfortably into a pile of pillows as her bondmate works to set up the sound system and activate the recording. "Hmm," she notes with curiosity. "This isn't just an audio recording, this is a longer vid. Just a moment... this ought to be interesting."

"Sounds excellent. I must confess, watching the subtle play of emotions on their faces as they play the musical pieces... it is something indescribable," Shepard says, remembering their visit to Aria's place on the Citadel.

"I agree," Liara nods. "Ah, there we go," she presses a few buttons on her omni-tool, and a slightly darkened image is displayed on the large screen that covers almost the entire wall of their bedroom. "Hmm... let me slightly adjust the sound and brightness..." she mutters, fiddling a little with the vid settings on her omni, then suddenly freezing as the sound that comes from the recording is absolutely not what she has been expecting, almost physically stunning the asari. "Err... what..."

"Is that..." Shepard blinks, having gone completely rigid on the bed as the very... interesting sounds, accompanied by even more fascinating images appear before her eyes. "Oh god... it is Aria and..."

"But... this is not... I expected music..."

"Well... they are kind of... making music..."

"Oh... goddess, I... we... should not be watching this..."

"...you're the one with... the omni activated..." Morgan manages, her mouth completely parched so much so she has difficulties speaking.

"...must... switch off..." Liara tries to stop the vid from playing, but her fingers clearly disobey her and all she manages to do is to set the omni to zap herself with a tiny electrical jolt, yelping as she staggers. "Can't... oh, goddess..." but despite all her protestations, Liara has not taken her eyes from the screen, appearing mesmerized from what she witnesses unfolding in the recording. "...do you think... Tevos knows... about this?"

"No... definitely not... or she wouldn't be making... all those noises..." Shepard also struggles to speak, her mind getting clouded by intense heat and she can barely restrain herself from arching her hips off the bed or sticking her hand between her burning thighs. "...so... intoxicating..." she breathes out.

"So... wrong..." Liara sobs, unable to stop her own hands from running all over her body as she miserably fails to avoid trembling from the intense arousal. "Should... not..."

"Oh, stop talking already, you babbling fool!" Shepard cries out in frustration, reaching out to pull Liara into the bed with her, the asari falling on top of her in a messed up tangle of bodies. "Now peel me out of my uniform, quickly," Morgan orders, watching her bondmate's eyes already glazed and darkening, fighting the desperate desire to meld. "And that's an order!"


	142. The Admiral's Daughter

_A/N: Very light time-skip from the last chapter. Something between four to six weeks, just to push the plot forward. _

**Chapter 141 - The Admiral's Daughter**

"Damn, you pick up on this stuff way too fast," Morgan laments, watching Liara masterfully moving her pieces across the chessboard to trap her hapless king. A few days ago, having a rare free afternoon, she had actually dared to go downstairs and explore the basement, where the Alliance staff had brought some personal items of the previous owners of the house. She had avoided touching the more private belongings, but the wooden chess set had attracted her attention immediately and she had decided to borrow it for the time being. The set had been almost complete save for a pair of missing black pawns, quickly replaced by food cubes.

"This is oddly similar to some of the ancient asari board games, that are by now nearly forgotten," Liara remarks, smug look on her radiant, victorious face. "Not to mention that my scientific mind gives me a distinct advantage."

"Yes, yes, your bondmate is just a dumb marine grunt, we get it," Shepard chuckles, pretending to be upset. "But a good marine never gives up, so I will not accept my probably inevitable defeat just yet!" But before she can make her move to withdraw her patriarch to safety there is a soft beep on her omni-tool. "What the... at this time of the evening, again?" she accepts the incoming voice-call immediately, however.

"We urgently need to talk, Commander. Can we drop by in fifteen minutes?" it is Miranda's voice, firm and insistent.

"Sure, what's the-" Shepard is about to ask, but Miranda hangs up on her, rather rudely, making Morgan more worried than annoyed, knowing that something important is afoot. "Geez, what the hell is going on now?"

Liara is already on her way to switch on the Alliance news feeds, starting to browse through the messages, not finding anything particularly exciting, just more of the usual patting on the back reports of Alliance reclaiming more and more territories, preaching patience regarding the dwindling supplies and celebrating the war heroes, almost in all cases coming from the Third or First Fleet, under the command of Admiral Singh and his loyalists. "There's nothing here that would explain Miranda being so anxious," the asari finally says. "So it must be about something that the Alliance would not dare to report about..."

"Well, we won't know anything more until she gets here anyway," Shepard shrugs, dimming the lights in the living room and taking her place to stand at the window, looking outside in anticipation of an arriving shuttle or skycar. Time slowly crawls by, but there is no movement in the air, until suddenly two shadows swiftly cross the small yard in front of the house and arrive on their doorstep, having appeared literally out of nowhere.

Liara is the first at the doors to let their sudden guests inside, Morgan awaiting them in the living room. "Miranda, Kasumi, what brings you around at this hour?" the asari wonders, greeting the pair warmly.

"The shuttle," Miranda responds curtly, stepping into the living room while Kasumi lingers a little behind, taking off her boots before daring to enter further into the house, Shepard inwardly chuckling about the obviously deeply cultural thing, wondering if the master thief follows her ritual when breaking into houses with the intention of stealing from their owners.

"Hey Shep!" Kasumi grins, finally entering as well together with Liara, her eyes glued to the slowly growing bump of the asari's stomach. "Which month are you in, Liara? I can never remember!"

"Early in the sixth, Kasumi," Liara smiles in reply. "But from how miss Lawson barged in here, I gather that you are not here to discuss my pregnancy."

"What? Oh..." Miranda looks a little confused, then quickly gathering herself. "I'm sorry, I... have too much on my mind right now, I didn't meant to come off as insulting."

"Don't worry about it, Miri, Liara was just teasing," Shepard grins, motioning for the former Cerberus operative to sit down on the sofa. Liara perches next to her while Kasumi chooses to sit down on the thick sheep rug, legs crossed in a meditating posture, Shepard remaining standing as she waits for Miranda to start talking.

"You recall the news reports from a while ago about Admiral LeClerc being murdered, yes?" Miranda begins to speak, receiving a nod from Shepard.

"Yes, those traitorous aliens of Eclipse were to blame, obviously," Liara speaks sourly.

"Quite. Well, I can tell you that it was done by the conspirators firstly to punish the deserter, secondly to use it as a method of intimidation against those who are becoming disillusioned with fighting their fellow humans instead of focusing on rebuilding the nearly uninhabitable planet. The move was aimed at Admiral Trevor McIllis of the Sixth Fleet in particular, by my reports he was beginning to seriously consider giving open support to Hackett's message of peace."

"I can't remember this McIllis," Morgan shrugs. "But please tell me that he grew a spine and was instead repulsed by such crude and brutal attempt to bring him in line."

"That is exactly what happened. Admiral Singh miscalculated," Miranda says. "McIllis was livid with them and threatened to sever all ties and expose their conspiracy. However, Singh and his lackeys have a trump card to use against McIllis. The admiral has a daughter, Caitlyn, and it seems that Singh's people have got to her before we could react and bring her to safety. However, an opportunity has presented itself, thanks to Kasumi..." She points at the master thief, urging her to explain herself.

"Right. Well, I managed to track down Caitlyn," Kasumi quickly explains. "She was working in one of the many hastily rebuilt hospitals in London, using their meager resources to save as many lives as possible, until this morning a squad of marines came in and dragged her away. I've tracked down the location of the bunker she is being held in."

"They are using the girl as a leverage to control the admiral?" Liara asks, fuming. "That is beyond treacherous! Something has to be done to help her!"

"Have they bothered to state any reason for taking her?" Morgan demands to know.

"Something about smuggling medical supplies and trading them to mercenaries for personal gain," Miranda shrugs. "Obviously a fabrication, but everything's being kept hush-hush anyway, so I don't know why they even cared to come up with some false justification."

"Do we know anything more about those holding the girl? Numbers and such?" Morgan asks.

"Not too much," Kasumi shrugs. "The bunker is fairly well defended, but I spotted several potential points of entry even from casual observation. The opposition numbers are between two to three dozen Alliance marines, under the command of Lieutenant-Commander Harris."

"Never heard of him," Morgan says. "Shit, this could be complicated. Hate hostage situations. We need to get her out of there, but I also don't want to just slaughter three dozen marines and maybe get this Caitlyn girl killed."

"If I wanted that kind of outcome, I would have asked the resistance to handle it, or cashed in my last favors with the mercs," Miranda scoffs. "I came to you, Shepard, because I wanted to solve this with minimal bloodshed."

"To act against Singh so openly would mean placing myself... and by extension Liara and our child in danger," Morgan grumbles, starting to feel a little worried. "Still, I cannot sit idly, knowing that this innocent young woman is being held hostage, possibly mistreated."

"I think your relationship with Singh is already ruined, so that's no longer a concern," Miranda says. "He plans to begin a smear campaign against you and to some extent also against Hackett."

"Yeah, that 'show' is going to air in a few days, I've seen some leaks on the extranet," Kasumi adds, sounding a little upset. "It's... pretty bad. Shep, do yourself a favor and don't watch it, okay?"

"She won't be able to stop herself," Liara says gloomily, Morgan silently agreeing with her bondmate's reaction, knowing that the asari is assuredly correct.

"I would feel much better if you and Liara relocated back to the Citadel," Miranda says, sounding deeply concerned.

"It can't be that bad yet, can it? I don't think it is," Morgan shakes her head. "Come on, I didn't flinch when staring down the Harbinger, I'm not going to run from some Alliance separatist bastards, that would be humiliating."

"Well, if Morgan's not leaving, then I'm not leaving either," Liara adds sternly.

Miranda sighs deeply. "Well, have it your way. I have delivered my warning."

"We didn't decide how we want to play it with Caitlyn," Kasumi reminds them.

"Well, this Harris is just LC, so technically I outrank him," Shepard muses, uncertain. "We could try diplomacy first. Also, because using diplomacy after the shooting is over with kind of doesn't really work... but maybe I can talk him down. Or, you know, use an opportunity to remind his marines that they are executing clearly illegal order by holding a civilian hostage."

"And if you can't talk them down?" Liara asks, wringing her hands nervously.

"Well, I want to give those who don't agree with holding a hostage the opportunity to get out of there. Then we go in and mop up. Cut all comms going out of the bunker, disable all vid feeds, preferably use cover of darkness. We cannot allow ourselves to be identified."

"If you show up there prior to the attack to speak with this Lieutenant-Commander Harris, they will surely know that you were involved," Liara looks at her, deeply worried.

"What they know and what they can prove are two different things. Besides, they already know I oppose them. I'm more worried about Miri and Kasumi not getting recognized," Morgan says.

"And what about me?" Liara asks.

"Are you kidding?" Morgan blinks, pointing at her bondmate's swelling belly. "There's your answer. You're staying behind and that is final, don't be ridiculous by trying to argue this!"

"I would advise sending Liara to the Citadel or at least having someone here with her, just to be on the safe side," Miranda adds, Shepard nodding in quick assent, ignoring Liara's scowl when she is completely left out of the decision making.

"Yes, I'll ask one of our friends to come down here and stay with Liara until we are done with our rescue op," Morgan says, already typing something on her omni-tool.

"I hate it when you ignore me like this," Liara fumes, giving Morgan an angry stare, which she simply deflects with a goofy, lopsided smile, making Liara instantly relent and sigh in reluctant acceptance of her fate.

"By the way, Jondum is going to join us too," Kasumi speaks, smiling fondly.

"Oh, excellent," Morgan says. "That's four of us. Where is he, by the way? Why do you never bring him with you?"

"He's sitting not far in a shuttle and looking out for potential trouble... not that we're expecting anything," Kasumi replies. "We got out several blocks away and made our way here on foot, just in case. Can't be too careful."

"Ah yes, I was wondering about that," Morgan nods. "I'll ask Tali and Garrus too... yes, it's risky to get them involved in something like this, in case it goes public, but... just the four of us against three dozen marines? I think we will need them."

"You could just take me with you, with my biotics you would not need Tali and Garrus," Liara suggests hopefully.

"Nice try, babe," Shepard shakes her head, quenching all Liara's hopes. "Sorry, but you're in the sixth month, and that belly is starting to really grow. If I took you with me on a mission right now, do you have any idea what your father would do to me? There wouldn't be anything of me left over for burial."

"...you might be correct about that, yes," the asari finally sighs, admitting defeat.

"One thing, Shep. We need to act on this real quick before they move her again... which they just might do," Kasumi suggests.

"First thing tomorrow morning?" Morgan asks. "I need to give heads-up to Tali and Garrus, anyway. Or... don't tell me, you wanted me to rush there **now**?"

"That would have been preferable," Miranda grumbles. "But I suppose you are right, it can wait that long. We will pick you up at 6am."

"No, I need to show up in a proper Alliance shuttle if I am to attempt diplomacy first. I'll call on Cortez again," Shepard decides. "You two, Bau, Tali and Garrus can follow me in another shuttle and land somewhere out of sight. I'll join you after I have stopped shouting uselessly at them, and then we can plan out the regrettably inevitable shooting..."

"That sounds acceptable, Commander," Miranda nods. "Well, since we need to be up early, we better disappear and let you grab a few hours of rest," she adds, rising from sofa. "Come on, Kasumi, let's get back to the shuttle."

"See how she's always bossing me around?" the petite thief grins, jumping to her feet and rushing after her friend. "Goodnight Shep, Liara!" she waves, dashing out of the house, having pulled her boots back on.

"Well... that was interesting," Shepard remarks, tiredly rubbing her brow, until she notices Liara giving her piercing and insistent gaze. "Uh... yes?"

"You still haven't told me who is going to be my... minder?" Liara scowls. "Cortez? Traynor? Perhaps Wrex?"

"Uh... actually, Aria already agreed to come down for a visit tomorrow," Morgan explains helpfully, then feeling a little worried as her bondmate looks more than just a little stunned.

"Aria? You... you want me to spend time with... Aria? After all that..." Liara swallows heavily, trying to recompose herself. "Why? Why Aria?" she only manages a while later.

"Err... why not? With her around, you two would be able to kick ass of anyone who tries something," Morgan ponders, rubbing her brow in confusion. "Or... wait, were we still supposed to be angry about that, uh, recording thing? I thought it was water under the bridge by now."

"Easy for you to say, you won't have to spend several hours alone with Aria," Liara gives Morgan a mildly annoyed glare. "Unless you want to trade places, that is."

"I wouldn't have any problems with that," Morgan shrugs. "And it sounds like it might actually be a good thing for you to spend some time with Aria, maybe you two can work out some of those issues between yourselves that Tevos spoke about."

"I don't have any issues with Aria that need... _working_ out!" Liara protests.

"So you don't actually have any arguments against spending time with her then," Morgan says, sighing when Liara still does not look convinced. "Okay, fine... I agree, that was a bit of a jerk move dropping it on you like that. I'm sorry, love... here, I'll cancel it," she says quickly, activating her omni-tool, yelping in surprise as Liara swiftly grabs her hand to stop her from sending the message.

"No, by the goddess, that would be exceedingly rude, you cannot do that to someone like Aria!" Liara shakes her head fervently. "It is... fine, I can deal with her, I'm sure. I just wish you had consulted me before making the decision. For that alone, I am tempted to make you sleep on the downstairs sofa tonight."

"But... that large upstairs bed will be cold without me keeping the other side warm," Morgan argues. "Imagine yourself rolling over to the other side and finding it unpleasantly cold. That would be simply horrible, no?"

"I will need a more persuasive argument to allow you to share my bed tonight, Shepard," Liara says imperiously, crossing arms on her chest and giving her a narrow-eyed, challenging stare.

"Uh... let me think," Morgan rubs her chin, thinking desperately. "Hey, you said that your feet were hurting from walking around so much earlier in the day. How does a long, gentle foot massage sounds to you, love?"

"Hmm... so you have been paying attention, that works in your favor," Liara appears ponderous, continuing to regard Shepard with a measuring stare, but then breaking out in a forgiving smile. "Very well, Shepard... I accept your terms. But this better be the best foot massage that I have ever received in my life..."

* * *

"So, Shepard... shooting it is?" Garrus asks, observing the Alliance bunker through the scope of his sniper rifle, sitting in relative safety on the roof of a partly collapsed administrative building couple of blocks away from the place where Singh's loyalists hold their captive.

Shepard has just returned from her brief visit to the bunker, brought back by the Normandy shuttle, having first made a wide loop to convince the bunker defenders that she has departed for good. Now, as she rejoins Garrus and the others in hiding, her face is creased with anger and disgust. "That LC is a brainwashed moron, that's for sure," she curses. "Makes sense, they wouldn't have entrusted this to someone whose loyalty they doubted. Still, I had hoped some of the marines would reconsider, because I certainly shouted loud enough for the entire bunker to overhear what were the consequences for following illegal orders, such as holding a civilian hostage."

"What did they respond to your accusations, Shepard?" Spectre Jondum Bau asks, standing next to Kasumi, the shorter human girl looking up at the taller salarian.

"They even denied that the Admiral's daughter was on the premises," Shepard snarls. "But Harris did not consent to showing me the entire facility, I don't even remember what he cited as grounds for denying my request. I'm guessing she's being held somewhere on the lower levels."

"I guess we should start doing some more serious recon then," Kasumi nods, not sounding her usual cheerful self as she pokes around the stealth generator of her suit, testing it.

"This must be really hard for you, Shepard," Tali says, climbing out of the nondescript grey brown shuttle with no ID that Bau has used to fly them all in. "They are all Alliance, same as you. Are you truly prepared to wipe them all out to the last and leave no witnesses?"

"Damn it, I don't want to, but I did give them a fair chance to reconsider!" Morgan exclaims, starting to pace around restlessly. "As for them being Alliance... I don't know, the Alliance I enlisted with didn't stand for things like these. If it did, I would have handed my uniform back long time ago."

"Try looking at them the same way as at the Cerberus troopers," Miranda speaks resolutely, last to leave the shuttle behind Tali. "They were indoctrinated by the Reaper tech, these bastards don't even have that as excuse, they are ruled by their greed, spinelessness and willful ignorance of the evil they are committing."

"Sometimes it's just very hard not to lose faith in humanity, Miranda," Shepard remarks, feeling angry about having ended up in a scenario she had hoped to never face again.

"I know what you mean, but we can't turn our backs on them. There's nothing inherently good or evil about any species in the galaxy, humans included, but everything that is decent about our people needs to be nurtured and preserv-"

"We've got movement!" Garrus suddenly shouts, interrupting Miranda's unexpectedly passionate speech. "Something's happening down there!"

"What?" Shepard blinks, grabbing her own Widow and peering through the scope. There is definitely something going on in the Alliance bunker, she can see that the massive gate has been lowered, even if for the moment nobody is emerging. "I don't get it-" just then, a loud burst of weapons fire can be overheard, coming from the facility.

"Is someone attacking them?" Tali asks, having to rely on the others to tell her what is happening. "Could it be the resistance or the mercenaries launching their own assault?"

"No, that is impossible," Miranda replies confidently, as they finally see one Alliance soldier running through the gate as if in a hurry to escape, but the fire coming from the bunker catches him and quickly mows the hapless bastard down. "Shepard, I think your appeal to their better nature was successful at least with some of the marines. Unfortunately, it seems as if their commanding officer has ordered to shoot deserters on sight."

"Damnation," Kasumi shakes her fists angrily. "Now I know why I've never trusted the military. Should we get down there and help those poor sods? We might be able to use the confusion as an opportunity to enter the compound amidst all this panic and shooting."

"No, we need to stick with our original plan," Morgan says, cringing, as she realizes that her decision means death sentence for those few Alliance soldiers whose conscience she has managed to awaken. _Going there didn't amount to much in the end, except that their blood won't be on my hands... at least not directly,_ she thinks to herself. "We still need to cut the comms and vid feeds, do careful recon... and most importantly, I need to change into something else, this N7 armor kind of gives me away," she says, turning to Miranda. "Did you bring something for me?"

"Of course I did, we brought the Kestrel pieces. I remember you being fond of that armor when we were taking down the Collectors," Miranda says, allowing herself a small smile.

"Excellent. You really do think of everything, Miri," Shepard says, heading back towards the shuttle for armor change, finding herself stopped by Kasumi.

"Shep, we should probably get started on that recon," the petite thief says. "I'll take Bau with me and we'll try to get as close as we can to learn about the bunker's defenses."

"Sure thing, Kasumi," Shepard nods, before disappearing into the cargo space of the shuttle. "Just be careful."

* * *

"Spirits, Earth is turning into Noveria," Garrus groans, watching the snowstorm intensifying around them as they carefully move towards the Alliance bunker, both the darkness and sudden shift in weather conditions providing them with the perfect cover.

"Not really British weather, but the climatic changes are really making this planet a lot less nicer than it supposedly once was," Morgan remarks, before turning back towards Kasumi. "So, under twenty, you say Kasumi? I think that's quite doable."

"Yeah, I think so. They're not really expecting trouble," Kasumi nods.

"I have been monitoring their communications," Spectre Bau says. "It is strange that they have not asked for reinforcements. We counted bodies of nine dead."

"Well, this Harris probably doesn't want to let his superiors know that he was forced to shoot his own men who threatened to walk out on him," Morgan shrugs. "So, you and Kasumi are heading for the control and comm room, disable everything and open the gate, right?"

"That's right, Shep. Then Miranda, Tali and Garrus can storm the main entrance and keep them distracted while we are already inside and working under their noses," Kasumi explains.

"And I'm heading right for the lower levels, disabling the guards there and springing the girl free," Morgan summarizes as they come in sight of the bunker, Miranda, Tali and Garrus slipping into the cover of some debris and fallen chunks of concrete, while the trio of infiltrators activate their cloaking and proceed towards the compound.

Hacking one of the surveillance cameras for just long enough to keep the break in signal innocuous, provides Kasumi with enough time to make a quick run-up, use Bau's linked arms as a trampoline from which to launch herself into a daring somersault, landing on top of the wall and then quickly helping both the salarian and the other human up. Once up on the wall, they activate their cloaking again and separate, Kasumi and her salarian boyfriend sneaking off to deal with the guards in the control room, while Shepard finds the hatch leading down into the lower levels of the compound, using the time when no patrols are in sight to drop down into a dark shaft.

For once luck is on Shepard's side, as she jumps down and lands directly next to a very surprised marine, patrolling the corridors. While he is still blinking rapidly in surprise at her sudden appearance, Shepard moves fast like lightning to suddenly step behind the marine, quickly ending his life_. Rear approach, hands to chin and base of skull, neck-snap. Thank you, Thane._

_'Opening the gate now, Shep. Free to proceed,'_ she reads the message, after her omni-tool has given a silent buzz to alert her. She begins to move through the basement level, looking for the hostage, eliminating the few single guard patrols in her way quietly and efficiently. There are several incarceration cells at the back of the lower levels, and the two guards camped outside one of them, currently chatting with a patrolling marine, having stopped by, easily gives away the location of the hostage.

For a while, Morgan remains cloaked, waiting for the patrolling marine to leave, but he does not move, the trio continuing to chat merrily. One of the marines is telling the others about his 'adventures' a few days ago, having come across a pair of asari, so starved that they had offered sexual favors in return for some rations. His description of the demeaning and humiliating encounter is as crude as Shepard expects it to be, but the revelation made through laughter that afterwards he had left the two asari without the promised supplies, draws such maddening ire from Shepard that for a moment her temples are throbbing so violently that she is unable to think properly, her feet carrying her stealthed shape towards the trio of chuckling bastards, the idiot who had tormented the asari finding Morgan's omni-blade sticking from his chest, the Carnifex in her left hand pressed against the brow of the other marine and she shoots without thinking, feeling some of the sputtering blood hitting her in the face, but she does not care.

The last of the guards is drawing his weapon and at the same time trying to activate his commlink, but Shepard is too fast, punching his hand aside before he manages to fire, the shot bouncing harmlessly from the wall. Her own shot from the Carnifex is not to kill, she aims for his left hand about to switch the comms on, the close discharge of the pistol taking off several of his fingers, making the traitorous scum cry out in agony. Shepard jerks forward with her head in the best krogan head-butt traditions, hitting the man in the face with her heavy helmet, smashing his nose and knocking out teeth. As he slumps against the doors, Shepard finally takes pity on him, unloading several shots of her pistol into his chest, the rapidly growing pool of his blood joining that of his fellows and beginning to stretch beyond the doors to the cell, where it's unfortunate inhabitant can be heard making muffled noises to attract attention to herself.

_'Target secured,'_ she quickly sends to Kasumi, starting to search for the passkey, but then realizing that she does not want to touch the bodies of the despicable men at her feet, she simply decides to shoot the lock open, and after very brief resistance it yields and the doors part.

_'Almost done here too, Shep. How many did you count?'_ Kasumi sends back.

_'Six,'_ she replies, stepping inside the cell. There is a shape of a gagged and tied young woman roughly tossed on a mat in the corner, and Morgan wastes no time in removing her gag and restraints. "Caitlyn McIllis?" she asks, receiving a frightened nod in reply. "It's okay, you're safe now. We're taking you to your father," Shepard adds, trying to calm the understandably shocked young woman down, her blonde hair is filthy and caked with dirt, and the odor that wafts over Morgan is overwhelming and almost makes her vomit, the admiral's daughter having been kept in terrible conditions, denying her even the most basic amenities to humiliate her.

"Who... who are you?" the young woman asks.

"It doesn't matter, Caitlyn," she replies, not itching to reveal her identity. "All that matters is that you're safe. They can't hurt you anymore."

"Are you with the resistance? Or one of the mercenaries?" the questions continue to pour even if Shepard is not really in the mood to indulge the girl's curiosity. "Did you just kill thirty Alliance soldiers just to free me?"

"Look, this isn't the time," Shepard says impatiently, grabbing the girl by the hand and pulling her along, ignoring her brief struggles. "It's kind of complicated to explain," she continues, leading Caitlyn towards the stairs out of the basement. "Someone was going to use you against your father, to control him and get him to do what they want. We're making sure that this won't happen. A shuttle will take you to Montreal as soon as you've recovered a little bit."

"But I don't understand... the resistance is fighting the Alliance, you would have no reason to help my father... and you can't be Alliance, you would have never killed dozens of your own in cold blood! I still want to know just who you are before I let you take me anywhere!"

_I've done worse than that, girl. Far worse. And I won't feel guilty about these lives taken, either, they had it coming. _"All clear," she hears Miranda's voice on the comms as she is still pondering what to reply to the admiral's daughter. "We're bringing in the shuttle, hurry up and get out," Lawson adds for her benefit, informing Morgan that Bau is already on his way back to the shuttle.

Miranda, Garrus and Tali await them by the gates as they emerge from the compound, corpses of surprised defenders of the bunker lying everywhere. Kasumi has already slinked into the shadows, discreetly staying out of sight as Shepard brings a rather stunned looking Caitlyn McIllis with her as she rejoins the others. "Everything went fine?" she asks, seeing Garrus respond with an abrupt nod.

"We sustained no injuries, while the opposing force has been eliminated to the last. Even though there shouldn't be any evidence to link back to us, I still think that it's safer to bomb this place to oblivion, just in case." Miranda replies, pointing at something in the shadows, where Morgan imagines Kasumi is working to set up explosives to detonate upon their withdrawal. Lawson then turns towards the rescued girl. "You must be Caitlyn. Your father is very worried about you, we will bring you to him as soon as possible."

"Yes, so I've been told," Caitlyn remarks, peering insistently at the visor of Shepard's helmet, looking deep into her eyes and maintaining the contact until she makes Morgan turn away, beginning to feel uncomfortable. "My god, I know who you are, I recognize you now. You're that war hero everyone talks about, Shepard... are you not? Nobody else could take out a whole squad of hardened marines with such a small team! And you were working with a team of aliens," she adds, looking at Garrus and Tali. "Gods... but you're Alliance! You killed three dozens of your fellow marines just to get to me? That's... crazy!"

"I would have expected a little more gratitude for getting rescued," Tali remarks, a little sourly.

"These people were holding someone innocent as a prisoner on obviously false charges, with the mere intent of using her to manipulate her father," Shepard says, a little angrily in face of the accusations. "They were not the Alliance I stand for, they were terrorists!"

The young woman lets out a bitter chortle, her face twisting in a sarcastic smile. "I don't know about the manipulating my father bit, that may very well be true... but here's something for you to consider, Commander Shepard. The charges they brought up against me were entirely valid. I did steal from our already small stash of medical supplies and sold them to the Blood Pack mercenaries. I hated living in these conditions, with my stomach growling each night while I tried desperately to find some sleep. With the help of the mercs I could trade in for very comfortable living quarters and more food than I could consume... yes, someone probably died from the lack of medical supplies because of this, but I would do it again, who cares if some salar-"

"Shepard!" Miranda exclaims in shock, watching the body of Caitlyn McIllis falling limply on the floor, unconscious from a heavy backhanded slap hard across the side of her face.

"Fuck this," Morgan snarls, angrily stomping away, rubbing her bloodied knuckles. "I'm out of here."


	143. Clearing The Air

_A/N: Work is really insane right now, and I hardly have any energy to prepare chapters for posting. Not to mention doing much reading and reviewing of other stories. But I'll try to maintain the schedule, since we're so close to the finish line. :) _

_The conversation between Liara and Aria was such a bear to wrestle. Hopefully it makes a tiny amount of sense. _

**Chapter 142 - Clearing The Air**

With a slowly growing sense of trepidation, Liara stands at the window of their Bradford dwelling, watching Aria slowly park her shuttle in the yard and then gracefully jumping out. The Pirate Queen stands in the yard for a while, looking around, before crossing the snowed-in patch to arrive at the doorstep and knocking insistently, forcing Liara to move from her spot. _I guess I'll have to let her in, after all, she already knows I'm at home. It would be most rude to insult Aria like that, but... why did Shepard have to ask her to come here now? Even Wrex or Grunt might have been less... potentially frustrating and intimidating company._

_It's not that I don't like Aria... she is... fascinating on some level, and I am very thankful for what she did for me and my baby, but... I'm just... never certain of what to expect from her, _Liara thinks, heading for the door._ I don't think I have to fear from her trying something untoward, but... she just likes to play these naughty, twisted games of hers, and they confuse and fluster me... I hate feeling like I'm not in control... which I suppose is the entire point of her distracting antics. _

"Having second thoughts about letting me into your little love nest, T'Soni?" Aria grins broadly, after Liara finally opens the door, having made the other asari wait a few moments longer than is considered polite.

"I'm sorry, I was distracted," Liara replies, trying to remain calm and tactful. "Come on in, Aria."

The Pirate Queen steps inside, looking around carefully. "And you live here?" she wonders, not hiding her disdain. "What a shithole. Almost as dreadful as the view outside. How can you prefer this to living in comfort on the Citadel?"

"Well, Shepard is here," Liara smiles softly as she replies.

"How sweet," Aria's voice is lightly mocking. "And the planet outside? I thought it was a dump before, but somehow it's even worse when covered with snow. I hate snow."

"Then it seems as if you have something in common with Shepard," Liara grins.

"Actually, I've come to realize that I have quite a lot in common with your Commander, T'Soni," Aria winks with her sole good eye. "At first I did not understand why she invited me all of a sudden, but it appears she is away on some mission that she was irritatingly tight-lipped about?"

"Yes, she is saving the daughter of an Alliance admiral, held hostage on the orders of other Alliance admirals... yes, I know it doesn't makes sense, but... the situation here is very fragile and confusing, trust me."

"The galaxy has never been as bloody as after the human emergence on the scene," Aria remarks thoughtfully. "I can't say I'm surprised that the Reaper War has not sated their desire to continue on with the slaughter. And Shepard is in the thick of it, as usual."

"She doesn't want to be! This is not what she wants at all!" Liara exclaims passionately.

"Then you must get away her from this place, or she will continue to become dragged into these conflicts. For your own sakes, I hope she will agree to move to Thessia."

"She already has agreed," Liara nods, eyeing Aria suspiciously. "What's your stake in this?"

"My stake?" Aria wonders innocently. "I'd just rather make friendly visits to Thessia than to this shithole called Earth. That is all."

"On that we are in agreement," Liara smiles, then realizing that they are both still standing in the middle of the living room, pointing at the sofa and urging Aria to take a seat. "Goddess, I am such a terrible host! Can I offer you anything at all, Aria?"

"Well... if you have anything alcoholic, that would be just great," Aria grins.

_Hmm, I wonder if getting drunk won't make her bold enough to try something inappropriate. Or maybe it could knock her out... in any case, she could deplete Morgan's booze supply and then my occasionally frustrating bondmate would have nothing left to indulge her boozing habits with... that seems like a good idea, actually!_ "Oh yes, I believe that Shepard still has some bottles of whiskey left," she says quickly, watching Aria's eye lighting up in anticipation. "I'm sure she won't mind if I shared some with you, especially when you were so kind to agree to play my bodyguard for a few hours."

"Your bodyguard, hmm?" Aria frowns a little, obviously slightly irritated that Liara has unwittingly relegated her to a subservient position. "I think you have mixed something up there... but, I'll take that drink, anyway," she pulls the bottle from Liara's hands, pouring herself a glass and then sniffing the contents delicately before tasting it. "This feels... very strange. Like drinking liquid smoke..."

"Yes, I have heard it is quite the acquired taste," Liara nods, taking a seat on the sofa a respectable distance away from Aria. "I have not tried it myself. Human alcoholic beverages are generally too strong for me to consume, and right now I would rather not experiment with strange concoctions, the effects of which I cannot be certain of."

"It's... interesting, I think I could grow to like this," Aria smiles, taking one sip after another.

"Well, there's more where this came from," Liara adds, sensing a glorious opportunity to free Shepard from her slight whiskey addiction.

"That's what I like to hear, T'Soni," Aria adds, her lips forming a wide grin as she turns to Liara. "So... how's the pregnancy progressing? Everything fine?" she asks, suddenly reaching out and pressing an open palm against Liara's bulging belly, the younger asari freezing momentarily, then relaxing a little and managing a nervous smile.

"It has been going very well, according to my doctor," Liara explains happily, deciding to ignore Aria's palm still resting against her stomach, anticipating the baby to give her a kick or a poke. "Of course, we both know who is to thank for all this progress-"

"I hope you still remember what I said about hating gratitude," Aria cuts her of sharply.

"Of course, Aria, I would not dare to insult you," Liara offers a conciliatory smile in reply. "But the bond between me and my child grows and strengthens every day, and the doctors are starting to feel much more confident about our chances."

"Well, that is good to know," Aria nods, finally withdrawing her hand. Then the smile on her lips becomes slightly more twisted. "And how did you enjoy my _other_ generous gift?"

Liara wants to deny ever having received it, or opening and watching the vid, but she is well aware that the immediate blush on her cheeks gives her away and it is all too clear for Aria to see. "You are a horrible, horrible asari, do you know that, Aria?" she asks, trying to sound stern and reprimanding. "I do not think that the poor councilor is aware of what you have done even now!"

"She doesn't know, no, and I am saving that revelation for a special occasion," Aria's grin only broadens.

"Aren't you worried she will be mad?" Liara asks, confused.

Aria only bursts into laughter in response. "You don't know the precious Councilor Tevos at all, do you? Well, maybe she will be a little bit mad. But above everything, she'll be incredibly turned on by it all. We'll have an amazing night of carnal delights once I let that little piece of information slip to her..."

Liara flushes an even deeper shade of purple. "That's... much more information than I cared to know..."

"You didn't answer my question whether you liked it or not?" Aria reminds her.

"We never watched it," Liara blurts out, so unconvincingly, that it makes herself cringe.

Aria laughs aloud again. "You are such a terrible liar, T'Soni. I know for certain that you had memorable time with it."

"Perhaps we did have fun with it, yes," Liara finally admits, watching Aria's expression becoming extra smug. "I still don't understand what you're trying to achieve, Aria. What do we have to do for you to stop playing these ludicrous games?"

"Are you telling me that you don't find my subtle messing with your heads exciting and stimulating?" Aria asks, mock-pouting. "I should feel very insulted right now, T'Soni."

"Well..." Liara starts, her thoughts returning back to that night when they had watched the vid that Aria had provided them with, her mouth becoming dry and parched from the mere memory of the ecstasy she and Shepard had driven each other to, spending most of the night in deep, exhausting but highly rewarding mating melds. _Goddess, if I hadn't mapped her DNA on Tuchanka already, I probably would have done so then._ "Okay, I cannot deny that it has been... exciting on some level. But also highly embarrassing and confusing!"

"We're stuck in this shitty system with nothing to do, food supplies dwindling rapidly, political situation spiraling out of control, the relay repairs encountering delays," Aria recounts the unpleasant summary of their circumstances. "T'Soni, I think we all need something to distract ourselves with, just to be able to push the irritating realities of the situation out of our minds for a while. So, I've managed to entertain myself by messing with you and Shepard, and I think you have benefitted from it as well."

"I... suppose there is some truth to your words," Liara is forced to concede, albeit a little reluctantly. "But are you certain that Tevos is as fine with you playing these twisted mind games as you thinks she is?" Liara asks then, her voice more serious.

"Tevos and I have an arrangement that you do not need to concern yourself with, T'Soni," Aria replies imperiously, brushing off Liara's inquiry.

"Did you... did you tell her about the way you helped me?" Liara asks quietly.

"I did," Aria replies, Liara giving her an inquisitive stare when the Pirate Queen does not elaborate further. "She approves, of course. What did you think? She cares about you a great deal, you know how much she looked up to your mother and her teachings. She still often gushes about how Benezia's words have shaped her as a person and helped her career."

"She just... does not seem like someone who would react well to this kind of... uh, whatever it is that you're doing..."

"As I said before, there's a side to Tevos that you don't know, T'Soni. I mean, she's the asari councilor in a scandalous relationship with a criminal warlord. That alone should tell you everything you need to know," Aria smirks.

"Perhaps, but..." Liara muses, thinking how to best phrase herself in order not to insult Aria with her presumptions. "I mean... you have a certain... reputation, aside from being a criminal warlord. Uh, what I mean is... rumors about your... conquests of a different kind," she manages, blushing furiously. "I know you try to downplay the seriousness of your involvement with Tevos, but... have you taken on any other lovers after reuniting with her?"

"That sort of inquiry borders insulting pertinence once again, T'Soni," Aria gives her a mildly annoyed stare, but then her face softens a little. "But I will humor you. No, I have not taken any other lovers since then, not a single one."

"Well, I think that means something, Aria," Liara smiles warmly.

"Maybe it does, Liara," Aria replies quietly, surprising the younger asari by using her name for once. "It probably does, but... we shall see. It changes things, but I'm still trying to work out how much."

"Oh, I think you've changed a lot, Aria... you're just struggling to give up the last of your old ways," Liara says knowingly, but what happens next comes as a complete shock. Aria suddenly grips her chin in her palm and turns Liara to face her, the younger asari finding the Pirate Queen's lips pressed against her own in a light kiss. Liara does not respond, but neither does she immediately try to push Aria away.

"Do not be so certain, T'Soni," Aria hisses as she pulls away, Liara not daring to even breathe. "And do not speak as if you know me, I will not tolerate it coming from you, you have no right. You have not earned it, not yet."

"I... I'm sorry, I... meant no disrespect," Liara mutters quietly, still keeping her eyes closed, remaining slightly stunned, but realizing that Aria has every right to be insulted with her behavior, it is unbecoming of a maiden of her tender age to make such intimate assumptions about a matron's actions and motives.

"Very well, I shall let it pass, this time," Aria agrees magnanimously. She gives Liara another piercing stare, the young scientist nervously tugging at the edge of her tunic, as if trying to anticipate just how the elder asari will attempt to unsettle her again. "Ah, I can't have a conversation with you like this, T'Soni," Aria finally gives up with a sigh. "I can imagine what is making you this jumpy. You must have thought that in return for helping you, I would ask for something like sexual favors? Confess, you did think that."

"I... ah... that thought might have crossed my mind," Liara finally admits in a small voice, blushing furiously.

"Enjoyable as it might be, T'Soni... to even think that I, Aria T'Loak, would have to force someone into intimacy is insulting to me and my reputation," Aria scowls deeply as she speaks. "I only accept such tribute when it is freely given, and not under any other circumstances," her hand moves to gently rub Liara's swelling belly. "Besides... while I know that many find the idea of coupling with a pregnant partner very arousing... I do not count myself amongst those people. In fact, I find it a little off-putting."

_Gah, she could have told me that earlier and saved me a lot of frustrations!_ Liara thinks at herself, sighing inwardly. _But well, that's Aria for you, she thinks I enjoy being tormented like this._ "And here I almost suggested that you and Tevos should consider following our example," she remarks then, Aria's reply stunning her again.

"Who knows, we might at that. It wouldn't be our first together."

"...what?" Liara blinks.

"Tevos was Liselle's father, Liara," Aria explains, her voice becoming more tender. "She couldn't carry a child because of the implications our relationship would have had upon her political career. Which really was the reason why we fell apart all those centuries ago. That, and the pressure from our respective clans."

"So... that's what you meant by catching up on ancient history!" Liara exclaims, the pieces of the puzzle falling back into place.

"You remembered, good," Aria nods. "Still, I wanted something from our relationship even as we were forced to break it off. So, I chose to conceive a child with her during our last night together. I wanted to have something to look upon and remember what we were forced to give up, something that would constantly remind me why I hated those conceited matriarchs back on Thessia, with their snobbishness and prejudices."

"What did Tevos do when she found out that you were pregnant?"

"Oh, she was aware that I was mapping her DNA, " Aria shakes her head, emptying her glass of whiskey and then quickly reaching out for a refill. "She agreed to it, on the condition that I promised to send our daughter to Thessia once she came of age so that she could receive the best education available. In the end, I broke that promise, because I did not want to see Liselle fall under the influence of the matriarchs. Tevos was mad about that, of course. I never gave her the opportunity to meet her daughter... I guess you could say that I have been treating her pretty shitty," the Pirate Queen sighs, taking a few more swigs of the whiskey.

"Well, you seem to be making up for it if that vid you sent to us is anything to go by," Liara remarks boldly, earning herself a little pinch on the cheek as Aria chuckles well naturedly.

"Dropping that innocent act, are you now?" she grins at Liara. "I knew you were playing a game of your own, T'Soni. But yeah, after that bastard Leng killed Liselle... I wrote to Tevos. The words I received in return... they stung, I still remember them to this very day, even if she urges me to forget them. And when I showed up on the Citadel, she... was not best pleased at first. But somehow, that old spark got rekindled somehow. And here we are."

"I know you're not going to mess it up the second time around, Aria," Liara smiles tenderly, feeling deeply moved that Aria has shared a part of her past with her.

"I have no intention of doing that. But now you know that there are reasons why I would never do anything to hurt Tevos."

"So all these games you're playing..."

"There has always been a line drawn that you have not know about, T'Soni... not until now," Aria winks at her. "That line is Tevos' comfort zone. Whatever I might have said earlier... I will never cross that."

"I... see..." Liara lets out a huge sigh of relief, then noticing that the bottle of whiskey is getting close to empty, jumping up from the sofa. "I'll get more whiskey for you, Aria!" she offers quickly. _Pfew... at least the booze got her to reveal something that brings me some peace of mind... now, perhaps this next bottle will knock her out for good... _

* * *

The first thing that Shepard notices as she returns home late in the evening are the two empty bottles of Lagavulin, looming on the table in the living room. Blinking, she points at the bottles and speaks in a distressed, disbelieving voice. "What the... how did that happen?"

"Aria happened to it," Liara says, not feeling particularly regretful about Shepard being denied her booze supply.

"Well, at least there should still be a full bottle left in the drinks cabinet," Morgan breathes in relief.

"Uh... it's not exactly full," Liara shrugs. "There's a little over half left."

"Argh! You're not supposed to drink whiskey like it was juice or water!" Shepard fumes. "You consume it slowly, savoring every sip. That sodding Aria! Where is she, anyway?"

"I helped her upstairs to the guest bedroom. She was a little exhausted and felt like taking a small nap."

"I'm not bloody surprised, after going through all that whiskey. How long has she been out then?"

"Little over an hour..."

"Damn it, she was supposed to look after you in case someone tried to stir trouble, not get drunk and pass out!" Shepard complains.

"Well, it has been perfectly peaceful around here, so you need not worry," Liara smiles. "How did the mission go, is everything alright, did you rescue that poor girl?"

"Yeah. We did," Morgan grunts, making those few steps to the drinks cabinet, opening it and despite Liara's regretful sigh, pouring herself half a glass of the amber liquid. "Damn it, there's less than a half, I think! Sorry, but I kinda really need it right now, babe," she adds, noticing Liara crossing her arms over her chest and giving her a reproachful stare. "Been thinking about getting a stiff drink ever since we wrapped things up in London."

"But you said that everything went well?" Liara wonders.

"Well, yeah, but the girl... was a complete and utter bitch," Morgan snarls, taking a sip of the whiskey before continuing. "She recognized me and then made these insinuating comments, asking me how does it feel for an Alliance officer to kill thirty of her fellow marines to rescue someone who actually _had_ been guilty of stealing much needed resources in order to secure a more comfortable living for herself!"

"Goddess... that's horrible! Why would anyone... ah, I really should stop making these naive exclamations, shouldn't I?" Liara then turns somber. "I know very well that most people are acting purely with their own interests in mind first, be it humans or any other species. I imagine my father has her hands full, trying to fight these sorts of petty urges to make profit from the misfortune of others."

"I don't know, we humans tend to really excel at this sort of thing," Morgan says bitterly. "I mean, we helped to cultivate the image of asari as being very stuck up and thinking themselves superior to everyone else, but the asari never came up with anything like the abomination that was Cerberus to try and enforce their superiority upon everyone else. I could make countless examples like that to put humanity in horrible light. And with the batarians nearly gone... there's nobody who could put us in a flattering view by comparison anymore. It's a matter of time until they throw us out of the Council, I bet."

"Nonsense, you're just upset over what happened with the admiral's daughter, Morgan. You don't really mean what you're saying right now," Liara says soothingly, coming closer and embracing her tenderly, Shepard feeling herself relaxing a little from her bondmate's touch, especially the way Liara's swelling belly presses against her.

"Yeah, I suppose so," Morgan replies hoarsely, gently hugging Liara in return. "Miri used the resistance network to let Hackett's people know that they'll be delivering the girl to her father shortly. Not long after that I got a message from Hackett. He said he was going to stop by tomorrow morning. Said we had a lot to discuss."

"Surely he must be feeling grateful about the assistance with the admiral's daughter?" Liara asks.

"Yeah, you'd think so," Morgan nods. "Anyway, was everything fine with Aria? She didn't cause too much trouble, I hope?"

"No, I... ah, think that we... came close to reaching an understanding on some issues," Liara replies in a way that doesn't really explain anything to Morgan, but she decides against a more thorough interrogating of her bondmate right now.

"Come to think of it, I'm feeling really ravenous, haven't had anything to eat all day," Morgan then realizes, her stomach rumbling and growling ferociously. "There's got to be some crap food left around here," she says, stepping into the kitchen. "Babe, we need to take a day off and go to the Citadel again, get some decent grub for once. Miranda told me about this elcor restaurant that serves the best lasagna in all of the Council space."

"I do not believe I am familiar with that particular dish," Liara remarks, following her into the kitchen.

"It's very... filling, not sure it's to the asari tastes, but-... uh, sorry, incoming vid call," Morgan says, activating her omni-tool and accepting the call as soon as she sees the source, the image of the always impeccably dressed and composed Councilor Tevos appearing before their eyes. _Well, maybe not always as neatly dressed and composed, like in that vid, writhing naked on the bed, moaning from all those amazing things Aria was doing to her,_ Shepard remembers vividly, the memory making her blush before they have even exchanged a single word.

"Good evening Commander, Liara," Tevos greets them, ever politely. "Was my call at an inconvenient time?" she asks, as Shepard notices that Liara is also blushing, probably for the same reason as she is. "I apologize if that is the case."

"No... no, it's perfectly fine, we were just about to have a small meal," Shepard says hurriedly. _Try not to think of the councilor naked, try not to think of the councilor naked, you can do this, Shepard,_ she mentally tells herself.

"In that case, I will keep this short," Tevos smiles, obviously not quite believing them, considering the way they both had been flushing. "Have you seen my... err, I meant to say, have you perhaps seen Aria?"

As Shepard struggles not to grin like a fool, Liara is the first to reply. "I'm afraid she had a little too much to drink, Councilor. It would not be advisable for her to take the shuttle back to the Citadel tonight, or else there is a great chance of her crashing it into the Earth's moon or worse."

If Tevos is slightly disappointed, she does not show it. "Yes, I believe that is for the best. She will likely fly back only in the morning, in that case."

"Well, she did insist on taking only a short nap, but from the way she is snoring, I do not think she is going to wake up anytime soon," Liara smiles. "And I would rather not risk finding out how irritable Aria can be if awakened prematurely."

"As always, you show much wisdom, Liara," Tevos adds, smiling as well. "In that case, I will wish you a pleasant evening. And I hope you will forgive me saying that I sorely miss your company. If you ever come to the Citadel, I would welcome the opportunity to meet you both. And so would Aria, I'm sure."

"We were just talking about going to the Citadel in one of the coming days," Shepard says, picking up a package of MREs and displaying it to Tevos. "Getting a little tired of these things, you know. So... maybe we can take advantage of that dinner invitation?"

"That would be marvelous," Tevos looks very pleased. "Give me a warning at least a day in advance, and I will make all the preparations. Shepard, Liara... it was good talking with you again. Enjoy the rest of your evening," she says, before terminating the connection.

"Hopefully they will take Falere and Rila with them," Liara adds, after Shepard has switched off her omni-tool. "I would love to see them, and they would stop Aria from saying terrible and inappropriate things."

"It certainly would... if that is what it want," Shepard remarks innocently.

"What do you mean?" Liara asks. "You enjoy her... messing around with us, as she calls it?"

"I don't really know, I'm rather confused about the whole deal or about her intentions. But it keeps the depression away. And... well, it has provided us with some... memorable moments, you have to admit that..."

Liara blushes deeply again. "Yes... I can't really deny that."

"You know, I just hope for one thing..." Shepard says, tearing the MREs pack open. "That by the time we get to this dinner with Aria and Tevos, I would have found a way to erase these mental images of the Councilor being stark naked every time I look at her."

"I confess being faced with exactly the same problem," Liara grins, shaking her head. "You know... I have come to realize that having an active imagination can be as much of a curse as it can be a blessing..."


	144. The Real Truth Behind The Reaper War

_A/N: A certain word in this chapter was attacked by a thesaurus. I'm referring to the synonym of a word 'exclaim'. :P _

_Also, if you're surprised about a certain familiar face missing from the Alliance smear job report... just remember, something needs to be saved for the inevitable sequel. ;) _

**Chapter 143 - The Real Truth Behind The Reaper War**

Admiral Hackett at least has the decency not to arrive at some ungodly hour of the morning, the shuttle landing as the chrono shows barely past 10am with Liara and Shepard sitting in the kitchen and trying to pretend that they are enjoying chewing down the all too familiar ration bars. Shepard is drinking the foul smelling near-coffee, while Liara makes due with pure water, at least something they have an abundant supply of.

Hackett joins them in the kitchen for the time being, wisely deciding against Morgan's offer of coffee, remaining standing, pacing around a little nervously, while his two hosts finish their less than enjoyable meal. "Things are rapidly beginning to turn in a direction where I hoped that they would never end up going," he says eventually. "Admiral McIllis is reunited with his daughter, and now firmly on our side, but this has cut us off from any communications with Singh and the Third and First Fleets. That relationship has been deteriorating from day one, and now we have arrived at the point where we are no longer talking. I wonder how far we are from open hostilities. They must believe that yesterday's attack was a prelude of what is to come."

"Would you prefer that we had handled it differently?" Morgan asks.

"No, absolutely not, it was crucial to bring Admiral McIllis on our side," Hackett says. "And whoever was responsible for the attack did well to cover their tracks. They will try to pin the blame on the resistance, I'm sure, because that is what they always do when they have no proof. If they had the proof that you were somehow involved, Shepard... this could have gone wrong in a number of ways."

"Well, they say I'm pretty good at what I do, and so are the people I work with," Morgan shrugs.

"Yes, I meant to speak to you about that," Hackett continues. "I know that you have served with this Miranda Lawson aboard the Normandy while the ship was flying under Cerberus colors. She has done us many favors after cutting her ties with Cerberus, but how much do you really trust her? And can I trust her?"

"Well, I do trust her, actually," Shepard says, Liara nodding fervently in support. "I think that she is fighting for all the right reasons."

"You are aware that she is also working for Admiral Singh, correct?"

"I am aware that she maintains the illusion of working for Admiral Singh. She is playing so many sides in this conflict that I won't pretend of being able to keep track..."

"That's what worries me," Hackett admits. "Aside from our talk yesterday, when she informed me about Caitlyn McIllis, we have had a few more discussions with her. She appears... very reasonable, logical and practical, expresses great disdain for unnecessary time-wasting protocol, she is very shrewd and I gather, also ruthless."

"Yes, I would say Miranda is all that and more. Why?"

"Those qualities make her a highly dangerous woman to deal with, unless I can be fully certain that I can trust her. In my place, would you trust her, Shepard?"

"I think I would, yes. She brought me back from the dead without messing anything up too badly, even if she could have changed me in a number of ways," Morgan nods.

"I gave Shepard's body to her, because she claimed that she could bring Morgan back to life," Liara speaks quietly. "She did not let me down in that. Of course, I would trust her with almost anything."

"Understood. That helps to bring a great deal of perspective," Hackett speaks, looking a little relieved. "She does all the negotiating between the Alliance and the resistance, at least in the territories that we control. Which makes me believe that she is very close to the leadership of the resistance. We still don't know who are those people in charge, and that worries me a little bit. The Terra Firma associations are not comforting, considering the origins of Cerberus. I... know this is asking a lot, but... has she let it slip in a private conversations who these leaders of the resistance might be?"

"No, not once, and that's the truth," Morgan speaks solemnly. "I'm not sure where exactly she stands with the resistance. I only knew that she was playing the double agent role with Singh."

Hackett sighs. "Well, at least they do not make unreasonable demands. And the resistance intel about a secret supply storage facility in the Arizona desert proved very accurate. We have been able to increase the weekly food allotment by a large margin as a result, and the population has responded favorably, allowing us to gain a more stable foothold. I'm not sure I can believe that Singh and the others know locations of more such depots and would not disclose them, however."

Morgan sighs inwardly. "Because they have been so trustworthy about everything so far, right?"

"A fair point," Admiral Steven Hackett admits. "I wish I had more time to look into every lead and concern, but simply keeping control of the North American theater takes so much effort that I can barely follow what is happening elsewhere. At least the heavy presence of our alien allies here in the British Isles keeps Singh's people under control. He doesn't want to antagonize the Council on top of being at war with almost every other faction already."

"At least you have some parts of the planet secured and slowly rebuilding, right?" Morgan asks.

"Yes, while the Blood Pack controls most of the West Coast and the resistance still holds on to key cities like Chicago and Detroit, we are actually now working together on several projects, instead of battling each other. The mercenaries in particular are interested in swift mass relay repairs, having realized that there is not much trade to ply here on Earth, itching to get back to Terminus."

At this moment, as if on cue, Aria T'Loak chooses to appear, stumbling into the kitchen a little underdressed, wearing a tight black tank top and matching black panties, looking very disheveled from those two downed bottles of whiskey. "Gah... my head..." she groans, not noticing Hackett and the stunned expression on his face.

"Sit down, Aria, I'll pour you some of this tasty near-coffee," Morgan quickly pulls the asari down into the free chair at the table and passes her the foul tasting mug which Aria regards with understandable distrust. "I know it smells god-awful, but it'll cure your hangover."

As Aria finally dares to accept the cup and take a sip, wincing from the bitter taste, Liara speaks up. "Aria, dear, we have a guest, in case you didn't notice," she points at Hackett, staring at the Pirate Queen with clear suspicion.

"Madame T'Loak, what a surprise," he finally says.

"And who the fuck are y-..." Aria begins with her customary charm and grace, before cutting herself short, her foggy brain finally comprehending who stands in front of her. "Oh yes, you're that damned nosy admiral who had the audacity to insist that I'm having something to do with those idiot mercs shooting people on Earth."

"Are you still denying that, Aria?" Hackett asks, glaring a little.

"Of course I am, you old fool," Aria groans. "I couldn't give a shit what they do with this dump or the people living in this squalor. As soon as you fix those damnable relays, I'll be out of here and out of your hair. Also... stop shouting, my head... still hurts. Why didn't you warn me about this whiskey stuff, T'Soni?" she hisses angrily at Liara.

"Would you have believed me if I had warned you?" Liara asks.

"Of course not, I would have finished off that last bottle as well, just to impress you," Aria replies frankly. "Anyway... did I interrupt something important?"

"I think we had managed to cover the most sensitive topics before you announced your presence, Madame T'Loak," Hackett says, then turning back to Morgan. "Do I even want to hear what a known criminal like Aria T'Loak is doing in your home, Shepard?"

"We invited her to come visit us," Shepard shrugs. _And if you have a problem with that, you can go tell it to someone who cares,_ she thinks, deciding against voicing those thoughts aloud. "You can trust Aria when she says that the conflicts on Earth hold no interest whatsoever to her."

"Yes, well, I'll keep that in mind, Shepard," Hackett says, a little uneasily, looking as if he wants to suddenly make a run for it, fearing that mere moments spent in Aria's company would irreversibly ruin his reputation. "There's just one thing I wanted to warn you about, Commander. We are working on setting up an alternative Alliance news channel in Washington, but for now, Singh intends to use the Geneva facilities for a massive PR campaign. Or, I should say, massive smear job. I believe that we both will be targeted."

"I heard about something being planned, yes," Morgan nods. "But there's little we can do to stop it. I don't think you made a mention of this as a subtle hint that I should head over to Geneva and shoot some paparazzi or something."

"Don't see anything wrong about that plan," Aria mutters, sipping her coffee and gently rubbing her temples. "Used to have some special contests at hunting down journalists who tried to sneak onto Omega to get some insider scoop on me, bastards, the lot of them."

"No, good grief, we don't need you doing anything like that, Commander," Hackett looks a little worried now. "I am simply mentioning it because if this PR campaign proves effective, you might find your safety here compromised. We have placed many of our agents here in the surrounding districts to watch out for any trouble that might be stirring, but... well, just be careful, Shepard, you and Liara both."

"Thank you, Admiral Hackett," Liara nods her head.

"Yeah, appreciate the warning, sir," Morgan agrees. _Even if I already knew all about those plans. Damn, maybe we should leave while we can? Hate to be seen running, though, it would just make those accusers think that it proves them right..._

"That's all I had to say, Commander. Ladies," he bows to Liara and Aria, turning back to Morgan. "Remain seated, Shepard, I'll show myself out. We'll talk again soon, I'm sure."

"See, it's like I told you already, Shepard. You should move to the Citadel, and afterwards when those scientists finally get around to fixing the damned relays, just make straight for Thessia," Aria nods sagely. "I hear that most of the particularly irritating matriarchs have perished in the fighting, thank the Reapers for that, so maybe it'll be a less stuck up and more pleasant place to hang out."

"It might just come to that, Aria," Shepard agrees with a heavy heart. "It might just come to that. I'd just hate to leave Earth in the state it is in now... political turmoil, with complete morons close to seizing control and ruining everything we have fought for."

"Well... I've heard those relay repairs will take at least four to five more months," Aria shrugs. "Plenty of time to get rid of all the idiots and sort things out, I say..."

* * *

In the dark of the night, the only sounds she can hear is the slightly labored breath of her bondmate, Liara twisting and turning in her sleep, the ever expanding belly making it harder for her to find a comfortable position, the baby also beginning to treat her to a rare kick or two. Morgan has spent the past few hours turning from one side to another, readjusting her pillow, feeling herself starting to sweat from anxiety, tossing the bedsheets aside, then immediately starting to freeze and pulling them back on again, eventually finding that her heart is beating at too elevated pace for her to even stand any chance of falling asleep.

_All the fault of that stupid Alliance news report,_ she thinks. That 'Real Truth Behind The Reaper War' stupidity had been scheduled to be broadcasted several hours ago, and Liara had forbidden her to watch it, obviously fearing it would make her too upset, but not seeing it has somehow made it all worse. She simply cannot stop thinking about what might have been said about her, the actions she has taken during the war, and other things that could cast her in unfavorable light. _And there's actually a lot to criticize, god knows, I have certainly found plenty of fault with my own decisions. Well... at least I don't hear a crowd armed with pitchforks gathering outside of our house, so maybe it wasn't so bad after all..._

Trying to calm herself down with that thought, she tries to settle into the pillows again, willing herself to finally fall asleep, but fifteen minutes later she rises back up in a sitting position, throwing the sheets off, finding herself disgustingly sweaty and anxious again. _Damn, I can't do it, I need to see it, and I need to see it now, _she decides, quietly slipping out of the bed without waking Liara, gathering her clothes and bringing the heap along with her as she leaves the bedroom and descends downstairs to the living room.

She switches on the news channel and turns the volume down so as not to alert Liara, then quickly finishing to dress herself, beginning to freeze again. Before settling down on the sofa, she walks over to the drinks cabinet and takes out the last bottle of Lagavulin, lamenting how little is left, silently cursing Aria again._ I'll certainly need this to get through that hour of propaganda, _she thinks, pouring herself the drink. Having settled in, she quickly browses through the news archives, selecting the broadcast she is looking for.

After the presenter, some dark haired busty tramp called Diana, has dramatically announced the purpose behind this illuminating and otherwise stimulating show, the reporter proceeds to introduce the audience with the panel of experts gathered to analyze the events of the Reaper War. There are six humans, four of them hiding behind the self-important plaque of 'war analyst' meaning that they know shit of what they are talking about, Shepard certainly doesn't know them and has never heard about any of these 'experts'. Then there is some young woman, former secretary of the humanity's councilor Donnell Udina, obviously a very trusted source. And finally, there is one of Singh's pocket admirals, Alexei Mayorov. Shepard remembers him just vaguely as someone who had been dragged quickly through the ranks by being a personal yes-man of that old bastard Mikhailovich.

Having mysteriously mentioned some surprise guests who will for now remain unannounced, this Diana Allers proceeds with getting the show on the road. "The woman spearheading this war effort, Alliance Commander Morgan Shepard, obviously deserves the deepest respect and recognition for her heroic efforts. But even as we honor the brave Commander Shepard, we cannot stop but to look at our devastated, almost uninhabitable planet and ask ourselves... perhaps, this all could have been handled differently, without over 60% of the galactic population wiped out, the losses of the humanity by far the most severe?"

_I guess she couldn't be bothered to remember the batarians. They're just like dust in the wind by now. And yeah, I'm sure it could have been handled differently. The first time that the ancient cycle has been broken... and you want to criticize those who were responsible for ending it? Yeah... makes sense,_ Morgan chuckles inwardly, taking a swig from her glass, then noticing that she has several unread notifications on her omni-tool. As Allers continues her intro, she quickly switches her omni on and checks the messages. There's a few dozen of them, all very similar. 'Don't watch that nonsense, really, don't bother,' from Garrus. 'Shepard, do yourself a favor and ignore that broadcast, trust me on this,' Tali is sending. There are many messages like these, from Samantha, Cortez, Kasumi and the others, and their support makes her feel warmer, even as she knows that she will keep watching the show now that she has come this far.

At Diana's invitation, the panel of experts now all one by one answer the question of whether they believe that this war could have been won more efficiently. The so called 'war analysts' all answer affirmatively, while at the same time maintaining a level of respect for Shepard's actions, appearing unwilling to be too critical, perhaps fearing that too much immediate slandering of the famous Shepard would put them in a bad light. Mayorov is the only one who allows himself a slightly more different way of expressing his obviously well prepared replies. "When Commander Shepard abandoned the battle for Earth, she did so with the intent of finding allies amongst the galactic races that would help humanity retake Earth. In that respect, I suppose, it would be hard to criticize Shepard and her achievements."

"But...? I have a feeling that there is something you are not telling us, Admiral," Allers asks.

"It seems to me that some of the decisions were taken too hastily, without considering long term consequences. Especially in light of conveniently discovering this Prothean super-weapon that was able to reduce the Reapers to nothing but memories... one would ask, given the knowledge of having such powerful means to eradicate the Reapers at our disposal, did we really need to give up so much to ensure alliances with untrustworthy allies like krogan, the Terminus mercenaries or the geth?"

"You believe that the victory could have been achieved without giving these factions large concessions?" the presenter asks.

"Of course. We simply needed to focus more on deploying this super-weapon sooner before the Reapers had moved the Citadel to the Sol System," Mayorov replies confidently.

"Considering your rank within the Alliance military, some might ask whether you were not privy to this information and could not have influenced the decisions that were made?"

"I'm afraid it was not so simple, Diana," Mayorov shakes his head. "Rear Admiral Steven Hackett kept most of this information well hidden even from his fellow admirals, citing indoctrination threat as a reason to share it with as few as possible. Shepard was one of the very few who had all the intel, along with Hackett. If I had known, I would have committed more Alliance resources into securing those final missing components of this super-weapon."

"Maybe then we wouldn't have those horrible mercenaries threatening people down on Earth, they would have stayed in Terminus Systems where they belong. Just on my way here I was caught up in a Blue Suns shakedown... it was horrible!" the vapid looking former secretary of Udina's whines tearfully.

"And the krogan and the geth have already been given embassies on the Citadel, with both species campaigning heavily for a spot on the Council," one of the war analysts wakes up, ejaculating passionately. "It threatens the very galactic security!" _Yeah, they're even worse than the Reapers, boo-hoo, cry me a river._

"And at the same time, the Council refuses to accept our honorable nomination for the empty councilor's seat," one of the other analysts echoes. "It's shameful to see the prejudice against humanity still persisting after everything we have done, after we have suffered for them!"

"Do you believe that the Council has some hidden agenda against the humanity?" Allers jumps on this line of questioning, turning towards Mayorov.

"Well, Diana, I have only my suspicions for now, but it certainly appears that way, does it not?" the admiral asks in return. "The salarians kept most of their fleets back to protect Sur'Kesh, only contributing with perhaps a fourth of what they had available. Such cowardice and reluctance to cooperate should be punished by the Council, and yet, they have decided against taking any action! The turians... well, that doesn't need any explaining, does it? They have never stopped hating us after the Relay 314 incident. And as for the asari..."

"Commander Shepard is bonded with an asari maiden. I have heard they are expecting a child, even," the damnable blabbermouth of a secretary pipes up, still appearing tearful, fragile and vulnerable.

"While we do not wish to intrude upon the privacy of our respected war hero, in light of this revelation, I would like to extend my congratulations to Commander Shepard and her mate, and wish their child the best of health," Allers speaks, smiling all too sweetly for Morgan's liking. "And perhaps this is not an insignificant detail when explaining some of the Commander's decisions, along with the fact that she has spent most of her life amongst the stars, only visiting Earth a few times."

"Perhaps you are correct, Diana," Mayorov takes over again. "I simply wanted to remark that it was very curious how the last of the key Crucible intel pieces appeared after Commander Shepard had made a swift visit to the asari space, hours before Thessia was abandoned to the mercy of Reapers."

"Are you saying that the asari were knowingly keeping the Crucible intel on Thessia, without sharing it with the others, even when they knew how important it was for the galactic survival?" Allers asks, Morgan realizing that she is suddenly squeezing her whiskey glass with so much force that it nearly shatters.

"That is our belief, yes," the admiral nods. "We have addressed the asari councilor with this question several times, and she has always avoided a direct answer. If the asari did not disclose crucial intel that would have allowed us to win this war several months earlier, saving the lives of billions... then they owe us a debt they can never repay."

"If that is true, then they don't deserve a spot on the Council either!" another war analyst pipes up. "That whole institution is corrupt, covering for each other, sweeping their crimes under the rug!"

"Please, gentlemen... I am sure that after these accusations have been made public, the asari representatives will be only too happy to offer their explanations about these events," Diana Allers appears placating. "I find this assertion that Commander Shepard would cover for the asari transgressions deeply troubling."

"It makes sense if you consider what was said before. I do not wish to appear insulting, but she is an asari-lover, and I mean it literally. Would she lie to protect the people of her partner? I think that would be, as they say, a human reaction," Mayorov speaks.

"A human reaction, indeed," Allers nods patronizingly, turning back towards the audience. "There are several other interesting decisions taken, which we believe merit further investigation. One of these decisions concern this mythical weapon, the Crucible, of which sadly nothing remains for further study, after it had fired to destroy everything touched by the Reapers in the entire galaxy. Only a very limited circle of individuals truly knew about the capabilities of the device and took decisions concerning its deployment. Many in our audience likely believe that this weapon was built with the sole purpose to destroy the Reapers. However... an interview with one of the members of the science team working on the Crucible development, suggests that it is not so."

The camera turns, revealing a gangly salarian that Morgan is certain of having never met in her life. "Dr. Murkhai Aru of the Salarian STG, assigned to work with the Crucible development," Diana Allers introduces the scientist, Morgan wondering what sort of trick they are up to now. "Dr. Aru, as we understand, the weapon we refer to as the Crucible, possessed potential to achieve more than simply destroying the Reapers."

"Correct. Testing impossible, obviously, hypothesis sound, theory proven," the salarian replies, blinking rapidly into the camera, looking a little nervous and unused to the crowd of humans. "Crucible provides opportunity to seize control of Reaper vessels. Not destroy. Control. Use Reapers to rebuild swiftly. No suffering, not starved for resources. Elegant solution. Denied by superiors."

"Was any reason for denial given? Also, who would have retained the control over the Reaper vessels in such a scenario?" Allers asks.

"No reason for denial. Control likely maintained by Crucible operator."

"So, in this case it would have been Shepard," Diana Allers summarizes. "It would have given her and thus the humanity ultimate power in the galaxy, and also the greatest opportunity to restore order, repair relays and ensure and protect the peace, perhaps from the same geth and krogan that Commander Shepard unleashed upon the galaxy. Why did she refuse to consider this option?"

_I should track you down, bitch, and stick you on the Dragon's Teeth and listen to you scream as you slide down the spike, impaling through your body,_ Morgan rages quietly, deep thrumming in her temples as she pours herself the last drops of the drink. "Unknown," the salarian scientist shrugs. "Held preference for third option, myself."

"Oh? And what was that, Dr. Aru?" Allers asks, looking curious.

"Projected merging of synthetic and organic life. Creation of a new framework. New DNA!" the salarian scientist's eyes bulge in a way that makes Morgan laugh and Diana Allers cringe, as the conversation takes a turn for the unwelcome and unexpected. "Excitement! Unpredictable consequences! Appealed to superiors! Plans rudely rejected..."

"Err... thank you, Dr. Aru," Allers quickly cuts the salarian off, but as far as Morgan is concerned, the damage has already been done. _I have no idea who that guy was, but I should send him a gift or something, all he actually did in the end was to make mine and Hackett's decision appear as the only sane one._ "And there you have it... more questions raised about the motivations behind the decisions taken... and with that we turn to the next guest," the cameras turn again to this time reveal a quarian male, the mask obviously hiding his identity, not that Morgan would recognize him if he had been unmasked.

"Our next guest has asked that we keep his identity secret," Diana Allers speaks to the quarian. "This quarian officer used to be one of the aides of the now late member of the quarian Admiralty Board, Han'Gerrel vas Neema. His insights into the events that occurred during the quarian-geth conflict beyond the Veil are troubling to say the least. Your people best of all understand the dangers posed by the geth... please, tell the audience, why do you think Commander Shepard decided in favor of peace with these dangerous synthetics?"

"All I know is that when Commander Shepard vas Normandy arrived to, according to her own words, 'aid the quarian people', she already had decided to make peace with the geth above everything. I do not know what were her motivations. As I understood, she had suffered deeply personal loss in her own earlier conflicts with the geth, so her sympathy for the synthetics was surprising and troubling," the quarian explains, Morgan failing to recognize the voice, deciding that it is once again some nobody seeking their fifteen minutes of fame or merely looking to vent a misplaced grudge.

"I think the answer to that is obvious!" one of the 'war analysts' jerks back to life. "Look at who's working with the geth right now, the asari, the turians and the salarians, the Council races! Shepard has delivered them new slaves and possibly a new army to use against those who would dare to stand against the policies of this corrupt Council!" _Whoa, laying it on a bit too thick there, fella, _Shepard shakes her head, watching Allers also wince a little bit, finding the exclamation slightly too farfetched to believe, but then quickly seeking to salvage the situation.

"Regardless of Shepard's intentions towards the geth, our quarian guest has more troubling information about Shepard's interactions with the quarian Admiralty Board," Allers rallies, turning back to the quarian.

"Contrary to popular belief, Admiral Gerrel did not die during the conflict with the geth. He was savagely beaten to death by Commander Shepard when he dared to disagree regarding the treatment of the synthetics," the quarian says, making Morgan wince as she lays her now empty glass on the table and gets up from the sofa, starting to feel the urge to find someone and beat them senseless. _Preferably this Allers wench._

"A damning accusation," Diana assumes her most severe expression. "Do you have any proof for your words?"

"Yes, vid surveillance feeds from the Neema, after Admiral Gerrel had been brought back in critical condition, following a _meeting_ on the Normandy... or should I say, a beating on the Normandy," the quarian replies, Morgan starting to pace restlessly, finding her patience finally beginning to wear very thin. _Should have known there would be some geth hating Gerrel sympathizers left for them to latch on, really. I can probably get Raan and Tali to issue statements to clarify this, but... damn, the damage is being done. _

"If this is indeed true, then we must admit that Commander Shepard has hardly acted the part of the humanity's greatest hero," Allers shakes her head sadly, before turning back to the quarian. "Tell me, do you believe that if peace with the geth would have appeared impossible to reach, would Commander Shepard have considered sacrificing your people, just to make sure that the geth remained at her disposal?" Diana Allers asks, Shepard instinctively reaching to tap a button on her omni-tool, quickly switching the screen off, feeling as if she has seen enough.

_Well, that went pretty much as I imagined it would go,_ Morgan thinks, standing at the window in the dark, looking outside where the snow is falling again with thick, heavy flakes, enveloping everything in a heavy shroud. _It's getting so hard to remember that there are many decent, humble and hard working people on Earth that are worth saving. If they all were like this... I really should not have hurried back to Earth to save them. We could have just rammed some asteroid into the Charon Relay and wiped out the entire system of idiots trapped here together with the Reapers... because so far, way too many of them are proving unworthy of all the sacrifices we've made..._


	145. Lifeline For The Asari

_A/N: Just wanted to extend my condolences and message of support to all my readers in the US of A, regarding the Boston marathon explosions. I sincerely hope that all your family and loved ones were unaffected by this cowardly attack._

**Chapter 144 - Lifeline For The Asari**

Several weeks had passed. While the Alliance News Network maintained its slanderous attempts to destroy Shepard's credibility, there was no immediately hostile reaction. During the few trips into the city that she had to make for the supplies, Morgan thought she heard some quiet muttering behind her back now and then, but nobody still dared to say anything to her face, and it seemed as if many simply did not believe the message coming from Singh's mouthpiece in Geneva. And by now, Hackett had put an alternate news station in Washington into operation, making an effective effort to refute all allegations against both the Rear Admiral himself, and additionally to Shepard.

However, public opinion had soured towards the asari, after the claims that they had been sitting on the Catalyst intel for so long, effectively forcing the rest of the galaxy to suffer heavier losses than would have been necessary. Shepard and Liara had visited the Citadel and went out to dinner with Aria and Tevos some time ago, but it hadn't turned out to be the pleasantly relaxing and enjoyable affair they had all hoped for, the councilor understandably upset and weighed down by these accusations pouring in from Earth, and even her own colleagues on the Council expecting answers.

Those answers were given, but only to the turian and salarian representatives, Valern unable to express any criticism, considering he had been put in exactly the same position by Linron, finding only sympathy with the asari councilor for being put under pressure because of the mistakes committed by the now largely eradicated leadership of Thessia. Sparatus had been slightly less happy, but also unable to honestly condemn Tevos' actions, considering that the turians had refused to openly criticize the salarians, they felt the need to remain consistent and remain supportive of their old allies on the Council.

The humanity, or at least Singh's camp, however, were left ignored, Tevos refusing to be baited into explaining herself to what many now viewed as a dangerously extreme wing of the Alliance, with no claim to a spot on the Council that they had managed to delude themselves into being deserving of. Hackett made it clear that he did not expect any sort of apology or reparations, clearly understanding that in such case humanity could never stop apologizing and paying their own reparations for the misery and loss of life that the actions of Cerberus had caused, fact conveniently ignored by Singh. Still, the accusations against the asari sat well with the already large xenophobic part of the population, forcing Tevos to increase her security on the Citadel and becoming somewhat of a recluse to the public eye.

Meanwhile, the asari leadership had also began to slowly pull their people away from Earth, fearing reprisals, of which there had already been several examples of. The lack of asari technical expertise were beginning to result in the relay repairs falling behind the schedule by a day or two, and the projections were not promising, especially considering the incoming reports that some of the alien fleets were beginning to experience critical supply shortages, the asari in particular. The councilor herself had contacted Shepard a few days ago, looking desperate and not knowing where else to turn, all her requests for aid so far denied, even by Hackett who had not wished to damage the fragile understanding he had built with the resistance, by suddenly giving away their extra supplies to the alien fleets.

Shepard had not been able to think of any solutions immediately, other than getting in touch with Miranda and trying to find out whether the ex-Cerberus operative had managed to track down the location of any other supply depots held by Singh and his loyalists. Two days had passed and there was still no reply, Morgan wincing at the reports of the gravity of situation as time continued to tick by. The salarians had imposed very strict restrictions on food supplies from the very beginning, likely being more realistic about the time necessary for the relay repairs, and thus had managed to retain their stock at higher levels. The krogan were all groundside now, able to go for extended periods of time sustained by the nutrients stored in their humps, and when they began to experience food shortage, they simply went out to scavenge or kill something before cooking and eating it, a simple and effective approach.

From all the levo-amino acid based species, the asari were suffering the worst by far, having been a little too optimistic in their initial estimations, and also deceived by some promises made by the Alliance, which obviously did not materialize when Singh was denied his precious dream job of a councilor. There were reports of many asari getting caught when stealing on the Citadel, with the intent of getting themselves captured and thrown into detention, which at least meant getting regular meals. However, too many had started to employ this tactic as of late, so Matriarch Lidanya had forbidden any shore leave on the fleet ships, and also collected all the culprits from the Citadel to be thrown into the brigs of their respective ships instead. But there were still many desperate asari out there, willing to do anything for scraps of food, sexual services being the most popular favor in demand.

As Morgan was busy trying to figure out some sort of plan on how to help the asari, there were plenty of other events and developments keeping her distracted on a daily basis. Well into her seventh month, Liara's pregnancy was advancing normally, at least according to the doctors. Morgan still did not observe too many changes in her behavior, perhaps her bondmate was slightly more short-tempered and she also witnessed her increased appetite, mentally feeling thankful that as a high-ranked Alliance officer she was entitled to increased amount of food supplies.

The tensions between the quarians and the turians were also becoming slightly more intense, the turians as always demanding more supplies for their starving troops, the quarians not budging from what they had promised initially and even refusing another inspection to the Rayya to determine whether they hadn't secretly increased their produce capacity and simply refused to share with their dextro-brothers, preferring to hoard instead. The stress resulting from it all left its mark on the relationship between Tali and Garrus as well, something that they both always denied publicly, but Morgan could sense the tensions anyway and it made her incredibly depressed, knowing that her two best friends were put in this position by dreadful circumstances. They still shared an apartment on the Citadel, but apparently used it less and less, spending most of their time either with their fleets or down in the enclaves on Earth.

As for Aria, even the Pirate Queen had become too distracted by the grim circumstances to continue her teasing of Shepard and Liara. Tevos' state of mind must have left its mark on Aria as well, and the two had experienced a rather heated row when the councilor found out that Aria had set up a smuggling ring to get some supplies off the Citadel and onto the asari ships, appreciating the gesture, but fearing about it getting tracked back to Aria, and possibly also to her, exposing their illicit relationship. For all her efforts, Aria had managed to buy the asari fleets a week or two, saving many for the time being, but a more long-term solution still beckoned, the Citadel food stores hardly limitless.

Most of the Normandy team had by now been reassigned, Samantha and Jack also getting moved to Bradford, given apartments not too far from Shepard's. Of course, Jack spent every night at Traynor's place anyway, and the young couple had on several occasions visited with Shepard and Liara as well, their company always welcome, now that Jack had mellowed out a little more, losing her tendency to always resort to the foulest of languages. Steve Cortez was one of the very few allowed to remain on the Normandy, a skeleton crew barely enough for maintenance of the now permanently docked ship.

Gabby and Ken had exchanged life vows a week ago, having now moved into an apartment on the Citadel, finding employment with a very appreciative volus 'only-slightly-used' ship merchant who had very little interest about their Cerberus past, once he had received the little endorsement granted by Morgan, the best wedding gift she could come up with for Gabby and Ken was to help them find stable and well paying employment. Karin Chakwas and Chloe Michel were still on the Citadel as well, having struck a close and warm friendship, deciding to remain in the Shalta Wards hospital where Shepard had been treated. Due to their high standards and impeccable professionalism, the hospital had received glowing recognition in the past months, attracting an increasing load of patients, and when Shepard and Liara had stopped by to spend some time with their good friends, both doctors had been up to their elbows in work, barely finding the time to exchange a few token pleasantries.

The most depressing developments had to be concerning Joker. Now also stationed near Bradford, the old Normandy pilot was having a rough time adjusting to the life off the ship, slipping into alcoholism and refusing to open up to anyone. Shepard had already received four calls from Kasumi, Traynor and Jack when they had spotted Joker passed out in the Black Swan, in no condition to get back to his own place. Shepard had rushed over in her skycar and sometimes by herself, sometimes with the help of others, brought Joker safely back to his apartment. Privately, she wondered just where Jeff had so many supplies to trade in for the booze, it was far above of what he ought to have, but once sober, he never responded to any of her inquiries, refusing to communicate with her, as if she and their friendship would be dead to him.

It is Joker and his refusal to have anything to do with her anymore that is deep in her thoughts at the time when her omni-tool softly beeps to indicate an incoming message. She activates the omni to read it quickly, smiling as her eyes browse over the contents of the message. "Liara!" she calls out to her bondmate, snoozing upstairs, the pregnant maiden becoming exhausted far more quickly these days, requiring more and more sleep. "Babe, we'll have guests over in a few minutes!"

"I'll be down in a moment!" Liara replies from upstairs, gingerly getting out of the bed. "Who's coming?"

"Kasumi and Bau," Shepard says, looking around the place critically, taking away some of the trash and cleaning up a little bit, Kasumi's impeccable manners and her love for tidiness and cleanliness making Morgan a little self-conscious about the state of their house, neither she nor Liara being the types to be particularly compulsive about housecleaning. "Kasumi says that Miranda has asked her to deliver something she doesn't trust on an open comm line."

"It must be the intel you requested," Liara speaks, climbing down the stairs, Morgan turning to look at her bondmate, her heart close to bursting with emotion from the adorable sight of Liara's swollen stomach, the pregnancy making the asari look especially radiant, at least in Morgan's eyes.

"Let's hope so," she finds herself nodding, and not long after, a shuttle lands just outside the windows of their house, Kasumi getting out quickly and running lightly across the snow to knock on the doors, this time Bau also following her.

"You're probably anxious to get this intel, Shep," Kasumi says, after a round of greetings, once they have all gathered inside the living room. "Miranda says that she has put herself at a serious risk, and she hopes that it is worth it."

"It is worth it," Liara says sharply, her thoughts on her own starving people.

"Let's hear it, Kasumi," Shepard urges the petite thief to explain quickly.

"Miranda has the location of another of those depots that you wanted to know about. It's deep in the Gobi Desert, a very well hidden bunker at the base of the Altai Mountains. Nobody would ever think of looking for it there, Shep. Seems like Admiral Chen's supporters are there in numbers, so taking it with force will be a tough proposition."

"My people will find a way," Liara grinds out angrily. "Death from starvation is a wonderful motivator, and I think those treacherous Alliance soldiers will discover it the hard way."

"So, you really plan to hand the intel over to the asari, as Miranda thought you might," Kasumi remarks, speaking evenly. "Tricky. Hope you know what you're doing, Shep."

"I don't, really, but I won't let Chen sit on these resources while our allies are starving!" Morgan exclaims passionately.

"Understandable," Bau nods, Kasumi quietly agreeing as well. "Shepard, your own involvement would be unadvisable, however. I would urge a more cautious approach."

"Well, I can hardly take out hundreds of well entrenched marines, so I didn't plan on soloing this mission, really," Morgan hastily replies. "But I need to get to the Citadel and speak with... some people there, before we can do anything."

"We anticipated this reaction, Commander," Bau smiles, barely perceptibly. "We stand ready to take you to the Citadel in our shuttle. We can depart immediately."

"Great," Morgan breathes out a relieved sigh, turning to Liara. "You coming, babe? Don't feel like leaving you down here alone."

"Very well," Liara nods, activating her omni-tool and beginning to furiously type a message. "I had a visit with my obstetrician scheduled in two days, I want to see if it can be moved ahead now that we are going to the Citadel anyway."

"Yeah, and I better send a message and inform... certain people that I need to meet them ASAP," Morgan is about to type her own message, when Kasumi pokes her in the ribs.

"I thought you were in a lot of hurry, Shep. You can send the message while on the shuttle, once we're on the way... I'm just saying," she adds, grinning when Morgan slaps an open palm against her own face.

* * *

Once on the Citadel, Morgan parts with the others swiftly, Liara heading to the wards for the doctor's appointment, Kasumi and Bau using the opportunity to grab a decent meal. Shepard arrives at the Council chambers to see a tired and haggard looking Tevos conversing with an attractive asari matriarch, her skin of the same purple hue as the councilor's, the facial markings almost identical to Tevos' with the exception of being dark purple, almost black in this light, making her appear like Tevos' evil but equally enchanting twin.

"Commander Shepard, meet Matriarch Lidanya," Tevos quickly introduces them, the commander of the Destiny Ascension taking Morgan's hands in the traditional asari greeting.

"It is a pleasure, Commander," Lidanya says, her voice slightly harsher and less melodic than Tevos'. "Though it is regretful that we finally make our acquaintance under such circumstances."

"Indeed, though I will be shortly presenting you with the opportunity to improve these circumstances, if you can take advantage of this intel," Shepard nods, managing a small smile before passing a small data disk towards Tevos which the councilor quickly uploads to a screen in front of them, showing maps of the Gobi Desert and the location and layout of the underground bunker. "The defending force is at least two hundreds strong."

"Can they measure up to the biotic power of asari commando squads?" Lidanya asks.

"I have seen the carnage even two biotics working in tandem can wreak," Shepard replies, thinking back to the amount of devastation Liara and Aria had inflicted upon their enemies on the Cronos Station and later on Earth. "Bring enough of your commandos and the marines will crumble quickly."

"Understood," Matriarch Lidanya nods. "And there are enough resources down there to feed our fleets?"

"For several more months at least, Matriarch," Shepard says.

"I see. Then I will return to the Destiny Ascension immediately, and begin to organize our elite commando squads together with a large amount of transports for supply delivery. I refuse to spend a moment delaying over this."

"One moment, Matriarch," Shepard speaks up quickly. "I'd appreciate if you would leave behind something for the resistance to grab. They came up with this intel in the first place. And they would make sure that the supplies also reached some of those innocent people starving down on Earth."

"Of course, Shepard, we can only carry so much in our cargo transports, I am sure there will be plenty left, if your intel about the amount of supplies is solid," Lidanya nods quickly. "But now, I really should hurry..."

"Yes, go with my blessings, Lidanya," Tevos nods, wringing her hands nervously, before turning to Shepard. "Commander, I hope you did not expect to be included on this mission. I will not have you associated with this attack, regardless of your motivations, many factions amongst humanity might look upon you as a traitor if they ever learnt of your involvement."

"Well, you're the boss, Councilor," Shepard smiles supportively, sensing that Tevos' nerves are strained to the point of breaking. "If you don't want me to go with your commandos, I will sit this one out, it will be as you say."

"Yes, that would be for the best," Tevos manages, slowly pacing around, restless and uncertain. "I do not think I will be able to sit and relax until I hear back from Lidanya... which won't be for several more hours..."

"Hmm... perhaps you would benefit from company during that time, then?" Shepard asks, suddenly feeling pity for the councilor, stuck in this regrettable position, knowing that the fallout she would have to deal with after this mission might very well be catastrophic.

"I... can't detain you for so long, Shepard," Tevos stutters, coming to a halt.

"I'll let Liara know... she will want to join us after she is done with her doctor's appointment," Shepard says, quickly sending a message to her bondmate, not having to wait long for acknowledgment. "Alright, she'll be here in less than an hour."

"Thank you, Shepard... thank you for everything you have done for me and my people," Tevos says, stepping closer and then somewhat unexpectedly wrapping her arms around Shepard and lowering her head on Morgan's shoulder, her whole posture aching for comforting and Shepard cannot stop herself from putting her arms around Tevos' shoulders, feeling the tension slowly bleeding from the asari's tender frame.

"I don't see how I could have done anything differently, Madame Councilor..." Shepard replies, trying to keep her thoughts focused onto something other than Tevos' soft, supple curves, hesitant and tense against her body. "It was... the right thing... uh, to do," she manages. _This would be a really bad time to think back about that vid Aria sent us... oh damn... I just thought of it... argh! Gods, Liara definitely needs to get here as quickly as possible... _

* * *

"Damn it, Councilor, I wish I had the presence of mind to ask whether you had some supply of this stuff earlier," Morgan smiles, pouring herself another glass of delicious elassa, watching Tevos follow her example, while Liara is left to nurse a glass with generously watered down version of the drink, making it safe for the baby. And speaking of babies, according to Liara, everything is still progressing as it should be, however, Shepard is a little surprised when Liara says that in a little over two months, she will require a more frequent observation by the doctors, demanding them to move to the Citadel. Even if she assures Shepard that this is a perfectly normal way to handle asari pregnancies, Morgan resolves to look it up on the extranet herself, knowing that Liara has an annoying habit not to worry her with what she considers to be 'insignificant' details at the time. Such as being pregnant in the first place.

"I generally try not to resort to elassa as a cure against stress, but now that you are here to keep me company, I see no reason not to indulge a little bit," Tevos replies, looking far more relaxed than when Morgan had arrived at the Council chambers. The short but emotional embrace she had shared with Morgan in combination with the drinks that followed had made the councilor more at ease, Shepard still blushing a little now and then from the memory of the other asari's touch, even if there had been nothing remotely sexual in intent about it. "I cannot thank you enough for being here for me during a time like this," the councilor adds gratefully.

"It is both a privilege and a pleasure to be here for you, Councilor Tevos," Liara replies, bowing her head. "Even if Shepard probably wishes she were shooting something down on Earth together with Matriarch Lidanya and her commandos."

"Eh, not so much this time," Morgan shrugs. "Scum or no, those men are still Alliance soldiers, close to two hundred of them. Some might even still have families somewhere out there... no, it wouldn't have felt satisfying at all, even if they are caught carrying out unjust orders for corrupt admirals. Heh, Aria would have probably enjoyed the opportunity for some pure, unadulterated violence, though."

"And speaking of Aria, I would have expected you to wish for her company right now, Councilor... if I may be so bold," Liara remarks.

"Well, she actually is on Earth, together with Lidanya's commandos," Tevos explains. "I knew she would not forgive me if I didn't let her in on this mission, so I forwarded her with the details. She requires this sort of outlet of her more... violent urges."

"Ah... ouch, those poor marines won't know what hit them," Morgan winces, knowing that the Alliance teams down in the bunker have no realistic chances against such overwhelming biotic power directed at them.

"I wish such measures were unnecessary... but lately one regret seems to follow another," Tevos sighs, as a console behind her desk lets out a soft beep to alert her of an incoming request to open a comm channel. She puts down her glass of elassa and quickly rushes to receive the message, leaving Shepard and Liara behind, the couple exchanging slightly worried glances as they rise to follow the councilor. "It is Lidanya. I will put her up on the holo display, I'm sure she won't mind," Tevos speaks, bringing up the image before them, Matriarch Lidanya wearing pale blue commando armor, standing in the cargo space of a shuttle, blood smeared across her brow, but it is not the purple color of asari blood.

"Councilor," she nods sharply, then noticing the other two quietly stepping into the line of sight. "Ah, Shepard is still there, good. And is that Benezia's daughter... by the goddess, it is... greetings, Liara, I barely recognize you anymore."

"Matriarch Lidanya, a pleasure," Liara bows reverently.

"Please, Lidanya, I can only stand so much suspense," Tevos groans, begging Lidanya to elaborate on the results of their mission.

"It was bloody, but we took the depot in less than forty minutes with only eleven casualties," Lidanya flashes a dangerous, toothy grin, almost Aria-like. "Damn it, Councilor, what they were sitting on... there was a lot more in that bunker than you thought there would be. Mountains of MRE's, all kinds of varied food supplies, weapon and ammo caches, medical supplies, and much, much more. Our transports are stuffed full, and we had to leave almost half of the supplies behind."

"I'll make sure to notify the resistance immediately," Shepard nods, quickly typing a short message to alert Kasumi and ask her to pass the information over to Miranda.

"Yes, they are free to move in, Shepard, we left plenty of various items for your resistance to salvage. We now have enough to feed our fleets for at least three months to come, and I'm sure we can find something to share with the salarians, the volus, the krogan and whoever else's goodwill you will want to ensure, Councilor. And perhaps there will even be a little surplus left to fill the Citadel warehouses with."

"Hmm... Lidanya, I like the way you think. We all could use some support from our allies right now. Yes, I will speak with Valern immediately, this could get him on our side even more firmly," Tevos nods.

"I can't imagine the Alliance will dare to raise many complaints about this, it would mean having to explain about keeping all these supplies from their own people in the first place," Lidanya snorts in contempt, clearly unimpressed with the actions of their human counterparts.

"We shall see, but it is best to be prepared," Tevos says. "I want you to issue state of readiness to our fleets, just in case. But be subtle about it, please, I do not want to explain to everyone why our dreadnaughts are suddenly lining up in battle formation..."

"Very well," Lidanya nods, then turning her stare towards Shepard. "Commander, do you believe that the Alliance will retaliate?"

"I have long since lost any ability to predict what the faction of the Alliance that stands behind Admiral Singh will do," Shepard shrugs. "I agree with Madame Councilor, however, in that you should be prepared. If there are some of your people left on Earth, get them out of there, or at least move them to the zones where Hackett's forces have control."

"Good advice, Shepard," Lidanya speaks approvingly. "It must be difficult for you, having to go against your own people in order to aid us. Do not linger on Earth too long yourself, my friend, I cannot imagine that your own people would be best pleased with your actions."

"We think that we have managed to keep Shepard's involvement in this a secret," Tevos speaks. "Though I have feared for your safety ever since you moved to live on Earth," she adds, turning to Shepard and Liara. "I am hopeful that you will return to the Citadel soon,"

"I would be happy to receive you both on the Destiny Ascension," Lidanya extends an offer of her own. "We would make sure that you receive living quarters more comfortable than whatever the Citadel can provide. And food is terrible everywhere these days, so that would make no difference."

"Thank you, Matriarch Lidanya, you are most kind," Liara smiles. "We will take your generous offer upon careful consideration."

"Yes, we definitely will," Shepard says, moving closer to embrace her bondmate, placing her hand on Liara's belly, feeling the tiny, infinitesimal movements inside. "And it seems that certain circumstances will force us to say farewells to Earth sooner, rather than later..."


	146. Visiting With The T'Loak Family

**Chapter 145 - Visiting With The T'Loak Family**

"What the hell is going on, Nitesh?" Admiral Alexei Mayorov shouts nervously, demanding an explanation from his colleague in the Alliance admiralty. "My people arrive at the supply depot to find some resistance stragglers making off with the last of the supplies, all of Chen's people down there are dead and I have Chen himself ranting to me about asari commandos?"

Admiral Nitesh Singh winces, staring at the face of his younger colleague on the vid link, feeling the unpleasant sensation of their carefully laid plans beginning to unravel. He quickly steels himself, however, unwilling to allow such thoughts to settle into his mind and eroding his belief that they can succeed with their daring and ambitious schemes. "I don't think the resistance could have pulled off something this big," he shakes his head, looking straight at Mayorov. "Are you sure your people can't verify that the asari are behind this?"

"They have only just arrived on the scene... let me check in with them again..." Mayorov leaves the connection for a while and steps aside to exchange a few words on another line, listening as he receives a quick report before returning to pick up the conversation with Singh. "You were right, Nitesh. They found a few pools of asari blood. Also, those bitches didn't even bother to destroy the surveillance recordings. Asari commandos, dozens of them. These poor sods never stood a chance."

"Yes, I thought so, it couldn't have been a coincidence that the asari fleets just issued full battle readiness for no good reason and pulled the last of their people away from the Isles enclave," Singh nods. "They wouldn't have done this unless they knew something was up."

"What can we do? We can't really accuse the asari of anything, can we? They have swiped the resources we claimed we didn't have. No... damn them, but we can't go public with this, we need to hush this down and make sure it doesn't happen again! How did they learn of the supply depot in the first place? I thought we made certain only select people we trust had access to this information!"

"That was my main concern immediately after I heard what happened, Alexei. We have a leak... and fortunately, we have already identified it," Singh explains with smug confidence. "Someone amongst Chen's own command staff were to blame."

"Are you sure? The old man is going to be livid about this, he'll need to do one hell of a housecleaning... heads will roll if this is true."

"I'm completely certain, I verified the intel with my own source. One of the commanding officers in charge of communications apparently found the worst time to grow a conscience and be moved by the teary news reports about the starving asari," Singh scowls. "A shame that she took her own life before we had a chance to interrogate her, but the evidence we found was very overwhelming."

"She might have had accomplices," Mayorov says, looking worried. "We must demand that Admiral Chen applies certain measures, and we should double, no quadruple our forces at the other depots."

"Yes, but I haven't been able to raise Chen for the past hour now. Do you have any idea how to reach him?"

"...he went up to Tai Shan. How could you have possibly missed that, Nitesh?"

"What the... he returned to his dreadnaught? Why? What's he up to, Alexei?"

"I... don't know," Mayorov shrugs helplessly, looking a little panicked. "He was furious when we last talked. I... think he might have realized that we will decide to keep quiet about the attack... what if he has decided to take the matters into his own hands?"

"Damn it, Chen, you fool!" Singh sighs, shaking his head. "I'll keep trying to raise him on the comms and talk him out of whatever madness he intends to unleash!"

"And what if you can't reach him and he ends up doing something like openly accusing the asari and revealing everything that we have been trying to keep secret?"

"...then we'll deny everything. If he does that, then he's on his own, we will wash our hands on the whole thing," Singh says sternly, Mayorov quickly nodding, looking a little more reassured. "Alexei, get your people away from that supply depot and make sure they don't leave any traces of their presence. If anyone ever comes investigating, I want only the corpses of Chen's people to be there. I know it means denying good marines the funeral they deserve, but we have no choice if we want to retain full deniability. Chen was alone in on this, do you understand?"

"Of course," Mayorov replies, looking down at another message coming in on a terminal next to him. He checks it quickly, growing noticeably paler when he turns back to Singh. "...shit, Nitesh, I know why Chen freaked out like this, it seemed completely unlike him, but..."

"What is it, Alexei?"

Admiral Alexei Mayorov takes a deep breath before replying. "His own son... was amongst those killed defending the supply depot."

* * *

"Did they buy it?"

"Of course they did, hook, line and sinker. You should know better than to doubt me, miss Goto."

"Heh, right, Miranda. So you're in the clear?"

"I believe so, yes. That was very tricky to pull off on such a short notice, though. I hope that Shepard never asks me to do something like this again."

"Well, if she hadn't sacrificed so much to stop the Reapers, we wouldn't be having this conversation, miss Lawson. So, if she asks something... anything of me, I don't think I will be able to refuse."

"Yes... yes, I agree, of course."

"So, how did you throw them off your track exactly, Miri?"

"Well, I had my agent amongst Chen's people set up one of his officers for the fall. Then I allowed the leads incriminating Chen's officer to subtly fall into the lap of one of Singh's men, someone not too bright but very eager for promotion. They didn't even bother to investigate where the intel came from, but quickly claimed it for their own work and went with it to Admiral Singh. After that, it was time to dispose of the scapegoat... suicide is so easy to fake if you know what you're doing."

"That does sound like you've covered your tracks well enough. Maybe have the informant himself meet with an accident too, just to be safe?"

"Yes, but right now it would be too suspicious. I'll take care of it later, once I can find a good moment for it. By the way, why are you still on the Citadel?"

"Did you need me back on Earth already?"

"No, I was just wondering. We did plan that you would bring Shepard and Liara back later in the evening."

"Well, they decided to stay here overnight. I think the asari councilor herself invited them to stay as her guests... guess Sheppy can't say no to her own boss, can she? So... uh, Jondum and I decided to stay on the Citadel as well. Hey, even when partly in ruins, the nightly Presidium is still rather beautiful!"

"Ever the romantic, miss Goto?"

"Hey, I wish some of that would rub off on you, miss Lawson!"

"Oh yes, now that you mentioned the asari councilor, I should thank both her and Shepard for making sure that the asari commandos left plenty for our people to plunder before Mayorov's reinforcements arrived. And miss Goto... they even picked up something that I thought you would enjoy as a gift."

"A gift? For little ol' me? Aww, you shouldn't have!"

"It's a crate of saké. I thought you might enjoy it."

"...ooooh! Yes, please! I've been dreaming of getting my hands on a bottle and introducing Jondum to it. Oh, thank you, Miri, thank you so much!"

"You're very welcome, Kasumi. Now... enjoy the rest of the evening, and I'll see you again in the morning, alright?"

"Sure thing... and Miranda? Thanks!"

* * *

_'This is Khalisah al-Jilani, with a special bulletin for the Westerlund News. Earlier today, we reported unusual activity from the asari fleets, with both Matriarch Lidanya, the acting commander of the Destiny Ascension as well as Councilor Tevos T'Naori declining to comment. The reason for this unusual activity appears to have revealed itself forty minutes ago, when the Systems Alliance dreadnaught SSV Tai Shan suddenly and unexpectedly opened fire upon the asari vessels. _

_We can report that two asari frigates were destroyed, but we currently have no information on the amount of casualties. It is believed that most of the personnel aboard were able to reach the escape pods and get to safety. Before more asari ships could be targeted, the Destiny Ascension and several other asari dreadnaughts responded with return fire, targeting the weapon systems and engines of Tai Shan, attempting to cripple the ship, while at the same time trying to persuade the Alliance vessel to cease its deadly attacks, threatening to then retaliate with deadly fire. _

_It is believed that after receiving this ultimatum, the crew of SSV Tai Shan refused to follow the further orders of its decorated commander, Alliance Admiral Chen Shan Li, attempting to remove him from command. Communications with the dreadnaught are not yet completely restored, but we understand that Admiral Chen refused to surrender his command of the ship and the confrontation resulted in a bloody firefight on the bridge, leaving the admiral and two others of the command staff lethally wounded. The SSV Tai Shan has since then powered down its weapons systems and issued surrender to the allied forces. _

_We currently have no explanation for this shocking attack by one of the most decorated admirals of the Alliance, a veteran of the First Contact War, aimed towards the humanity's closest allies amongst the Council. The asari High Command have refused any comments, while Councilor Tevos has issued a statement in which she condemns this brutal attack on the asari people, but also expresses a firm belief that this is merely a freak accident that will not repeat itself, refusing to treat this as a shift in the intentions of the Systems Alliance. We have asked Rear Admiral Hackett and his colleague Admiral Nitesh Singh of the Third Fleet to provide an explanation for the shocking actions of their comrade, but neither of the admirals were able to shed any light on the situation, claiming that Admiral Chen had acted without any authorization on their part, unable to clarify motivations behind this incredible act of madness. _

_Rest assured, dear viewers of the Westerlund News Channel, we will continue to investigate this incident, until we discover the real truth behind these events. No doubt, we will see many exciting developments over the course of the next days, and we will be here to bring them to your attention... for Westerlund News, this is Khalisah al-Jilani.'_

"Humans... so stupid," Aria T'Loak grumbles, activating her omni-tool and using it to switch off the news feed, getting up from the sofa and stretching. "No offense, Shepard," she adds, giving a quick look to Morgan. "But most humans I've had dealings with on Omega usually ended up trying to double cross me, thinking themselves so clever. I'm afraid I just don't have a particularly good impression of your people, and this admiral certainly did not help to improve my view on humanity."

Shepard grins in reply. "Don't worry, Aria, I can certainly understand where you're coming from. I mean, I do know a lot of amazing humans, mostly amongst my closest friends, but they are beginning to seem like a minority compared to the grey masses of small-minded, pathetic bigots."

"I'm afraid the more time we spend on Earth, the more bitter Shepard becomes to everything that has to do with her own people," Liara sighs, looking saddened, before turning to Aria again. "I hope you at least had good time working with the commandos."

"Oh, it was a lot of fun, though the opposition was unable to put up much of a challenge," Aria chuckles. "The most hilarious part was the look on Lidanya's face when she saw me showing up to take part in the action. She looked like she had swallowed her tongue, struggling to find words."

"Yes... well, obviously I could not tell her that you received the information regarding the mission from me," Tevos adds, also breaking into a smile. "Of course... now she suspects that there is some kind of information leak on the Destiny Ascension. She mentioned that she will be taking several engineering squads to check every console of the ship for bugs. That's going to take her a few weeks at least, the poor dear..."

Shepard lets out a guffawing laugh. "Heh, turns out you have some naughty streak, Councilor... didn't really expect that!"

"Oh, you have no-" Aria starts to speak with a broad grin on her face, but then quickly wipes it away as she remembers that Rila and Falere are still with them, sitting on soft cushions on the floor with their backs straight, politely listening to the conversation, not daring to speak up unless addressed directly. "Well... uh, I'm going to crack open another bottle of elassa, anyone wants more?"

"Gladly," Shepard calls out, waving her empty glass, Tevos also nodding after a moment of thought. "I expected that you will have a much more busy time of it after all this crazy fallout, Councilor," Morgan turns to Tevos. "I mean, I'm glad you don't have to run ragged, but..."

"This is the perfect time when to pull back, remain silent and let the whole thing blow over," Tevos replies simply. "The dust will settle quickly, because neither the High Command nor the Systems Alliance will want to talk about it too much. The less we speak, the better... especially where the journalists are involved."

"Perhaps we could stop discussing politics, since it appears that the matter has been settled for now?" Liara suggests hopefully.

"Good idea, Liara. That shit bores me to sleep," Aria grins, returning with another bottle of elassa, sharing the drink with Tevos first and then with Shepard.

"I'm curious about that new musical piece you're working on, Falere. When can we expect to finally witness the grand premiere?" Liara asks expectantly, turning towards the youngest of the Ardat-Yakshi sisters.

"I'm afraid it is not quite done yet... I'm trying to work out the last few kinks... but once it is completed, I am very hopeful that you will be pleased with the result," Falere replies, a little hesitantly.

"It is kind of you to speak on my behalf, Falere, but the truth of the matter is that I am to blame," Tevos speaks up, Falere blushing furiously. "I have been far too tied up in my work to spend any time practicing my part, and it has sadly delayed Falere's efforts in finishing her grand project. But perhaps I will find time for it tomorrow."

"I've heard some bits and pieces already, Shepard. It will fuck with your mind in all the right ways," Aria nods, giving Morgan a knowing smile. "If you thought that last performance was impressive... just wait until you hear this. Almost better than-" she cuts herself short again, catching the reproachful stare from Tevos, deciding to shut herself up by taking another mouthful of elassa.

"Well, I'm sure there's no need to put Falere under any added pressure," Shepard says, noticing that the young asari is growing more and more nervous from their expectant talk. "You'll do just fine, Falere, don't worry," she adds, smiling, before turning to the other sister. "And Rila, what of your artistic exploits? Any lovely drawings you would like to show off?"

Rila looks a little thoughtful at first. "I suppose, Commander, but it would be more convenient if you would just follow me to my little study," she says. "You could let me know what you think of the drawing I made for you. It is almost ready."

"Oh, I want to see that!" Liara exclaims, getting up from the floor and excitedly dragging Rila up to her feet as well, ushering her towards the study. "I'm sure it will be wonderful."

"I think that our human painters would never let someone take a look at their portrait until it was truly complete," Morgan chuckles, following the two asari, Tevos, Aria and Falere staying behind, no doubt having seen the drawings many times already.

"Oh, these are all very beautiful," Liara gasps, looking around the many completed and half-finished drawings hanging around the study, and Morgan is quickly forced to agree. There are beautiful scenes of a wild, untamed planet, the cold, cruel monastery walls present in every painting, identifying it as Lesuss. The views of Earth, taken from before the war and after it, the inspiration likely drawn from extranet, are moving as well, but they fill Shepard with too many conflicting emotions, and she moves past them quickly. Her favorites are all the little scenes caught on the Citadel, a krogan, geth and a quarian working together to move away a large piece of rubble, a female turian C-Sec officer supporting a fallen salarian merchant with rare concern in her eyes. But her absolute favorite is the drawing that shows Falere's beautiful profile against the background of the night lights falling across the ruined Presidium.

"Do you like them?" Rila asks hopefully.

"You are incredibly talented," Liara replies, clearly awed at the other maiden's marvelous gift. "Perhaps Tevos can sponsor an exhibition of your works back on Thessia... though probably not anytime too soon..."

"I'm pretty sure that many of these would have sold for quite a big chunk of credits before the war," Morgan agrees, then quickly becoming rather surprised when the two asari face her with disbelieving expressions on their faces.

"Taking credits... for art?" Rila gasps, clearly shocked. "Oh... I could never!"

"Shepard, that sort of thing is unthinkable for a true artist," Liara explains quickly. "Pieces of art can never be sold, they can only be given away as gifts. The moment you place a price tag on a piece of art, you destroy the essence of the work, debase the piece of soul that the artist has poured into their creation. We understand that this is different in other cultures, however."

"Yeah... it used to be an entire industry back on Earth, but I don't suppose there's much use for art right now. Don't think those art galleries and auction houses will be seeing much action anytime soon," Shepard shakes her head, turning her stare back towards the painting. "I wonder what kind of a technique is this? It looks a bit like watercolor on a canvas, but..." she drags a finger across the corner of one of the portraits, not covered by the paint, finding the structure of the material soft almost like velvet, but then it suddenly buzzes with a slight spark, jolting her a little and she almost drops the painting. "What the... was that eezo?"

"Yes, that is correct, Morgan," Liara says, smiling. "It is a very expensive material prepared with a certain technique, only produced in a few workshops on Thessia. It allows the artist to do something called memory painting. The artist can conjure their memories, being able to form a link with the material... not unlike melding. I suppose Rila could explain it better, since I have not tried it myself."

"I don't think it can be put into words, Liara," Rila shakes her head. "It is like... out of body experience, reaching into your own mind from outside, scooping up a specific memory and transferring it to the medium... I don't think I even have full control over my own body at that time, I can only feel and direct my hands as they work with the ink... it was a little frightening and disconcerting at first, but now I rather enjoy the experience!"

"Uh... I might be really ignorant, but is this not something that would be a little dangerous with your condition?" Shepard asks, feeling a little worried.

"Shepard, she can hardly overload the nervous system of a piece of canvas!" Liara sighs, Shepard immediately regretting her indiscretion, lamenting her foolishness, but Rila doesn't appear to be insulted at all, much to Morgan's relief.

"Sorry... and, pardon me again, but I don't see any paintbrushes around... am I correct in assuming that this technique involves finger painting?" Morgan asks.

"Yes, that is correct, Shepard," Rila beams happily. "Obviously, to maintain the link between myself and the eezo-infused canvas, I can only apply the paint with my fingers. Fortunately, it is completely harmless... Aria always smuggles in the best materials for us, she is very proud of our talents and even more considerate of our needs. But Shepard, I am still yet to show you your portrait!"

"Okay, let's see it," Morgan says excitedly. "So, I guess that's why you didn't really need me to pose for you in the end? You could just draw me from something you memorized?"

"Yes... sometimes I still need someone to pose for a scene I have in mind, like that one," Rila replies, pointing at the picture with Falere on the Presidium. "But in your case, Commander... I caught the perfect memory the last time you visited us," she says, pulling out a smaller sized drawing and passing it to Morgan.

"Wow..." Morgan gasps, as she stares upon the picture. She has never regarded herself as particularly attractive, just decent looking, but certainly not someone who would stand out in the crowd due to their smoldering good looks, as Wrex would have put it. But this picture of herself almost forces Morgan to reconsider her opinion of herself. Somehow Rila's drawing technique has captured the effect of a softly glowing light behind her, making her now long and cascading red hair shine in a particularly striking color. Her lips form a serene, mysterious smile that she has never caught herself capable of. The freckles on her cheeks appear darker than usual in this light, making her think that they almost match Liara's, and thus she is willing to for once consider them an attractive feature. Even that annoying and small _retrousse_ nose that makes her look like a freshly recruited cadet barely out of her teenage years, looks rather attractive for some reason. But most of all, she is moved by the expression in her eyes which she usually considers to be dull and listless gray, now appearing anything but... they sparkle with mirth, and at the same time, hold a particular tenderness, feelings of love, plain for everyone to see... but above all, her eyes are brimming with life itself. "That is... just wow. I wish I was this attractive in real life..."

"It is a recreation of perfect memory, Commander. It does not lie. Which means that you are as attractive as the portrait implies," Rila says quietly, looking proud that Shepard is so moved by her work.

"You are more than attractive to me, Shepard, you are beautiful," Liara whispers, embracing Morgan and looking at the portrait with adoration.

"Well... uh... thanks," Morgan chuckles, a little embarrassed. "I'm not sure I ever get such a look in my eyes, though, it's almost... otherworldly."

"But, Commander..." Rila says, blushing deeply. "You... you have that look in your eyes every time you look at Liara..."

"I... I do? Oh..." Morgan stumbles, feeling a little light-headed and emotionally overwhelmed.

"I just want to put a few finishing touches on the portrait, and then you can have it, Commander," Rila speaks up quietly. "I... hope that you will accept it? You will, please say that you will?"

"Of course! Why would you even doubt that? I can't believe you are simply giving it to me," Morgan shakes her head.

"Because there can be no greater reward for a painter than to have their work graciously accepted by the subject of their painting," Rila explains, smiling with relief.

At that moment, Tevos chooses to poke her head into the study. "Rila, it is already over an hour past your and Falere's bedtime. It is time for you two to turn in," she says.

"Yes, of course, m-" Rila catches herself, instinctively putting her palm across her mouth and blinking furiously, then blushing and darting out of the study. However, Tevos stops her at the door, embracing Rila in a warm hug, pressing a kiss against the young Ardat-Yakshi's brow before releasing her, and Rila almost bounces away, delighted.

"It has been quite an eventful day, also involving far more elassa than I am accustomed to," Tevos adds then, looking at Shepard and Liara. "I believe I will talk Aria into retiring soon as well. Falere has prepared the guest bedroom for you two."

"Thank you, Councilor," Morgan smiles back at Tevos.

"Yes, you are most kind," Liara adds.

"Oh, and Liara? I spoke with Thessia a few days ago, and your father was asking about you, wondering why you are not keeping contact," Tevos says then. "Considering that you are on the Citadel now, I thought you could accompany me to the Council chambers tomorrow and speak with Matriarch Aethyta. She is getting a little anxious and worried about you."

"...I... uh, will do that, yes, of course, Councilor," Liara stumbles, and much to her surprise Shepard feels certain to have heard her bondmate breathing out something sounding remarkably like 'damnation'.

Liara is about to follow Tevos out of the study, when Shepard reaches out and grabs her bondmate's hand, stopping her from leaving. "What's going on?" she asks, keeping her voice even. "Why have you been avoiding your father?"

Liara pales a little bit when faced with the direct question. "I... you're going to laugh, but... this is important to me."

"Then I won't laugh," Morgan promises.

"I'm afraid that Aethyta will be mad at me for getting myself pregnant before the socially accepted age for bonding," Liara whispers, her eyes downcast. "I thought that if I can avoid her until the childbirth, she won't be able to protest much when I'm already cradling a beautiful blue baby in my arms... it's probably silly, but... it's important to me."

Shepard sighs. "...it does sound incredibly silly, I mean... Aethyta normally spits on the term 'socially accepted', so I just can't see her caring, but... well, if it's that important to you, just don't reveal it to her?"

"It's a little hard to hide it when I'm standing there in front of her at the QEC connector..."

"Oh god... well, I don't know, just take me with you, then you can hide behind my not so broad shoulders..."

"You know... that might actually work!" Liara's eyes spark with the sudden idea.

Shepard just shakes her head in exasperation. "You can be... so odd at times, babe," she chuckles. "But now... I'm kind of feeling a bit tired from all that elassa, too. What do you say we follow the example of the others and retire?"

"That sounds like a good idea, Morgan."

"I even brought some earplugs with me this time, and the asari equivalent for you," Shepard whispers to Liara, smiling.

"Very thoughtful," Liara replies, her returned smile growing a little twisted and naughty. "But... are you sure you actually want to use them?"


	147. News From Thessia

**Chapter 146 - News From Thessia**

"What the hell is wrong with you?" Liara flinches slightly from the harsh voice of her father as Matriarch Aethyta regards her over the QEC connection. "Will you stop hiding behind Shepard's back and step forward so that your own father can take a good look at you!" she urges, but Liara remains standing with her arms wrapped around Morgan's waist from behind, softly supporting her chin on her bondmate's shoulder.

"Ah, don't push her, Matriarch, she's agonizing over not having contacted you earlier and it has made her feel guilty and worried," Morgan explains on Liara's behalf, offering the previously studied lines. "It is very good to see you, though, let me add."

"Yeah, and it's good to see you got through the mess in one piece, babe," Aethyta nods at Shepard. "If you had kicked the bucket, it would have probably made Liara even more useless than she looks right now. At least now you can knock some sense into her head."

"I love you too, dad," Liara says, smiling softly.

"Bah. Yeah, yeah... you know me too well already," Aethyta grins at her daughter. "How is life on Earth working out for you two? Tevos isn't painting a very pretty picture during our briefings. It seems that while the humans managed to colonize Terminus, spreading through it like a plague, they are crap at cleaning up their own backyard."

"Tevos isn't really exaggerating, I don't think we will stay planetside for much longer, before moving back to the Citadel. Or the Destiny Ascension... Lidanya invited us to stay there if we wished," Shepard says.

"Oh, did she? I suggest you take her up on that offer," Aethyta nods. "That ship is pretty damn impressive. Even if the company could be better. Last I spoke with Liddy, all this war business and food shortages had made her stiffer than a turian. She needs to get laid so badly."

"Well, we are not going to help cure that problem of hers," Morgan chuckles.

"Then I'll do it myself, once they return back to the asari space," Aethyta grins broadly. "Wouldn't be the first time I help her relax a bit..."

"Too much information, dad!" Liara exclaims, sighing theatrically.

"Still a prude, I see," Aethyta rolls her eyes. "But Shepard, I need to know, are you really serious about leaving that pathetic Earth of yours behind and following the asari fleets back to Thessia, as I keep hearing from the rumors?"

"I... yeah, I'm sure that is exactly what I want," Shepard nods, even if deep inside she does wonder a little whether she truly knows what she is signing up for. _There probably won't be any other humans or Thessia, or only very few, just me and millions and millions of these blue beauties as Vega would say. But... strangely enough, it does not scare me. I have spent time not only with Liara, but also with Aria, Tevos and the girls, and I find I have developed an almost painful need for their company. And... with mother gone... and David as well... all my most important ties to Earth and humanity... they're no longer there. But I need something to belong to... and I feel that it is with Liara, on Thessia._

"That's why I think you should spend some time on the Destiny Ascension, Shepard, both of you," Aethyta says in a sagely voice. "Being the only human on a ship of ten thousand asari will give you a better perspective on what you can expect when living on Thessia. Or it might make you decide to turn your tail and run... though, of course, if you do that, I will hunt you down and go all crazy commando on your ass."

"Uh, I sincerely doubt that will be necessary," Shepard chuckles. _Damn, wish we could tell her that Liara's expecting, but I made that damned promise not to reveal it. That would make her realize that for me getting out is no longer an option, it never really has been, the mere thought of it is physically painful. _

"See that it doesn't," Aethyta adds warningly, though not entirely seriously. "It seems that I will be seeing you all soon enough, and we certainly could use all those people stuck in other systems back here and rebuilding. Tevos says that your scientists are getting close to finishing the repairs and begin testing the relay. Hopefully they won't screw everything up even worse!"

"They did amazingly well with the Crucible, and I understand that this is easier to figure out, the work on Crucible has provided the scientists with valuable insight and knowledge," Liara says. "I know that Tevos has sent you all the relevant intel, have you started working on the Parnitha System relay?"

"Yes, but we haven't gotten nowhere near as close as you," Aethyta grumbles. "All our best scientists are stuck in the Sol System, in case you had forgotten. Work on the relay is slow. We are concentrating on rebuilding our communications, supply chains... the fuck do I know about growing crops!"

"Looks like Earth won't be able to grow much in the way of crops for a few years, since all that fighting has caused a nuclear winter. Reapers didn't exactly sit idly here on Earth, all that fighting has thrown so much shit into Earth's stratosphere that we're barely getting any sunlight..." she quickly explains for Aethyta's benefit. "It's dark, miserable and cold down there, and everyone's starving."

"Ah... well, I guess the Reapers weren't on Thessia long enough to cause that kind of effect," Aethyta shrugs, looking a little relieved. "The rebuilding will take years, but still it's not all bad here and at least I don't have to do quite everything myself. And Tevos actually manages to say something useful now and then during our chats... she has suddenly become more tolerable now that she no longer has to dance to the tune of the matriarchs."

"And she certainly keeps far more interesting company these days," Shepard blurts out without thinking.

"Oh? You can't let something like that slip out and then refuse to elaborate!" Aethyta gives Morgan a demanding stare, looking more than a little curious. "Spill it, now."

"Only if you promise to keep this to yourself, dad. We were honor-bound to keep it a secret, which we had managed perfectly fine until my bondmate suddenly lost her last vestiges of discretion," Liara says, giving Morgan a little poke in the ribs.

"A secret? Don't tell me, she's hooked up with Aria again?" Aethyta asks.

"That's correct," Liara nods. "I'm surprised you even know about it, father. I got the sense that they really tried to keep down about the entire thing."

"Well, I wasn't always ignorant and disinterested about the asari internal affairs, you know," the matriarch winks at them.

"Wait, wait, hold your horses for a moment there," Morgan shakes her head, feeling a little stunned. "What do you mean, they got together _again_?" she asks, looking at Aethyta, then turning towards her bondmate. "And you never mentioned a single word about knowing this!"

"Aria did not give me permission to speak of this," Liara shrugs, the expression in her eyes then becoming full of mirth. "And I think it is important to note that at least someone in our relationship is not a... blabbermouth."

"Ouch, Shepard, she got you there," Aethyta laughs. "Anyway, let me explain, just so you're not feeling out of the loop. Their relationship was the subject of a huge scandal a few centuries ago. Almost ended up in a civil war between two of the most powerful clans at the time... a war that might have very well engulfed the whole of Thessia."

"Aria told me some of it when she visited with me, but not that part," now it is Liara's turn to be surprised. "I never knew it was quite as bad!"

"In the end, Aria's clan decided to accept some territories in compensation for their slighted honor, and agreed to keep their lost daughter away from Tevos," Aethyta explains. "Aria was pissed. I sympathized. She thought her people would fight for her, but they just took the bribe and tried to keep her in line. That was when she said a big 'fuck you' to everyone on Thessia and disappeared, only to show up on Omega a few decades later."

"Wow, they're like asari Romeo and Juliet," Shepard chuckles. "But from what I've seen, they seem to be good for each other."

"I'm guessing Tevos makes Aria a bit less of a loose cannon in turn," Aethyta muses, receiving nods from both Liara and Shepard in return. "And this time, there aren't enough of stupid, narrow-minded elderly matriarchs left on Thessia to raise a storm about their relationship... good riddance to that dead weight. E-democracy, my ass. Some asari have always been more equal than the others... at least the Reapers did not discriminate, in fact it's like they tried to do us a favor when they wiped out a couple of the more annoying clans almost completely, like the T'Siri and T'Anorai."

"What is the situation like?" Liara asks, unable to stop herself from looking worried. "Do our people at least understand the necessity of working together to rebuild?"

"More or less. I have not yet experienced blatant attempts of greed and trying to benefit from the misfortune of others. And at least Tevos had the good sense not to die and leave the councilor's spot vacant, which I understand is the reason why the humans are acting so frantic as if they all had the runs," Aethyta rolls her eyes. "The only thing I would wish for is slightly more competence amongst those left in charge here. I mean... the T'Onora are now led by a young maiden shy of her eighties, and she's actually one of the more pragmatic people I have to deal with! We're still very short on specialists of almost every kind, but more and more ships are coming in every day, bringing our people back from Lusia, Niacal and Sanves."

"That sounds very encouraging, dad," Liara smiles.

"Yeah, well... I'm trying to retain some sense of realism here, you know!" the matriarch grins, then turning serious as her attention shifts towards Morgan. "Listen, Shepard, Tevos told me about the offer she received from the geth. They are willing to come and help us rebuild the planet, while asking for absolutely nothing in return. The question is... can we trust them enough to let these synthetics enter the heart of our civilization? You have had a lot of dealings with them... can't believe I'm asking for a human's opinion, but well, there you go."

"Heh, well, I do feel flattered," Morgan chuckles. "But seriously, I think you would be a fool not to jump on this opportunity. The quarians benefitted tremendously from their aid on Rannoch, and as soon as the salarians and the turians realize how much the geth can help, they will invite them as well, so... I'd make sure you extend your offer first. You won't regret it."

"Hmph," Aethyta grumbles. "Never thought I'd see the day when the geth land on Thessia and we welcome them. But well, I guess that's just one of the many things that this crazy war has changed. Tevos seemed in favor of it as well. Now all that's left is to convince the people back here, but hearing that their own councilor as well as the famous Commander Shepard endorses this alliance, well... it will carry a lot of weight. Oh, and kid," she then adds, looking back at Liara. "I haven't been able to divert a lot of resources into bringing Benezia's old estate into proper shape, but we've started some repairs on it. I think we can manage to bring it into a habitable state by the time you get here."

"Our estate on Armali?" Liara gasps.

"You know perfectly well that she left it to you, kiddo. Don't start with that 'I don't want to feel like I owe my mother anything' crap again. You two will need a place to stay and it is perfectly suited for your needs."

"It is too large and luxurious," Liara mutters quietly. "But if you agree to stay with us, perhaps I will consent."

"Are you sure you want me, my foul tongue and the krogan-like bedside manner sticking around?"

"Absolutely, we won't mind that at all. We've been spending a lot of time with Aria, lately... I think we've grown used to everything," Shepard grins. "Well, except the unsolicited sex advice, I think."

"Yes... uh, and what about Benezia's side of the family, has anyone survived?" Liara asks, desperate for a topic change. "Have they stopped contesting the will? I was almost ready to give up on the estate at one point, but pure spite stopped me."

"I think one of Benezia's half-sisters has survived... the really annoying one. The one with vorcha father," Aethyta explains.

"Well, that explains everything," Shepard laughs. "It's a crazy society where a half-vorcha offspring is accepted more readily than a pureblood..."

"Sadly, that was true," Liara sighs. "And I think you must mean Aunt Niline. I do not remember her well, but from what I do, I recall her being rather hysterical."

"That's the one," the matriarch nods. "They're suddenly really proud of you, kid, telling everyone that they're related to the asari who helped Commander Shepard save the galaxy. Using your name like a bloody banner."

"I will not stand for that, they have no right," Liara snaps angrily. "Dad, I'm going to make a formal announcement that the only one who may speak on my behalf during my absence is my father when representing the N'Ilandi clan."

"That will certainly help a lot, kiddo," Aethyta nods gratefully. "Suddenly everyone on Thessia appears to have been your best friend, when we both know that the truth was rather the opposite. If I'd have anything to shut them up with, that would be appreciated. Anyway... I've talked your ears full, I'm sure you're dying to be rid of me and get back to do whatever it is that two young people who no longer need to stress about saving the galaxy might be doing."

"Oh, now and then we do something else too," Morgan chuckles, earning a playful punch from Liara, as Aethyta grins and parts with them to return to her tiring, but satisfying work to return Thessia to a semblance of order in time for her daughter's return home...

* * *

"Did you hear the news from the quarian camp?" says a turian soldier, part of a small group of angry looking marines, crowding behind one of the prefab dwellings in the turian groundside enclave. "They've apparently ran out of the stored supplies, so they're going to cut daily rations based on what their liveship can support. By 10% for their own people, and by 30% for us."

"What? I'm not going to stand for that, we've suffered enough already!" there are angry shouts and complaints amongst the group. "If this is allowed to stand, most of our people will not see Palaven again, they'll starve to death!"

"A disgrace! Even Sparatus and his threats to deny them the Council seat can't achieve anything, they won't budge!" there is more and more angry yelling as the outrage spreads like wildfire.

"We need to take the matters into our own hands! If they don't give us equal share, let's take it from them!" some of the younger hotheads don't have to search long for a solution.

"We can't just storm their enclave and raid it for supplies," some of the others are more hesitant. "Even if our people are starving, most of them are not quite as desperate to attack our so called... allies..."

"Then let's make sure they never become desperate enough! Instead, we should make our people so enraged with the quarians that they will want to storm that enclave themselves... or will at least support those who take action!" the hotheads don't relent, too angry to listen to reason.

There is a grizzled lieutenant amongst all the marine grunts, who has spent most of the time listening and thinking until now. Suddenly, he begins to speak, offering an idea. "There's a simple but effective way to achieve this. Let's go back to the old 'they're stealing our supplies routine'".

"Yeah! Vakarian hasn't been here for a whole week to check the latest shipments... let's use it to our advantage!" the idea takes root quickly, the others immediately jumping on the lieutenant's bandwagon. "When the next shipment comes in, let's swipe some crates before they make it to the warehouses."

"No, wait, there is an even better way to do this," the lieutenant shakes his head. "Let's crack some of the crates open, swipe their contents, fill them up with some waste from the quarian ships and reseal them... that will make it appear particularly insulting..."

"Yes, that just might work!" the others agree with confident exclamations. "Let's make sure to raise a real storm over it! Let's call Vakarian in as well, so that he sees with his own eyes that the folks of his little slut are screwing us over..."

* * *

Admiral Tali'Zorah vas Normandy stands in the large CIC hall of the liveship Rayya, going through the scans of the damaged decks, the Reaper particle beam having wiped them clean of all agricultural facilities. She knows that there is no way to expand their food producing capacities, even worse, the specialists have been informing her and Admiral Kar'Danna about their worrying analysis of the soil in the greenhouses. Lacking means to enrich the soil with nutrients, the crop production is expected to plummet within a few months, gradually leaving them with less and less supplies of which there are already clearly not enough.

"I'm sorry, Tali, but you're wasting your time," Admiral Kar'Danna vas Rayya says, approaching her and taking the datapad out of her hands, putting it back down on the desk. "Give up, those facilities can't be repaired, not without resources from a dextro-based world. There is only one thing we can try, but it is quite risky." Tali faces him with a questioning stare. "We could request some supplies from the asari or the humans and start mixing food. As long as it is kept in small amounts, most of our people will be able to consume it."

Tali winces, remembering the few times during her Pilgrimage, when she happened to eat asari or salarian foods by accident, recalling how sick and nauseous she had felt for days after it, not looking forward to a similar experience. "I don't know... up to 5% of our people are likely to experience potentially fatal allergic shock, and many won't be able to keep the food down, making them even more hungry in turn... no, that is too risky... let's not go there just yet."

"I suppose you are right," the other admiral nods reluctantly. "At least the news from the relay science teams are encouraging. They will begin testing soon, so hopefully all we need is a little patience and then we'll be on our way back to Rannoch."

"Can you think of a way to tell that to the turians without getting yourself shot, Admiral Kar'Danna?" Tali asks bitterly. She has heard from Garrus about the increasingly hostile mood amongst his people, following the Admiralty's decision to decrease the turian's amount of supplies by a greater margin than their own, Tali having been the only one to vote against the proposal.

"Yes... I regret having to make that decision," Kar'Danna shakes his head sadly. "And speaking of turians... I actually came over to inform you that your friend wishes to speak with you. If you wish to answer, I will reroute the connection to the nearby console... maybe you can suggest to him that the turians mix our supplies with human food, perhaps they are less sensitive to allergic reactions."

"Right. That'll go over **so** well," Tali sighs, stepping up to the console and accepting the vid call, Kar'Danna walking away to give her privacy when speaking with Garrus. Bringing up the images, she sees her boyfriend pacing around restlessly near a stack of crates that bear the seals identifying them as having been sent from the Rayya. "Garrus... is something the matter?" she asks, starting to feel worried from how tense the turian looks.

"You tell me," Garrus replies with strain evident in his voice. "Did you check the latest shipment that your people sent from the Rayya?"

"Yes... why do you ask?" Tali replies, feeling confused now. "I even counted the crates myself, everything was in order."

"Maybe you should have opened them to check the contents, instead of just counting," Garrus snaps, looking a little irritated.

"What are you insinuating, exactly?" Tali begins to lose patience.

"I'm not insinuating anything. Everything seems perfectly clear to me. At first your people cut our supply share by whopping 30%. And now... they have sent us half the shipment filled with their own garbage," Garrus says, moving his hand so that his omni-tool captures the images from an opened crate on the warehouse floor, instead of the tubes with processed paste, the crate is filled with various junk, empty bottles, plastic wrappers and other packaging. "Don't bother asking, I've gone through the contents and it's definitely from the Rayya."

"But... I can't believe it!" Tali exclaims, shocked and surprised from the sight.

"I'd invite you down here to take a look for yourself, but I'm not sure I could keep my people from losing their cool," Garrus sighs. "But fine, you don't believe me? I'll open another one before your eyes. See, the ones on the top row were all fine, but the bottom row has all been filled with garbage from your ship. If it was meant to be insulting... well, it's working," he says, trying to undo the seals on the crate, Tali having to concede that they look as if they have not been tampered with, even if she knows that there are dozens of ways to crack these seals and then close them again, leaving no signs of tampering. "And there we go, more quarian crap... how useful," Garrus grunts, having forced the crate open and much to her dismay, Tali is forced to concede that the turian is correct.

"I don't understand this. Are you sure that..." Tali begins to speak, then cutting herself short, realizing that the situation is too volatile to even imply that the turians themselves have been up to something fishy.

"I don't think you want to finish that sentence, Tali," Garrus adds warningly. "Look, we urgently need something in place of this crap, or things might become very unpleasant. I'm not sure I'll be able to keep my people under control."

"But what can I do?" Tali exclaims, wringing her hands nervously. "We don't have anything extra to spare!"

"The warehouses in your enclave have some supplies," the turian suggests.

"No! Our ground forces are supposed to survive on those for the next five days, I won't let them starve!" Tali shakes her head, resolute, despite urgently trying to think of some way to help the turians. "Can your people tolerate mixing dextro-based nutrients with human food?"

"Now you just seek to insult me," Garrus looks furious at the suggestion.

"I didn't mean to! I... I'm sorry, I want to help both our people, but what am I supposed to do?" she cries desperately, feeling like bursting into tears but just about managing to keep herself together.

"I... don't know..." Garrus finally admits, sighing tiredly. "I'm sorry, too... I shouldn't take it out on you, it's not your fault, but... damn, this is putting me under a lot of stress! Looking at the faces of our people, I feel as if we're sitting on a fusion bomb here. Not having eaten a scrap of food for thirty six hours isn't helping either."

"Twenty four here," Tali sighs, trying to ignore the loud rumble and painful twitching in her belly. "I'm... really sorry, Garrus... I'll make sure to check each and every crate that leaves the Rayya from now on... is that acceptable?"

"Eh... I don't know, Tali," the turian shakes his head sadly. "If it was just me... sure. But now... spirits, I can't say... I fear that the damage may have been done already."


	148. Animal Instincts

_A/N: Kind of dark and angst ridden. I don't really like the chapter, myself, especially the latter part of the fragment with Shepard. If I had the time, energy and ideas for something better, I would have rewritten it. I suppose I wanted to show how the more time she spends on Earth, the more she begins to lose herself, but I can't help but feel as if I kind of failed to do that. (And yeah, they totally need to get away from Earth. Fool Shepard, listen to my reviewers!) _

**Chapter 147 - Animal Instincts**

Commander Morgan Shepard is lounging sleepily on the living room sofa of her Bradford residence, late in the evening, thinking about retiring for good, joining Liara in the bedroom upstairs. Her bondmate, now late in the ninth month of pregnancy, has retired half an hour earlier, while Shepard has remained downstairs to watch through the ending of some action vid that she realizes she has absolutely no interest in. It is then that her omni-tool decides to beep, startling her and she activates it to see the caller, her heart sinking the moment she sees it.

"Yeah, Shepard here," she speaks, having pressed a button to accept the call. "Again? ...what? I see... yeah, I'll be there in twenty." She disconnects the call, for a moment remaining lying on the sofa, feeling utterly depressed. "Fuck," she then says, slowly propelling herself off the bed and starting to look for her winter jacket, discarded somewhere in the foyer. While she is looking for her clothes, Morgan hears a creak on the stairs, Liara descending from the upstairs bedroom, probably having overheard her talking, looking sleepy and heart-wrenchingly beautiful with that bulging belly of hers.

"I thought I heard... oh," she starts to speak, then quickly realizing why Morgan is looking for her clothes, the asari's face falling. "Not again... that's the second time this week?"

"Mhm," Morgan merely harrumphs in reply, not feeling much like talking, Joker's drinking binges starting to get progressively more frequent and severe. At some point she had tried to talk the proprietor of the Black Swan out of giving Joker any booze, but the man hadn't been interested in losing one of his best customers. The most he had agreed to was to take Shepard's contact details and give her a call whenever Jeff became too pissed to get home on his own. Which happened too depressingly often.

"It's completely dark outside, if you're not going to wear your armor, at least take a weapon. For my sake, please, Morgan," Liara says, picking up her Carnifex pistol and handing it over to Shepard, the Commander scowling as she accepts it.

"As if something's going to happen, the pub is like next doors," she mutters. "It's pissing outside again, though, so I'm going to grab the skycar."

"I wish we could get to the bottom of what's eating Jeff," Liara sighs, looking deeply unhappy and a little forlorn, unsure of what can be done to help their old friend.

"It's kind of hard to do that when he's not even talking to me," Morgan shrugs. "I'll try not to take too long," she steps up to Liara, planting a soft kiss on her bondmate's cheek. "I'm sorry."

"It's not your fault, Morgan," Liara whispers as Morgan is already on her way towards the doors.

_Yeah, if only I could make myself feel that way_, she thinks bitterly, getting into the skycar and starting the engine, pulling up in the air and then quickly taking a short flight towards the old pub down the Thornton Road. She decides to land the skycar a few blocks away from the pub itself, feeling like taking a short walk on foot to clear her head, getting out and pulling the hood of her winter jacket up, hiding from the chillingly cold rain, wind whipping her and biting through her thick coat to send unpleasant shivers down her body.

As always, there are several groups of people milling about the entrance of the pub, some of the older patrons stepping out for a moment to have a smoke, while a group of youths lounge against the wall and give Morgan the kind of stares that make it clear that they do not recognize her, fooled by her youthful appearance, probably assuming that she is around their age of early twenties. Fortunately, they don't try anything save for a catcall or two, but by then Morgan is already inside the pub, striding towards the counter where Joker usually collapses, pathetic and tearful, sometimes ranting at her as she drags him away.

Joker is in his usual roost, slumped and weeping on the counter, hand cradling a half-empty glass of amber liquid. "Again?" Morgan asks with disbelief, throwing herself in a seat next to Jeff, giving him a reproachful stare. "Look, this is starting to spiral completely out of control."

"I'm not asking you to... come here..." Joker slurps, a little more coherent than usually. Still, Morgan nods appreciatively at the proprietor of the place behind the bar, knowing that Jeff would have passed out after finishing this glass anyway. "In fact... I keep telling you... to get lost..."

Morgan sighs deeply. "Right. You want to finish that before we go?" she asks, pointing at the glass in Joker's shaking hand.

"I'm going to... finish this... and two more..." he manages in reply, trying to sound confident. "So... don't wait for me... just go, Shepard..."

Morgan reaches out to grab Joker by the shoulder and shake him a little, starting to get a little irritated with his antics, but then stopping as she spots someone approaching her from behind. She jumps off her seat and turns around to face a burly marine, bald and cleanly-shaven giant of a man, looking at her and appearing a little annoyed. "It seems our friend here doesn't want to go with you... Shepard," he adds the last word with a great amount of distaste and spittle.

Shepard sighs inwardly. She has had to deal with someone like this almost every time when coming down to the pub, usually being able to talk them down, sometimes having to teach some troublemaker a lesson. "If Joker is your friend, then you surely want him to safely get home, which is what I intend to help him with," she says determinedly. "Now, get out of my way and let me take care of him."

"Ah, but will he be in safety with you, Shepard?" someone speaks up behind her now and she swirls around to look at two other marines standing protectively over a slightly confused Joker. _Oh, this is rich,_ Morgan groans to herself.

"Yeah," the first marine, the large giant, grunts. "Didn't want to believe all those rumors flying around about you, Shepard, but... with what this guy has told us about serving with you, and the things on the news... hell, maybe those rumors are true, and you're not the hero we believed you to be."

"Shepard has always been a clever Alliance PR trick to make good with the aliens and kiss the Council's asses," one of the other marines speaks up. "She was the perfect poster-girl for them, being such an alien lover herself. You didn't save Earth because you cared about the people down here, did you?"

"I certainly did not save Earth for pathetic examples of humankind like you," Shepard snarls at them, finally having had enough, starting to get a feeling that this will only end in violence. "Hearing this makes me wish I had left this piss-hole for Reapers for chew on. At least not everyone down here is as dumb and gullible as you are, and some were actually worth saving."

"Don't!" Joker cries out, seeing the giant of a marine advancing on Morgan with the obvious intent of smashing her face in. "Please... don't... Shepard, just... go."

"You've been telling them all about me, have you?" Morgan gives Joker a stern look, too irritated to let go. "Did you also tell them how you got me killed those three and a half years ago? Have I ever accused you about that? No, I never even mentioned it to you! You made Liara's life a living nightmare for two years because you wouldn't get off that fucking bridge, and I never said one word to you about it! Not one word!"

Joker lets out a heart-wrenching wail and covers his face with his hands, tears flowing down his cheeks. "Come on, Shepard, get out, you're not helping him, you're upsetting the bloke," the big marine takes her by the shoulder and pushes her away towards the exit, at least no longer keen on engaging Morgan in a fistfight.

"Gods... she's right..." Joker shouts drunkenly behind her, wracked with sobs. "I've made a terrible mistake... oh gods, what have I done... Shepard, I'm so sorry, but..."

"What? What have you done, what are you apologizing for?" Shepard feels herself starting to shake from anxiety, but the burly marine and his two buddies are unceremoniously pushing her towards the exit.

"...you'll find out soon... sorry..." Joker whispers, slumping heavily in his seat again.

"What the hell do you mean? What on earth is he talking about?" Morgan frantically demands of the marines, but they unceremoniously push her away and she is forced to yield, unwilling to resort to more violent means to convince Joker's new bodyguards. _Damn it, what was he trying to tell me? Did it have something to do with why he always seems to have so many supply chits to trade in for the booze, perhaps? _she ponders, stepping outside the Black Swan again, quickly pulling up the hood of her winter jacket.

Deeply upset and irritated, she leaves the Black Swan, noticing that the group of youths that had been there when she arrived are still lounging around, conversing idly and giving her a few appraising looks. Morgan's lips twist into a sneer as with the corner of her eye she notices the young men pushing off from the wall and idly setting to follow her when she begins to walk away from the pub. _Oh, please, just try anything. Just give me a reason,_ she mentally begs, feeling an urge to find some reason to engage in violent behavior, dying to find an outlet after the encounter with Joker, not wanting to bring all this pent up frustration home to Liara.

She turns around one corner in a lazy walk, then around another, still finding the three juvenile delinquents following her, starting to walk slower when she lessens her pace, speeding up again as she moves faster. Having received this affirmation that the group is indeed following her, Morgan can't stop a feral grin from spreading on her lips, as she deliberately turns into a dark and narrow side-alley, away from prying eyes, hearing the steps behind her growing louder as the group of three round in on her.

"Baby's gotten all lost?" she hears a voice behind her, Morgan smiling when she realizes that she has walked into a dead end, appearing all helpless and vulnerable. "Can't find your way home? Maybe we can help."

"Or maybe the little doll doesn't want to go home? I've got a place nearby," another voice adds. "We could take her there, keep her safe and warm. Very warm."

"Sounds like a plan to me," the last one chuckles. "What do you say, doll-face?"

Morgan turns around slowly, keeping her hood up and lowering her eyes, hoping that the little bastards won't recognize her, but the cul-de-sac is dark and she makes sure that what sparse light there is does not fall on her face. _Gods, they're barely over twenty_, she thinks, but somehow it doesn't make much of a difference to her. _This isn't the first time they've tried this, clearly. They wouldn't be so casual and flippant about it, they would be more nervous._

"I'm saying that you're about to make a terrible mistake," she says, trying to sound like someone putting up a brave face despite being horribly frightened. "If you don't leave me alone, I'm going to... I'm going to call for help!"

"You could try to do that, but really, it would be pointless. There's nobody around to help you," two of the youths slowly approach her, laughing. "I think we've got a kitten with sharp nails here, what do you think, boys? Always so much more fun when they struggle, eh?"

_This kitten is about to shred your face to bits, idiot, unless you step away, _Shepard snarls inwardly. "Wait a moment, guys," she says, quickly raising her hand to halt the advance of the approaching would-be offenders, then moving it to undo the buttons on her winter jacket for an easy access to her pistol, a gesture misinterpreted by the three youths. "I think we just hit things off on the wrong foot... how about we start from the scratch, hmm?"

"Ha, I can't believe it, this slut's all wet for us already!" the trio share another laugh, which ends very abruptly when Shepard unbuttons her jacket, pulls out her Carnifex pistol and almost casually unloads two shots each at the pair approaching her, blowing their faces off and killing them instantly, then pointing the heavy pistol at the last offender, watching the grin on his lips fading, the young man slumping to his knees, shaking with fear.

"Shit! Oh god... you... you killed them... gods, please... we were just having some fun!" he pleads, but now Shepard is the one grinning smugly as she steps a little closer, pulling her hood back as she approaches.

"Maybe now you recognize the woman you tried to force yourselves upon?" she snarls.

The man before her collapses pathetically on his back, trying to slowly backpedal away from her. "Damn it... shit... you're that Alliance hero... Shepard, right? Fuck... damn it... we didn't recognize you, you looked like some young lass nobody would cry about going missing... fuck, sorry..."

"Right. Sorry for the misunderstanding, we clearly thought we were about to rape someone else. Yeah, that makes everything all that much better," Shepard says, now deceptively calm.

"Please... I'll do anything, just don't shoot me, okay? I'll... I'll turn myself in, confess to all my crimes, I'll work to become a better person? Please? You can't just shoot me in cold blood... please..."

"And why is that?" Morgan asks, pointing the pistol at the cowering piece of filth.

"Because... you're the hero of the humanity... you're kind and merciful, right? You just don't shoot people in the street like that... you believe in the goodness inside of everyone or else you wouldn't be the hero you are, yes? I can change my ways... I will, I swear on my mother's grave!"

"Very eloquent," Shepard nods, smirking sarcastically. "But you obviously did not hear the conversation that took place inside the pub. Apparently, I'm not the kind of hero people believe I am. Which means that I do shoot filthy little pricks like you as I please," the grin never fades from her lips as she pulls the trigger, ignoring the man's frantic cries. With a gaping hole in the side of his face, he slumps back on the wet pavement and remains there still.

Feeling a great deal better, Morgan puts the pistol away and casually leaves the alley, slowly returning to her skycar, parked nearby. _Damn, that felt good. What a thrill! Maybe it's that feeling of the hunt that Aria once tried to describe to me... never really felt like it before, watching the fear on that bastard's face as I pulled the trigger. _

_I wonder if it is wrong that a part of me enjoyed this casual, brutal execution, regardless of whether they deserved it or not. I've killed too many out of necessity and in self-defense, but these... these ones I wanted to kill, and it felt so frighteningly good,_ she realizes, feeling a little disturbed at the rush of empowerment this act of violence has given her. _Or maybe... maybe I just need to accept that this war has shaped me into a killer, and this is simply what I am. Taking the lives of others is in my nature now, I won't be able to deny it to myself... and perhaps... perhaps I shouldn't even try. _

* * *

"Another quiet evening, eh?" the two quarian guards outside the supply warehouse in the quarian enclave outside Nottingham exchange handshakes as they arrive to take over the next shift, stretching throughout the night.

"Of course. What, are you expecting trouble?" another pair of guards walk past them, one of them turning to ask.

"Not really," one of the first group replies. "Though the admirals clearly are, or else they wouldn't have doubled the amount of guards, following their decision to cut the turian supply share."

"Turians... those poor sods. Almost feel sorry for them." The other group then continue on their way, leaving the first pair of guards alone at their post.

"Almost? I do feel sorry for them," one of them says. "Kreeto, did you hear that they actually got some extra supplies from the asari and tried mixing the food?"

"Yeah, ended up with all their ship medical facilities full and almost crowding the Citadel, too," Kreeto sighs. "Well, I guess that's one way to find out who can tolerate the stuff and who can't, now those who aren't too allergic can keep using it."

"You know, I think they're more pissed off about those six hundred who died in horrible agony. I can sort of understand where they're coming from. Sometimes I wish we would have just split the supplies equally even if it meant extra four hours between meals."

"Radin, my friend, I completely agree with you," his friend nods. "But the good news are, all the preliminary tests of the mass relay have gone very well. They're talking about sending some probes through in a few days, and if successful, maybe we can return to Rannoch soon and forget all about this starvation and rejoin our people and our families."

"Yeah, that's right," Radin nods. "I wonder how the rebuilding is going. I was skeptical about the geth, but... Keelah, our ancestors sure built them very efficient. No wonder they thought it was worth it to circumvent some of the Council's odd laws about the AI research."

"Tanii must have had the baby by now," Kreeto says wistfully. "Just kills me that I couldn't be there back with her on Rannoch. And no comms either, so I have no idea how they are doing," he adds, taking out a small datapad showing a picture of a quarian girl in her last months of pregnancy, holding her hands on her engorged belly. "Keelah, maybe she had twins or triplets, with a stomach like that! Well, at least I have this picture... have you seen it?"

"Only twenty or so times," Radin chuckles. "Something tells me I'm going to see it one more time, though," he adds as Kreeto shows him the image on the datapad.

"Sorry, but I just love her so much... damn, I know fighting the Reapers was important, but I often wish I could have remained back on Rannoch with-"

"Huh? With her, you mean?" Radin asks, handing the datapad back to his fellow guard, wondering why he has suddenly stopped in midsentence. He almost jumps, watching Kreeto slowly slumping to the ground for no apparent reason. "Kreeto, old friend, what the-" then he freezes himself, bullet fired from a Mantis sniper rifle impaling into his brain and killing the quarian guard instantly.

Moments later, several heavy turian boots stomp by the fallen quarian guards, one stepping on the datapad, shattering it to dozen small pieces. "Confirmation, all targets down," a gruff voice speaks on the comms, as the turians stand outside the warehouse, waiting for further orders. "Alright, men, the coast is clear. The shuttles are coming in. Get inside and start prepping those supplies for loading."

"Where are we taking those supplies, LT?" one of the other turian marines asks.

"The 'Endurance' stands ready to receive the shuttles. The captain is a trusted friend of mine, and her crew are loyal. We can use her ship as a point of distribution to all those in need and able to keep their mouths shut about the origin of the goods," the lieutenant in charge of the operation replies. "Now get in and clean out that warehouse. And be quick about it... it's only a matter of time until the quarians realize something is up..."

* * *

Standing in the middle of a field of smoldering rubble, all that has remained left over from a destroyed quarian supply warehouse, Garrus feels himself becoming more and more pissed off. _I guess it was inevitable,_ he muses to himself. _After so many lay sick and dying from food poisoning, I should have expected this. If they weren't pissed about the situation before, this definitely tipped the bubbling dissatisfaction over the edge... not that I can't understand them... but I don't hate the quarians, I hate the circumstances we have been placed in..._

The argument between the turian and quarian leaders, visiting the site of the brutal attack, is slowly growing in strength and letting out another resigned sigh, he begins to walk back to the group of wildly gesticulating disputants. "None of this would have happened if you had only agreed to split the supplies equally!" Primarch Victus argues, waving his only remaining hand angrily, still waiting for a suitable cybernetic implant to be produced.

"You were given a perfectly adequate solution to this problem," Admiral Kar'Danna huffs, sounding outraged. "It's hardly our fault some of your people got sick and died!"

"The blood of those six hundred and twenty one turian people is on the hands of the quarian Admiralty Board," Councilor Sparatus states angrily. "Why did you not subject your own people to the same treatment that you advised for us?"

"There are not many of the quarian people left, Councilor," Admiral Kal'Reegar says, shaking his head. "Before the war, there were seventeen million of us on the Flotilla. Now, we anticipate that number is between eight and nine million, barely enough to maintain a viable population. We cannot risk any more of our people dying from this famine... I don't want to imply that your people are more expendable, but..."

"But your decisions alone have stated that loud and clear," Sparatus finishes. "You had to expect that it will lead to something like this," he adds, turning towards Admiral Shala'Raan.

"Councilor, two wrongs don't make a right, as the humans like to say," Raan replies, tension in her voice. "We added extra security, but it is clear now that we must pull our people out and return them all to their ships. It is fortunate that all the components for the relay repairs have been manufactured by now."

"I pray those tests are successful and we can leave the Sol System before our people decide to wipe each other out," Victus adds angrily.

"Dangerous words, Primarch," Raan looks a little unsettled from what she appears to perceive as a threat. "We will keep our fleets on the highest level of battle readiness, just in case..."

"What of the supplies?" Sparatus looks at the quarian delegation with a demanding stare. "Your resolution to cut our share led to this disaster. Will you reverse your decision?"

"Such heinous act towards our people should merit a harsh response. If it was up to me, I would sever all supply deliveries," Kar'Danna crosses his arms on his chest defiantly.

"You would not dare," Victus snarls, angry at being threatened. "Our fleet strength is far superior to yours, Admiral. Provoke us with such talk, and we will wipe out your ships to the last for such treachery!"

"Please... we are supposed to be logical and rational thinking leaders of our people, not a pack of wild animals, growling at each other!" Kal'Reegar exclaims, raising his voice, a little surprised to see that the others immediately shrink back, looking somewhat ashamed. "Now, it is clear to me that we cannot leave our turian brothers and sisters to starve to death, those who had nothing to do with this attack do not deserve such fate. But this despicable act cannot simply be forgotten, either."

"I agree with Admiral Kal'Reegar," Raan nods resolutely. "And I propose the following. The shipments will be continued in the same reduced amounts as before the attack. We will increase the turian supply share by ten percent, as soon as you have identified and apprehended those responsible for this attack. This will not bring it back to equal share, but it will make it more bearable on your people."

Everyone spends a while pondering upon this proposal, Sparatus speaking up first. "What would you have us do with those responsible?" he asks.

"Turn them over to the Citadel security and let them be tried under the Council laws," Raan suggests quickly.

"That seems like a fair compromise," Sparatus eventually admits, looking at Victus. "Primarch?"

"What? Oh, yes, I don't like it, but... there aren't many scenarios here that I would have liked," Victus eventually agrees with some reluctance.

"It is decided then," Raan nods curtly, turning around to leave, Kar'Danna and Kal'Reegar setting to follow her, leaving a silent and subdued Tali behind, standing in the rubble and staring at Garrus, also having kept quiet throughout the whole discussion.

"You coming, Vakarian?" Victus asks, as both he and Sparatus return to the turian shuttle, walking by Garrus.

"Give me a minute please, Primarch," Garrus says, receiving a brief nod. He makes a few steps towards Tali, not really knowing what to say. For a few seconds they just stand there, facing each other, feeling uncomfortable. "So..." the turian finally starts. "I guess now I know what the geth went through."

"Not funny, Garrus," Tali snaps back.

"Yeah... sorry," he manages, shuffling from one foot to the other uncomfortably. "So... Kal spoke well."

"Yes. Very well," Tali looks equally uncertain.

"Damn. I..." he hesitates again, not sure what to say. _The relay might be declared as functioning properly in a few days. The quarian fleets will be leaving for Rannoch. The turians for Palaven. You will go with your people, I with mine. Was this it?_ "Everything's... gone to hell, hasn't it? It was supposed to become easier after the Reapers, but..."

"Did the bitter, pessimistic turian I know actually believe that?" Tali asks.

"Yes... I guess he did," Garrus replies, his eyes dropping to stare at the ground at his feet, then back up at Tali. _Don't leave. Stay. I need you. I love you._ "So... I guess I'll see you around, then."

"Yeah. See you around, Garrus," the quarian replies, looking as if she wants to say more, but there is an impatient shout coming from the shuttle, asking her to hurry up. "Take care... of yourself and your people, okay? They need you right now, just as my people need me."

He nods, taking a deep breath. _Damn it, I need you, too. I want you. But... I guess it doesn't matter what I want. _"Alright, Tali. You are right, of course. We need to keep our people safe." With that he nods and turns around to stomp away with heavy steps.


	149. Deconstruction Of A Legend

_A/N: I enjoyed writing this chapter because I could show off my awesome skills at swearing in Russian. Yay, go me! _

**Chapter 148 - Deconstruction Of A Legend**

Days go by, one after another, all of them looking the same to Shepard. It is already late April of Year 2187, but looking outside, it is impossible to guess, the weather remains constant for many months, rain, sleet and temperatures barely above zero, only a shadow of pale sunlight shining through now and then, but most of the time it is depressingly grey and gloomy. Things have come to a strange standstill around them, it seems as if everyone trapped in the Sol System is waiting with bated breaths for the results of the mass relay testing. The first experiments with the probes have looked promising, even if the engineers on site have seen the need to perform further calibrations. Upon hearing this, Shepard had suggested asking Garrus for help, but the joke had gone over everyone's heads, sadly unappreciated.

Morgan and Liara had been feeling depressed after speaking separately with both Tali and Garrus, their friends appearing downcast and questioning the future of their relationship, Liara and Shepard trying to encourage them not to give up. Still, with tensions running high amongst the two races and turians still trying to find those responsible for the attacks on the quarian supply depot, Shepard could understand that it all made things very difficult for their closest friends. As for the situation on Earth, it seemed that for now, all the warring factions were content to keep the peace and quietly concentrate on rebuilding, also waiting for the relays to be repaired and for the alien fleets to return to their home systems and leave the humans alone on Earth where they could finally settle their scores for good. And Morgan had no illusion that the fighting would resume with increased intensity as soon as the majority of the Council fleets pulled out.

It is sometime around nine o'clock in the evening, the sky outside completely dark, when Shepard receives a simple text message on her omni-tool. _'Switch on the Alliance News Network. You won't like it, but you need to see it. Sorry, Miranda.' _

"Fuck, what now?" Morgan shifts on the sofa, trying not to rouse Liara, curled up in the other corner and snoozing, but her efforts at remaining subtle fail spectacularly, the asari rearing her sleepy head and looking at her curiously.

"What's wrong, Morgan?" Liara asks, as Shepard finally switches the vid screen on and quickly selects the Alliance News Network. "Oh, goddess, it's one of those 'The Real Truth Behind The Reaper War' series? Please, switch it off, it is too upsetting."

"Yeah, I would, but Miranda says I need to watch this one," Morgan replies, watching that dark-haired bitch of a reporter that she has grown to despise to Udina-like levels of hatred, spinning another masterfully crafted tale of falsehoods, before announcing the next feature of the show, a private and enlightened interview with someone who has served with Commander Shepard for many years.

"Who of our friends would speak to this... this... this awful person!" Liara exclaims, looking confused and angry. "I can't imagine anyone-"

"Fuck," Morgan interrupts her with a curse. "Joker. Fuck... that's what he was trying to apologize for in the pub... oh god, Jeff, why? You hate me, okay, I get it, but... to obsess about it so much to resort to something like this?" _Well, how could he not obsess about it? I took everything else that mattered to him away from his life._

Before they can say anything else, the images switch to give a brief introduction to Flight-Lieutenant Jeff Moreau and his short, yet brilliant career with the Alliance and many accolades he has earned due to his unmatched skill amongst the best helmsmen of the Alliance Fleet. Obviously, his little dance with Cerberus is never mentioned, but then again, Morgan did not expect it to be touched upon.

"You have served together with Commander Shepard since the earliest of days, even before she was nominated as the first human Spectre," the interviewer, one certain Diana Allers, begins her interrogation, immediately after a disembodied robotic voice has finished listing Joker's many achievements, Morgan having been completely unaware about some of them.

Joker merely nods to this first statement of the journalist. In the nondescript apartment, sitting almost knee to knee on a couch with the attractive raven-haired reporter, he looks very much ill at ease, and Morgan at least feels a little better from seeing that. "How would you describe her during those days?" Allers asks.

"Well... she was... quite fun to hang out with," Joker says, licking his lips nervously. "Idealistic, I guess. Very loyal to the Alliance. Though she didn't show a lot of deference for protocol back then either. And no, before you ask, just because her mother was an admiral with the Alliance, it didn't mean Shepard felt like she could get away with more than others would. She was pretty proper back in those days."

"How did her lack of respect for protocol manifest itself?" Allers prods him.

"Heh, you should have seen how she chewed out that creep Mikhailovich when he showed up to 'inspect' the Normandy," Joker chuckles. "But well... most of those she snarked at deserved it. Also... well, you know, intimate relationships on Alliance ships are kind of frowned up... shit rule if you ask me, but it is what it is... still, when we got our asari scientist onboard, Shepard just melted before her. I mean, Liara's a sweet girl and I wish them all the best, but... well, you'd think that since Shepard herself kept her asari girlfriend aboard, she'd be more open to others also trying to develop a relationship."

"You sounded bitter for a moment there, Jeff. Did Shepard do something to deny you or someone close to you from forming relationships, while she herself was consummating her romance with this asari?"

"...yes. There was someone in my life... she died in the war," Joker says, his hands shaking very badly as he reaches for a glass of water, spilling some of it awkwardly. "We fancied each other, but never acted on our feelings, because Shepard discouraged us both in private conversations, advising us against intimate relationship, urging us to remain friends."

"Why would she display such duplicity?" Allers asks.

"I don't know, man, maybe she honestly thought that it wouldn't be good for us, maybe she worried that it would interfere with our work, but... just felt damn unfair that she denied us something that she allowed herself to freely explore," Joker explains bitterly.

"I believe you were entitled to be upset, Jeff," Diana Allers smiles comfortingly. "The Commander is widely credited as the one who stopped the Reaper invasion and ended the cycle of extinction that had eradicated the Protheans and many other species before them. Our series of documentaries have cast some shadow on Shepard's achievements, but as an insider, someone who was with Shepard from the very start to the dramatic finale, how much of this success would you attribute to her, and how much was... something else, perhaps a carefully crafted PR campaign?"

"Well... I don't know anything about PR campaigns, but for sure, a lot of things are attributed to Shepard alone, but she had a whole team of specialists as skilled as Shepard herself working alongside her, and she couldn't have gotten the job done without them. Hell, she wouldn't have gotten the job done without me, flying her to Ilos and other deathtraps in style," Joker says. "Somehow the achievements of those serving alongside her seemed to fall by the wayside, though. Maybe because many of them were aliens, I don't know. I'm not sure Shepard tried to hog the glory intentionally... maybe some of it... I really can't say."

"So, would you say that her role in stopping the Reapers has been exaggerated?" Diana asks again.

"Hmm... maybe just a bit," Joker shrugs. "I mean, like I said, she didn't do it all herself. But on the other hand, we wouldn't have been able to do it without her either. So, I guess she's earned her status as a hero."

"Is she _your_ hero, Jeff? Do you consider her to be a hero?" Allers presses further with this line of questioning.

"Yeah... I suppose I do. It's just that... heroes aren't necessarily always very nice people, you know? I learned that a bit too late with Shepard," Jeff says, his voice becoming bitter again.

"What happened to make you feel this way, Jeff?" Allers asks.

"Our mission on the quarian homeworld turned out a bit dicey. The Normandy got scratched here and there, and I copped a few bruises, nothing too serious. Still, Shepard stuck me in the medbay on the Alliance hospital fleet and got some quarian pilot to fly the Normandy... I don't know why, don't ask me, she has always loved aliens, right? It's just that it felt really unfair, I mean, I was flying her everywhere for three years, and then, on the eve of the final battle for Earth, she dumps me on the sidelines!" Joker turns towards the camera then, speaking as if he would be staring directly at Morgan, making her flinch, sitting on the sofa. "You stole that moment from me, Shepard. I'll never forgive you that, never!"

"Again, an understandable reaction to a questionable decision made by the much glorified Commander Shepard," Allers lectures condescendingly. "Much has been made regarding her lack of emotional ties to Earth, some going as far as to claim that she was never properly motivated to save Earth, instead more interested to aid the homeworlds of her alien friends.  
What would you say to these claims, Jeff?"

"I don't know... maybe there's some truth to those. I mean, she was a spacer kid, right? Never saw Earth save a few times, how close could she really feel to people stuck here, eh?" Joker shrugs.

"I see... well, thank you for your time, Jeff, it was certainly an illuminating insight to hear these things from someone close to the fabled Commander Shepard," Diana Allers says, bringing the segment of the interview to an end. The scene shifts quickly, returning to Diana Allers, sitting in a live studio before another panel of 'experts' that Shepard has never seen or heard of before, addressing the audience. "Well, we thought that these questions deserved answers," she says, earning a chorus of cheers and applause from the audience. "So, we tracked down the famous Commander Shepard to get these answers... interestingly enough, we found her in a rather inebriated state in a North Yorkshire pub. Here is what she had to say when faced with a question whether she stopped the Reapers with those people fighting bravely on Earth foremost on her mind."

The image shifts to a recorded scene from the Black Swan, Morgan hearing herself say the words she had spoken in anger during her last visit there. "I certainly did not save Earth for pathetic examples of humankind like you," are her damning words, earning a chorus of boos and whistling from the audience in the background.

"Commander Shepard, people of Earth would be very upset to hear you speaking words like that," it is Allers, standing in the Black Swan as well, the fact that she is not even in the same frame with Morgan making it a clear footage splicing job, but she knows that most people will be in too much of a shock from her words to notice it.

"Hearing this makes me wish I had left this piss-hole for Reapers to chew on," those are her next words, and with that she can take no more. Liara lets out a startled yelp when an innocent datapad crashes into the mounted wall screen, shattering it to pieces, Shepard rising swiftly and heading towards the doors, Liara immediately following her, looking horrified, but finding it difficult to move as quickly as Morgan, hampered by her ever growing belly.

Liara catches up to her as she steps out on the porch, silent, not saying a word, just standing there in the dark, freezing rain pouring down on her. She feels the asari embracing her from behind, sensing the familiar, soothing presence of a calming meld beginning to spread at the back of her mind, Liara trying her best to relax Shepard and to remove her raging anger, but this time, Morgan does not want to let go of it, rising her mental barriers so swiftly and aggressively that Liara staggers back, looking a little stunned.

"I... I'm sorry, Morgan... I merely sought to help," she stutters, looking apologetic and overall miserable. "I cannot stand to see you suffering."

"It's alright, Liara. I know," Morgan replies, sparing a quick glance back at her bondmate. "But I don't want this to be taken away, not just now. Please. Go inside, you'll freeze out here and it might harm the baby. I will be with you shortly."

"...alright, Morgan," with some reluctance, Liara withdraws and returns inside, into the warmth of the house, leaving Shepard standing outside, getting whipped with the cold droplets of rain.

At first Morgan feels as if she has no coherent thoughts on her mind whatsoever, merely overwhelming sense of unfairness and ultimate betrayal. _That they would cast me down... like this? After all I've done, after all that I've given up for them? Fucking bastards! And to think that I once almost considered the thought of settling here on Earth with Liara... hell, those bastards don't want me here, fine, they will not have me then! Not that... not that I could even live here in peace anymore, after they pulled that on me... gods, Jeff, I understand you were pissed off at me, I get it, but to pull this... hell, that Allers bitch wrapped him around her little finger so easily... I hope the payment was good, Jeff. Not that it made you happy... I saw that it didn't, I saw you wanted to take back every word you had said, but it was too late... damn, we have both been such idiots, and they played us, they destroyed us both..._

Finally, after standing in the pouring rain for good ten minutes, she realizes that she has soaked to the bone and in danger of freezing, snapping out of her angry internal ranting, returning back inside, where a worried looking Liara is immediately at her side, her ever-caring bondmate passing her a towel, holding a stack of dry clothing in her hands.

"Liara?" Morgan asks, starting to pull off her unpleasantly wet clothes.

"Yes, Morgan?" the asari looks at her, worried and expectant.

"I want you to make the call to Lidanya, right here and right now. Tell her that we are accepting her offer."

"...what? Are you... serious?" Liara gasps.

"Yes. As soon as I've finished dressing, we will begin packing our stuff," Morgan says resolutely. "This is it, I am done with this place. We are leaving."

* * *

"We need to step up the game, Kasumi, there's not a lot of time left," Miranda speaks quietly, the two women taking a slow nightly walk through the windings paths of Studley Royal Park. "As soon as the Council fleets return home, Singh and Mayorov will pick up the fighting again. And the Terminus fleets will want out as well, they have realized long time ago that there is nothing worth holding onto on Earth. With them gone, I won't have anything left to shield the resistance forces with."

"So, you want to take out both the admirals? Hmm, tricky," Kasumi replies, thoughtful. "I must say, Miri, you pick the nicest places for our little walks," she adds, pointing at the massive and foreboding walls of the dark Fountains Abbey looming over them. "Nice that there's something that the Reapers haven't smashed to bits."

"Yes, I love finding untouched spots like this. I find my thoughts become much clearer, sharper, when I get to spend some time surrounded by history like this. There are a few amazing places up in Scotland that have remained intact, I'll take you there sometime soon," Miranda says, then stopping herself reluctantly. "Sadly, I digress. You are correct, we need to take out both Singh and Mayorov and bring the control over the Alliance solely in Hackett's hands. Then we can make a deal with him. If he's the man Shepard says he is, things should work out just fine."

"Yeah... just one small glitch. How do you actually plan to take those dastardly admirals out? They're probably really careful by now..."

"Well. Singh trusts me almost blindly, as I keep feeding him more intel than any other of his agents, pointing out insignificant resistance targets and more valuable Terminus sites," Miranda smiles in the dark. "I can get close enough to them both to shoot them, but... that would be bad for my own continued survival. And I'm not willing to take one for the team just yet."

"But you have a plan, right?" Kasumi asks hopefully. "You always have a plan."

"Funny how we all used to say the same about Shepard," Miranda chuckles.

"Well... you two actually have a lot in common," Kasumi remarks.

"I think I will take that as a compliment. But you're right, I do have a plan. Or perhaps it would be more accurate to say that an opportunity has presented itself. One of our people saw Admiral Mayorov leaving in a shuttle couple of hours ago on some kind of unexpected assignment. The agent managed to stick a tracer on the shuttle. Curiously enough, the admiral was brought to the Citadel."

"The Citadel? That opens up many interesting possibilities," Kasumi grins. "Any idea what he is doing there?"

"I have my suspicions that he might be seeking female companionship, so I pulled a more detailed file on him, covering the past decade. Did you know he has visited the asari consort on the Citadel four times?"

"Heh... the famous Sha'ira? Maybe he has developed a taste for the asari?"

"That's what I'm thinking, too. He could get human companionship here on Earth. But ever since the asari pulled out of their enclave, we don't see them down here anymore. You know, some of those maidens that went missing on Earth actually passed through his personal quarters before being shot in the head and buried in a shallow grave?"

"Despicable bastard," Kasumi snarls angrily. "So, he's on the Citadel right now... why are you still here? Why aren't you going after him?"

"I only just heard the news while I was on my way to meet up with you," Miranda replies, suddenly looking up to see the lights of a slowly approaching shuttle. "Then I had to organize a suitable transport, my tiny skycar is simply inadequate," she adds, pointing at the shuttle, carefully landing in a clearing some fifty yards ahead of them, the side-door to the co-pilot's seat slowly opening. "Also, I wanted to extend an invitation, in case you wanted to join me on the hunt."

"Hmm, tempting," Kasumi briefly chews on her painted bottom lip. "You can take care of it yourself, though, it's not about needing my help, right?"

"I can cope all by myself perfectly well, why? You had other plans?"

"Yeah. Jondum is minding the skycar nearby, waiting for me. I hear Geneva is beautiful this time of year."

"So they tell me. Such a shame, no?"

"To say I was upset would be... well, in our line of work, we cannot give way to emotions, right?" Kasumi asks, Miranda nodding quickly. "But it was damn hard to watch. I hear Shep took it hard, too... feel bad for her."

"Yes, she and Liara both left Bradford earlier today," Miranda speaks. "I understand they departed with no intentions of ever coming back. That broadcast was a big blow for us, and a huge boost for Singh and Mayorov... another reason why we need to end them, and with that, end this conflict."

"Well. I think the curtain is about to fall on the last episode of 'The Real Truth About The Reaper War'," Kasumi says meaningfully, her voice then catching a lighter note. "Oh, and Miri, I haven't forgotten about that saké, it was delightful and Bau liked it too. I'll see if I can score some Swiss chocolate for you in return, alright?"

"That would be just delightful, Kasumi," Miranda laughs in return. "Thank you, my friend."

* * *

_Oh, how I have missed this place, _Alliance News Network star reporter Diana Allers muses to herself, stepping out of the steaming shower, draped in a soft towel, a smaller one wrapped around her head forming a neat bundle. Her eyes fall across her vast apartment in Geneva, well over hundred square meters of luxurious space all to herself, a massive bedroom, comfortable study and a well furnished living room, far better than the barely palatable conditions she has had to suffer during her stay over in the British Isles, having to suffer the company of crude, dirty and uncultured marines.

She stops by the nightstand to pour herself a glass of white wine and break off several pieces of white chocolate, climbing into her royal-sized bed, resting contently on top of the sheets with the glass of wine in her hand. Diana switches on the computer console, leisurely beginning to browse the extranet for reactions to the latest episode of her massively successful show. The reaction is more flattering and emotional than she could have ever hoped for. There are a few aliens, all as one expressing support for Shepard and denouncing this shameful badmouthing of their hero, and some humans also remain loyal to Shepard, but the overwhelming majority are outraged about the Commander's outburst, demanding her to be stripped of all honors and military rank. _And your decision to flee from Earth played right into my hands, Shepard, you thoughtless fool. _

_I wonder if she understands that it is nothing personal? I'm just doing my job, and I'm doing it well. If it wasn't me in this position, then someone else would have done the same, so it's not really my fault, is it now? _Allers thinks lazily. _Not that I really care what she thinks. She has no hope to outplay me in such a game, she's just a mean grunt who only knows how to shoot things. _

Having read the comment of one poster, seriously laying into Flight-Lieutenant Moreau for speaking about his commanding officer behind her back and casting her in bad light, Allers briefly stops reading, her thoughts momentarily traveling back to Jeff. _I wonder if I should feel bad for the way I treated him. But he was so mad at Shepard, he was desperately looking for ways to vent his anger, and I provided him with an outlet. I gave him what he thought he wanted... but only then did he realize that it wasn't what he really wanted or needed. But that is hardly my fault, now is it? He invited me to use him, so I did it. _

_Gods... the look in his eyes... he hated himself for what he had done, he hated me even more as we were making out. So broken... maybe I shouldn't have... but no, there can be no room for doubt. All this... _she stops to look around the glorious apartment. _All this was worth a little dirty work. In a few days, I will have forgotten all about him and his little personal drama. That's how we work, or we wouldn't be at the top of the rankings, right? Do whatever is required to reach your goal... hell, that sounds almost like something that Shepard would say... hilarious thought. _

With the glass of wine empty, Diana briefly ponders pouring herself more of her favorite drink, but then, realizing how very sleepy she feels from just one glass, she decides against it. Chewing on the last bit of the chocolate, however, reminds her that she needs to brush her teeth and dress into her silk nightgown before retiring. She unwraps the towel cowering her hair, letting the jet-black hair flow freely, then loosening the towel that cowers her body, letting it drop on the floor as she reaches out for the nightgown, briefly stopping to admire her perfectly toned body in the full-body mirror on the wall. _The fool dared to joke about my breasts... for that alone, I should not feel any guilt for making him suffer. He just doesn't understand that you can't get far in this business by looking unappealing without certain... enhancements._

Having pulled the nightgown over her head, Diana steps into the bathroom, approaching the mirror cabinet on the wall, briefly admiring her reflection before opening the cabinet doors and reaching in to grab her Cision toothbrush. As she closes the cabinet doors, however, she immediately realizes there is something deeply wrong with the reflection in the mirror. There is a dark, hooded shape standing behind her that hadn't been there before.

Alarmed, she opens her mouth to let out a scream of horror, but it dies in her mouth as a thin wire painfully cuts deep into her throat, crushing her windpipe and forcing her to choke uselessly as the hooded assailant holds her in an iron grip, Diana Allers flailing uselessly to break loose.

"You know, I usually abhor violence," her attacker speaks, sounding disturbingly girlish and cheerful. Diana has trouble making out the assailants face, obscured by the hood, even if the would-be assassin stands pressed against her back, cold sweat pouring down her struggling body.

"Oh, I just thought of something," the assassin says mirthfully, the garrote digging deeper in Diana's skin as she sees her flesh growing red and droplets of blood escaping the pierced skin. "You wouldn't happen to have some chocolate I could borrow?"

Tears streaming down her cheeks, Diana tries to speak, but the thin metallic wire does not allow her to, she can barely manage to nod, praying that the assassin will understand and be appeased, letting her live. "I think that was a 'yes'. Well, I guess that's all I really wanted to know. Too bad... like I said, I really dislike violence."

The garrote around her neck tightening and leaving her completely breathless makes Diana Allers struggle all the more harder, one last attempt to escape the surprisingly powerful and tight grip of the slim, feminine figure holding her, but there is no way to free herself, she is not nearly strong enough, even with her efforts fuelled by panic. "Oh, and if you wanted to know why..." is the last thing Diana Allers hears in this life. "Nobody does that to Shepard and gets away with it... sorry."

As the reporter's lifeless body topples to the floor, Kasumi steps away from the corpse, folding the garrote and pocketing it somewhere safe. For a while she looks down at the dead woman, then quickly retrieving something and placing it over the chest of Diana Allers. "Yes, I know, it's kind of silly, but I couldn't resist, even if I couldn't get a real one," she says, looking at the single red rose. "But knowing you, miss Allers, I think that a fake flower will be more fitting for you..."

* * *

Admiral Alexei Mayorov is walking down the streets of the Bachjret Ward, slowly heading towards the docking bays where his pilot is awaiting him in one of the Alliance shuttles. This is his first time on the Citadel after the Reaper attack, and he cannot help but to notice how quiet it appears now even during the rush hours, compared to how he remembers the place. _I rather like it more now, even if the lack of crowds makes it more difficult to maintain anonymity,_ he thinks. _Not that anyone would recognize me here, in civilian clothing._

The pause in fighting on Earth as everyone is waiting to see whether the relay will be declared operational or not, has suited Admiral Mayorov just fine. The only drawback is that after the daring asari commando attack on the Gobi Desert supply depot, Councilor Tevos has ordered her people to return to the asari fleets, cutting off the supply of the only thing that the asari are good for as far as Alexei Mayorov is concerned, bestowing sexual favors. With his supply of willing and sometimes less than willing asari whores dried up, this break in fighting provides him with the perfect opportunity of indulging in his little... hobby, that fortunately he has managed to keep hidden from his fellow admirals.

Several years ago, thanks to one Officer Harkin of the C-Sec, Mayorov had obtained a list of the asari stationed on the Citadel and willing to provide companionship to wealthy and influential people like him. Now, upon his arrival to the Citadel, he had made discreet inquiries about these asari, much to his relief discovering that at least a few from his old mistresses are still on the station, and willing to provide any services he would request.

The hours had flown by in the company of his favorite plaything, and Mayorov had been reluctant to part with his mistress, leaving her behind with great reluctance, while knowing that prolonged absence from Earth would invite questions that he certainly did not feel like answering. _Well, maybe that ceasefire will hold up a few more weeks and I can take some more trips up here like this one, _he tells himself, a satisfied smirk on his face. _And the Citadel isn't going anywhere for a few more years at the least, so my pets will remain here long enough to let me have all the fun I want..._

The shuttle finally comes into his view and he increases his pace, catching himself worrying that someone might still recognize him and begin to inquire about his reasons for being here. Laughing off these foolish concerns, Mayorov gets into the comfy luxury compartment of his personalized shuttle, directly behind the pilot's seat, remarking with some surprise that Lieutenant Kravchenko has for once remained awake while waiting for him.

"Take us back home, Alyosha," he tells the pilot, receiving a surprisingly swift nod in reply as the shuttle slowly lifts off from the pad and begins to speed through the access corridors towards the Presidium. At some point, Mayorov begins to feel as if the shuttle is taking inadequately long time to get to the Presidium, and Kravchenko's unusual silence also feels a little disturbing. "You are awfully quiet this evening, my friend," he finally says, aiming to break the silence.

"That's because I'm not who you think I am," a woman's voice replies, startling Mayorov. "I believe Lieutenant Kravchenko is currently enriching the keeper protein vats in the sub-levels of the Citadel."

"Who the hell are you?" Mayorov shouts angrily, deeply regretting the decision to leave his weapon behind. "I demand that you land this shuttle immediately!"

"Oh, I believe we have met before. Even if we weren't properly introduced," the woman turns her head towards him and now he does recognize her, having seen her now and then hanging around Singh's HQ. "Miranda Lawson, pleased to make your acquaintance."

"Is this one of Singh's sick little jokes?" Mayorov demands. "I know you're working for him!"

"Well, that's where you're wrong, Admiral," Miranda chuckles, opening the doors of the shuttle as it begins to accelerate. "I actually don't work for Singh. I work for the resistance." And with that, she dives out of the shuttle, her biotics gracefully and safely levitating the raven-haired woman down to a platform below, as the shuttle speeds towards a support construction of the Citadel's inner ring.

"_Bliad!_" Mayorov yells, swearing angrily in his mother-tongue, frantically trying to squeeze into the pilot's seat and gain access to the shuttle controls, but he is far too slow and the controls are hacked and not responding to his commands. "_Sooka yebanaya, pomri-_" his ranting ends when the shuttle crashes into the support beam and disintegrates in a fiery explosion, killing him instantly.

A few levels below him, Miranda Lawson allows herself a small smile as she casually flips around on her heel and walks away, her task completed.


	150. The Destiny Ascension

**Chapter 149 - The Destiny Ascension**

Shepard and Liara are greeted in one of the massive docking bays of the Destiny Ascension by Matriarch Lidanya herself, along with a full asari commando honor guard of at least thirty proud and battle-scarred maidens and matrons. Shepard can't stop herself from gawking around at the amazing ship, almost feeling as if she is on the Citadel, the ship is comparable in size with a small space station. So entranced is Morgan that she almost stumbles while pulling their luggage out of the shuttle's cargo space, Lidanya quickly ordering the commandos to help them with the baggage.

"I can't tell you both how honored we are to receive such esteemed guests aboard of our ship," Lidanya steps forward, warmly greeting Shepard first and then Liara. "We have prepared the most comfortable quarters for your use, they are on the same deck as mine."

"Thank you, Matriarch, you are very kind," Shepard smiles, Liara nodding at her side.

"You must be tired after the packing and the journey, but I insist that tomorrow you allow me to personally accompany you on a tour of the ship, and follow that up with a dinner at the captain's quarters," Lidanya says.

"That sounds lovely, thank you, Matriarch," Liara says gratefully.

"Right now, I imagine you will want to see your new quarters and settle in, yes?" Lidanya asks, receiving two slightly tired and eager nods in response. "I heard some rumors about what finally made you decide to leave Earth, Commander," she adds, looking at Shepard sympathetically. "It is unthinkable that your own people would do something like this to the savior of the galaxy. Rest assured, you will never face such attitude from the asari people, your bravery and heroism will never be forgotten. You saved the galaxy, saved us all, and if you had to make some hard choices along the way... well, that only further reinforces the legends of your resolve and determination."

All that Morgan can do is to muster a smile in return, struggling not to let the emotions get the better of her, which is difficult to manage when she notices the asari commandos looking at her all as one, grinning, nodding approvingly and cheering. "Thank you, Matriarch Lidanya, you show great kindness once again," Liara speaks up for Morgan. "You have also robbed Shepard of speech with your moving words, but she is as thankful to you as I am, let me assure you."

"It is you who show kindness with your mere presence, young one," Lidanya says softly, looking at Liara with a smile. "So, I hope that you will forgive me for one small indiscretion." Liara faces the matriarch with a questioning look, Lidanya stepping a little aside and allowing another younger asari to approach. "I understand that your condition is becoming increasingly delicate," Lidanya says, casting a quick glance at Liara's bulging belly. "Considering that you require regular checkups and monitoring, I have assigned the best specialist aboard the Destiny Ascension to look after you and your child. I hope that you will not hold such intrusion into your private matters against me."

"Well, I... already had an obstetrician on the Citadel..." Liara mutters, looking a little uncomfortable. "But... I suppose this would be more convenient..."

"That was my thinking as well. Your doctor on the Citadel is willing to forward your file as soon as she receives your permission," Lidanya says, then gesturing at the asari coming to stand silently by her side. "This is Dr. Lorisia, she has extensive experience in cases similar to yours, Liara. I trust that she will be able to help through these last months of your pregnancy."

"Pleased to meet you, Dr. Lorisia," Shepard steps up to the other asari and offers her hands for the ritual greeting, taking an immediate liking to the doctor, seeing the crisp intelligence in the asari's deeply scrutinizing and insightful stare as Dr. Lorisia looks at her and Liara in turn. _Not sure how I feel about Lidanya's strange choice of words, though. Liara's 'case'? I know she said that it's slightly more risky due to her age, but... uh, maybe I should have done a bit more research into the situation for myself? Liara does tend to... downplay things when she doesn't want to alarm me, she has that sort of irritating habit... _

Liara also steps forward to greet the doctor. "I am pleased to meet you, Dr. Lorisia, and I very much look forward to working with you," she joins her hands with the doctor. "I have faith in Matriarch Lidanya's judgment, if she claims that you are the best specialist in the fleet, then I trust her words unconditionally."

"I thank you for your trust in my abilities, Dr. T'Soni," Lorisia says in a low, soothing voice, but there is a quiet strength to it. "It is a pleasure to meet you and the great Commander Shepard," she adds, turning to smile at Morgan. "Now... with the matriarch's permission, I will escort you to your quarters. There are some things that I wish to clarify before I come up with the appointment and test schedule."

"...very well," Liara agrees, giving Morgan the distinct impression that she would prefer to have this discussion with Dr. Lorisia in private, making Shepard's suspicion grow rapidly that there might be something that she is unaware of.

"Wait, our luggage," Morgan finally snaps out of her inquisitive staring at the two asari, turning around and looking a little helplessly at the crates and suitcases.

"Don't worry about it, Shepard," one of the younger commandos quickly steps up, smiling at her. "We'll take care of it, you just follow the doctor, okay?"

Shepard smiles in return, parting from Lidanya as well and setting to follow Liara and Dr. Lorisia out of the docking bay and into the wide circular hallways, signs for elevator access blinking several hundred yards ahead of them. Seeing that Lorisia is gesticulating animatedly towards Liara, her bondmate shrugging her shoulders in response, Shepard wastes no time in catching up with them. "Is there a problem here?" she asks, worried.

"No, we were just having a... difference of opinion," Liara replies hastily.

"Yes, there is a problem," Dr. Lorisia sighs, continuing to face Liara with a harsh stare. "Will you tell Commander Shepard, or should I?"

"Tell me what?" Shepard asks, now also facing Liara with a stare that demands an explanation.

"I did tell you that because of my age, there might be complications with my pregnancy," Liara says, staring her straight in the eyes and not flinching. "What I didn't do was to tell you the odds that the doctors had given me while you were still lying sedated and recovering from your injuries."

"What were those odds like?" Shepard grinds out, feeling a deep throbbing slowly rising in her temples as her blood pressure quickly spikes from the anxiety.

"It does not matter what they were," Liara shrugs. "They are much better now, because of the work I've done together with my obstetrician... and some other help I've had." She turns to look to Dr. Lorisia. "When you get my file, you'll be able to see for yourself the progress I've made."

"Liara. The odds," Shepard hisses, unwilling to drop the issue.

"Shepard, please-" Liara tries, but Morgan shakes her head resolutely. "Fine. They could give only 20% chance that both me and the baby would survive."

Morgan lets out a strangled gasp, staggering visibly. "Oh... gods." She stands silent for a while, trying to gather her bearings, before facing Liara again, unable to contend her ire. "You... did it to me again. I can't believe it, but you did it to me again. I... don't know what to say..."

"What was I supposed to tell you, Shepard?" Liara stares back at her, still resolute, even if tears begin to escape from the corners of her eyes. "You were so depressed about everything that was happening, about Anderson, your mother, EDI, Joker, the situation on Earth... about your own people casting you out. Did you honestly think that under these circumstances I could tell you that there was a very real possibility that I would lose this baby... the one thing that had dragged you back to the world of living when you had all but given up? I regret what I had to do, but I could not take this hope away from you."

"I... damn... I get what you're saying," Shepard grinds out, struggling to keep herself from starting to hyperventilate. "It's just... being lied to hurts. Being lied to really hurts, Liara, no matter the intentions."

"I... know," Liara chokes back a sob, more and more tears escaping down her cheeks and she ineffectually tries to wipe her cheeks clean with her hands. "I am sorry that what I had to do is hurting you now. I am sorry if with my actions I have broken the trust between us. But I will maintain that I did the right thing. It was an unpleasant decision that I had to make, but I stand by it. I had to protect you, and I would do the same again."

"Damn it, Liara," Morgan sighs, feeling defeated and suddenly very exhausted. "Down the road, we really need to start working on some of these trust issues... and at least now that the cat is out of the bag, you're going to tell me exactly what we're facing here."

"Perhaps I should explain some simple truths about the asari gestation," Lorisia speaks up. If she feels uncomfortable because of the scene that had unfolded before her eyes just moments prior, the good doctor manages to hide it. "There are a great many dangers involved in this particular case. Liara is almost a century short of the age where it becomes safe for the asari to have children."

"Geez... oh, and now I get why you wouldn't speak to your father!" Shepard manages, giving Liara another reprimanding stare, her bondmate wincing as if in pain from that particular memory. "You knew she was going to raise a storm! Gods... why did nobody else tell me? Tevos, or Aria, or any asari!"

"They would have thought that your bondmate has informed you of all the dangers involved. They could have never even imagined that not having been the case," Lorisia says simply.

"Okay... see, Liara, nobody could ever believe that you would do something this dumb," Morgan gives another pointed stare to her bondmate, Liara only responding with a deep sigh. "Anyway, I interrupted you, Dr. Lorisia, please go ahead."

"Of course, Commander. In the past few hundred years, there have been only a few cases like this, because generally our people just know better than to try something this risky," Shepard can't stop but to lose her irritation for a moment, chuckling at the attempted glare that Liara gives to the doctor. "Usually the loss of the child occurs in around 40% of all cases, and we lose mother around 10% of the time."

"Seriously, if you're going to tell me that the most advanced race in the galaxy doesn't know how to perform a C-section, I'm going to don Darth Vader's mask and shout 'LIARA! NOOOOO!' from the top of my lungs," Shepard says, rolling her eyes in exasperation, then moving to explain as she sees both the asari facing her with surprised stares. "Ugh, sorry, obscure cultural reference, ignore that."

"I... believe I know what you mean, Commander. You are absolutely correct, the childbirth will have to be surgically assisted, due to her age Liara cannot give birth naturally," Lorisia explains. "Perhaps if you decide to have another child in eighty to one hundred years... oh, how inconsiderate of me," she suddenly blushes, thinking she has made an embarrassing gaffe, remembering that Shepard is a human.

"That's quite alright, Dr. Lorisia, I am not an average human, I am so full with weird cybernetic implants that I will live quite a bit beyond normal human lifespan," Shepard elaborates with a smile.

"Oh, how interesting... perhaps when you stop by the medbay with Liara, you would not object to me taking a few scans?" the asari doctor inquires, looking very curious and excited.

"How unexpected... but sure, doctor," Shepard grins, giving Liara a conspiring look. "See, I have that effect on **all** the doctors."

"How wonderful! But... getting back to the topic of Liara's pregnancy, there is another concern, and it has to do with how the fetus develops. I will try to explain this in very simple layman's terms. The formation of the child's mental faculties is largely shaped by the mental bond that the child shares with their mother. It is generally believed that maidens of Liara's tender age simply do not possess the ability or experience to shape their child's mind properly."

"I can do it, Dr. Lorisia. I will gladly allow you to run all the necessary tests for you to see that I have made great progress," Liara speaks with stern determination. "I have been working on it, and I believe that my bond with the baby is strong. The files that you will receive from my obstetrician will prove it."

"To be honest, Liara is not a typical maiden, Dr. Lorisia," Shepard says, finally allowing herself to direct a small conciliatory smile towards her bondmate. "She often displays wisdom more befitting a noble matriarch, and the things she has experienced have made her wise far beyond her years, so perhaps she does have what it takes to pull it off."

"I will... withhold my comment on this matter until I have read the files and ran all the tests," Lorisia sighs, probably finding it difficult to reconcile the 'wisdom befitting a matriarch' with putting herself through such dangers of early pregnancy. "There are other things that also concern me," the doctor then admits. "I know that Liara has suffered considerable injuries and has also been under tremendous stress over the course of her pregnancy. Furthermore, you have not had access to enough eezo rich food that a mother-to-be would usually have on her diet during this time. This might lead to your child being less biotically gifted, though that would be the least of my worries at this point..."

"Err... okay, now I'm really scared again," Morgan admits, feeling herself trembling slightly. "I must know what we can do to give Liara and the baby the best possible chance?"

"Commander, you must make sure that Liara does not suffer from undue stress. My advice is to do regular melding, as often as possible. It doesn't have to be sexual, but I think it will only help if it is," Lorisia's frank advice makes both Shepard and Liara blush heavily. "This will keep your stress levels down."

"I think we can do that, yes," Morgan manages bashfully.

"I am certain that you can, yes," Lorisia smiles. "Also, you will follow all my advice down to the letter. And you will keep a tight appointment schedule and you will not miss any of those visits. Are we clear on this, Dr. T'Soni? I know that the political situation sometimes may demand your involvement, but right now, you must leave these concerns to the others and think only about the health of your child. Can you do this?"

"Yes, absolutely," Liara nods fervently, her dedication and resolve actually managing to help Morgan relax a little bit. "Right now, there is little else on my mind than the baby, Dr. Lorisia."

"I will make sure to accompany Liara on every visit from now on," Morgan nods. "Please, doctor, once you have the appointment plan sketched out, send me a copy of it, I simply want to make sure we don't forget or miss anything."

"You will receive it shortly, Commander," Lorisia says, then smiling encouragingly. "But now you two really need to get to your quarters and rest. Follow me, the elevator leads almost directly to your rooms... oh yes, and don't forget what I told you about regular melds. It is very important."

"We won't forget, you can count on that, doc," Morgan smiles, then turning towards Liara. Despite still feeling rather hurt by Liara's decision to withhold the truth, she does her best to swallow the resentment and gives her bondmate a comforting hug before they turn to follow Dr. Lorisia. "Damn, if only all doctors prescribed this kind of 'medicine'..." she only chuckles, as they step into the elevator.

* * *

"Wait... can you take this a few frames back... yeah, that's it... damn, this guy looks familiar, I'm pretty sure I have seen him before," Garrus Vakarian rubs his chin, feeling irritated, watching the only very brief snippet of salvaged security footage from the turian attack on the quarian enclave. "But where..." he muses, Primarch Victus and Councilor Sparatus standing next to him, trying not to appear too impatient. Even if their intentions are to avoid putting added pressure on Garrus, the two turian leaders clearly fail to look relaxed.

"...wait, I have an idea," Garrus suddenly exclaims, thinking of something. "I can't remember who he is, but I can remember where I saw him. I'm pretty sure it was at our groundside enclave. Can we get some footage from down there?"

"I can arrange as much material as you want, Vakarian, just let me get in contact with Commander Tabirian," Victus speaks quickly, walking to one of the communications consoles in Sparatus' office at the Council chambers on the Citadel. "Right... she's uploading a week's worth of it, hopefully that will be enough."

Garrus shrugs impatiently. "Depends on how lucky we are," he says, starting to play the first vid, scrolling through it quickly with his trained C-Sec eye.

Over half an hour later, Garrus is already on the fourth of the three hour long vids, but the two dignitaries with him appear to be quickly becoming impatient. "Surely there is a good enough facial recognition software available, so that you would not need to do this process manually, this might take us days and not lead anywhere," Sparatus remarks, frustrated.

"I'm not looking for a facial recognition," Garrus replies, a little annoyed at the interruption. "It was the way he was walking... almost as if with a limp but not quite, dragging his left leg just a little... close to imperceptible, but I've learned to notice such things."

Sparatus shuts up at that, pulling up the original file again and replaying it several times to see if he has missed anything, Victus coming to stand alongside him to also watch the footage. "I don't see any limp," the councilor mutters, after having viewed the vid five or six more times.

"It's... not really a limp as such, but I think I see what Garrus means," Victus says, nodding. "Damn, I wouldn't trust my eyes to recognize the guy, though. If you can pull this off Vakarian, I'll be damn impressed."

"Oh, I'll pull it off, Primarch. It's like that one time a smart-ass geth tried to teach me how to calibrate Normandy's weapons systems. Did you know that I am the turian who taught the geth how to blush from embarrassment, Councilor?" he says, turning back to Sparatus.

The other turian gives a strained laugh despite himself. "Well, I just hope your self-esteem is merited," he then adds.

"Have no doubt about that... oh, by the spirits of the homeworld, look at that!" Garrus suddenly exclaims, pointing at the screen, then zooming in to point out one of the armored turians patrolling around the enclave. "There's our guy, I'd stake my life on it! Think I can see lieutenant's stripes," he adds, pulling the image closer.

"Hold it, I'm sending it down to Tabirian to pull a location and an ID," Victus says urgently, Sparatus scowling at the Primarch a bit for his rough treatment of the console, trying to send the message as quickly as possible. Barely two minutes pass when the console beeps and Victus swiftly reads the reply. "Lieutenant Barnas. One of the Blackwatch? Damn it."

"Even they can go bad, Primarch," Sparatus reminds him. "Do you have the location or not?"

"Currently off-duty, but Tabirian tells me that he has taken a shuttle back to the ship he was based on, the Invulnerable," Victus replies. "Trying to raise their captain, give me a moment..." Five more minutes pass. "Oh, come on... he's taken a shuttle to the Citadel for his shore leave? This guy is trying to lead us on a merry chase."

"I agree, trying to cover tracks just in case," Garrus nods.

"Well, he can't just disappear in thin air! I'm going to issue a fleet wide search for this Lieutenant Barnas," Victus speaks, determined to find the culprit quickly. "I'm going to bring C-Sec in on this as well, they have more eyes on the Citadel than we do."

Three hours pass in nervous waiting, nobody daring to leave the room, the bowl of refreshments scrounged up by one of Sparatus' aides remaining untouched, despite Garrus finding himself starving, a familiar feeling by now, but his stomach has turned into a tense knot, making him unable to even think of the food. Lately, he often finds himself suffering from lightheadedness and bouts of feebleness, making him question the wisdom of claiming that he is able to tolerate the disgusting mix of levo and dextro-based food. In reality, he ends vomiting it all up most of the time, but there is absolutely no way that he would reveal this to his peers or anyone.

"Finally, we have something," Victus finally exclaims, breaking the tense silence, the other two immediately crowding him at the console. "Someone at the C-Sec came through, it seems. Lieutenant Ridgefield, remind me to thank her on behalf of the Hierarchy."

"I'll buy her a crate of beer, that'll be all the gratitude she would wish for," Garrus chuckles, earning himself looks that urge him to explain. "Old colleague from C-Sec days, I know her well. With your permission, I can handle thanking her in person."

"Very well," Victus nods. "Barnas has paid for a Citadel shuttle to take him to one of the turian frigates... Endurance. That has to be our target... yes, I'm sure of it, look who's the acting captain. Commander Klaril Vitrani, former Blackwatch."

"Get us a comm line to her ship, Primarch. Pull it up on the vid screen, hopefully she will take the call and we can intimidate her to back down," Sparatus orders.

"You clearly don't have a lot of experience dealing with the Blackwatch," Victus mutters, still doing as he is told, waiting for someone on the Endurance to respond to his message and open a vid link.

After less than a minute of waiting, the call is accepted, and a figure of a turian woman appears on the screen, the captain herself standing on the bridge, her arms crossed on her chest, already having assumed a defensive posture. While by turian standards she is undeniably attractive, with the deep purple markings on her crestless face and piercing pale blue eyes, she also appears cold and uncompromising to Garrus, which is only to be expected from someone with Blackwatch experience.

"Such esteemed greeting committee," Commander Vitrani scowls, not bothering to salute, clearly understanding the reasons behind this call. "To what do I owe this honor?"

"You harbor a fellow turian sought in connection with the attack on the quarian supply depot," Sparatus formally informs her. "You will cooperate and hand Lieutenant Barnas over to the C-Sec forces to be charged and tried under the Council laws. You will also submit your ship to marine squads tasked with finding and recovering the supplies stolen from the quarian depot."

"Stolen?" Vitrani barks out a bitter laugh. "How do you steal something that is yours by right?"

"That is not your decision to make, Commander," Victus reminds her harshly. "You will stand down or face the harshest of consequences."

"Why would I listen to those who have sold our people out to those traitorous suit-rats who gorge themselves on the supplies meant for my people? How do I look in the eyes of those who are even now dying from food poisoning and cling to their lives with the accusing thought that I have done nothing to help them? Barnas did what needed to be done and you know it. We will not stand down!"

"Do you understand what you are doing, Commander Vitrani?" Victus raises his voice a notch higher. "You are disobeying a direct order from your superior. You bring dishonor not only on your entire family, but on anyone serving under you!"

"Clearly, my people do not believe so. They stand with me," Vitrani replies proudly, straightening out. "The majority of the supplies have already been distributed amongst those in most need of them. You will never recover those supplies to hand them back to your beloved suit-rats. I have done what I could to help my people... can any of you say the same?"

"Yes, we can," Sparatus replies confidently. "I know you believe that you are doing the right thing, Commander, but you are missing the larger picture. The quarians are our allies, not our enemies, and by supporting an unlawful act of violence, disrupting peace and endangering delivery of further food supplies, your actions have placed the fate of our people into an even more precarious position!"

There is a noticeable twitch in Klaril Vitrani's beautiful face, the councilor's words making her hesitate. "And if we refuse to stand down? Will you destroy my ship for trying to save our people?" she finally says, recovering her momentarily lost resolve.

"No, we will shoot you down for committing war crimes, Commander," Victus presses harshly. "You have fifteen minutes before the boarding parties arrive to relieve you of command." _He's bluffing, he wouldn't shoot our own frigate and lose all the precious supplies on it,_ Garrus thinks, silently praying he is correct.

"Surrender would mean admitting that what we did was wrong, and that **would** bring dishonor upon me, my family and my crew," the turian woman shakes her head solemnly, Garrus finding himself quietly admiring the strength of her convictions, deluded as they might be.

"Give up, Commander. There is nowhere in the Sol System for you to hide and you know it," Sparatus adds, trying to get through to the stubborn female officer.

"But we do not plan to stay and hide in the Sol System, honored Councilor," Vitrani says in a low voice, drawing herself tall and proud again, her voice trembling a little as she now speaks. "Spirits of hallowed ancestors, we place our lives in your hands to decide whether our actions have been honorable or not... we acted in the best interests of the fleet, we did it for the turian people, for Palaven!"

"What is that madwoman planning now?" Sparatus sighs, as the vid feed from the Endurance is terminated. "Primarch, we need eyes on the fleet, get our ships to chase them down, but don't open fire unless they shoot first."

"They will not open fire on a fellow turian ship, Vitrani is too obsessed by her delusions of maintaining her honor," Victus replies, quickly alerting the fleet and rousing five other frigates to look for the Endurance, to try to corner the rebel ship and force it to surrender.

"Any sight of them yet?" Garrus asks, not liking the situation one bit, Vitrani having looked like someone who had been pushed a little too far over the edge, prone to do something unreasonable.

"They have abandoned the fleet and appear to be escaping," Victus replies, the messages from the other frigates flowing before his eyes on the screen.

"Escaping? Escaping where? There's nowhere to run! They don't have nowhere enough supplies or fuel to reach Palaven without using the mass relays!" Sparatus exclaims.

"Can you extrapolate their flight vector?" Garrus asks quickly.

"Just a moment..." Victus tries to get a quick update from the fleet again. "They're heading towards this dwarf planet in the asteroid belt, Pluto they call it?"

"Pluto, nothing! They're heading for the Charon Relay!" Garrus realizes, suddenly understanding what Vitrani had meant by placing their lives in the hands of their ancestors. "They're going to try and attempt a mass relay jump!"

"But they are still testing the relay! It is not safe, they could destroy the relay and with it eradicate everyone in this system!" Sparatus shouts nervously, having realized the worst case scenario. "We need to take them out before they kill us all!"

"They are beyond the firing range of our fleet, spirits be damned!" Victus curses angrily. "Garrus, what are you doing?" he asks, seeing the other turian hastily trying to reach someone on the comm line.

"I want to get in touch with the science teams at the relay and warn them that a ship loaded with suicidal turians is incoming..." Garrus sighs, waiting for his call to be accepted.

* * *

"Hmm, odd..." the pilot of the relay repair team's base ship remarks to himself, watching strange and unexpected movement on the scanners of their small vessel. "Kasumi, do you know if any other ships are supposed to be in the vicinity?" he asks of the petite thief, standing a little behind him and chatting with Dr. Cole, leader of the science team.

"Nope, Seb, can't think of anything," Kasumi shrugs. She has arrived only a few hours ago, together with Bau in a shuttle, curious as to how the friends she had made during the Crucible construction are doing with the relay repairs. Together, they had watched the engineers releasing a dozen of probes through the relay and they appear to have endured the travel successfully, still Dr. Cole and Dr. Jelize both having been dissatisfied with the readings they had picked up, ordering the engineers to do further adjustments.

"Well, it seems to be heading... wait, there's someone on the comms asking for you," Sebastian tells her urgently, Kasumi apologizing to Brynn and quickly throwing herself in the co-pilot's seat, before opening the comm channel.

"Kasumi, is that you?" she immediately recognizes the voice as turian and since there is only one turian amongst her friends, she realizes that it must be Garrus.

"Hey Garrus, what's up, you decided to steal a ship and give us a bit of a scare?" she asks flippantly, watching the dot on the scanners grow larger and larger.

"Err... not quite, though yes, there is a turian frigate approaching... with the intent to attempt a mass relay jump," Garrus' explanation makes Kasumi shudder and feel her body go stiff from fear.

"What?! We have our people out there working on the relay! They're going to kill them!" Kasumi protests. "Tell your crazy fellows to abort! This is madness!" Both Dr. Cole and Dr. Jelize rush into the cockpit as well, realizing that something is badly wrong, quickly understanding the gravity of the situation.

"There is no telling the damage this could cause, it might even make the relay to explode!" Brynn Cole speaks, pale and wringing her hands.

"This attempt is doomed to fail, their pilot has to be using the old coordinates for the approach corridor," the asari, Jelize, speaks nervously. "We have changed the parameters significantly, and they are not aware of it."

"There's... nothing we can do, they are not responding on the comms," Garrus says, his voice sounding very strained. "Is there anything at all you can do to stop those fools?" he asks desperately.

"What could we possibly do to stop a turian warship?" Kasumi blinks. "Oh, I know! We can throw datapads at it! Yes! That will work!"

"Goddess, those poor engineering teams working on the relay... even if we could warn them, they would never get to safety in time..." Jelize blanches deathly pale as she watches the turian frigate appear in the distance close by, ducking out from the shadow of Pluto.

"It's too late... they're here..." Brynn cries, instinctively grabbing her asari colleagues hand and holding it in an iron grip.

The frigate seems to be approaching by using what at first looks like a normal and safe jump vector. The mass relay eezo core lights up with the calming soft blue glow as the frigate travels between the relay's arms, entering the approach corridor. Small fires flicker here and there, probably from the frigate catching some of the equipment left behind by the engineers, or hitting some of the unfortunate workers themselves. As the Endurance travels forward through the relay arms, the frigate appears to come under tremendous forces pulling it to different sides, beginning to shake and swivel, unable to keep its trajectory. The graceful ship seems to be bursting at the seams, hull scrolling away like when peeling a banana and a few moments later all that is left of the Endurance is just a cloud of debris, the ship disintegrating before their very eyes, as the relay eezo core for a moment flickers angrily, but then settles down to the peaceful, soft blue, allowing them to relax a little as they look at the now again slightly damaged relay.

"Well... they must have gone through by now," Garrus is the first one who resumes speaking on the comms sometime later. "The relay doesn't seem to have exploded, since we're still alive... but did the Endurance make it?"

"No, Garrus... I'm sorry," Kasumi replies, having shaken off the stunned feeling paralyzing her. "They're gone... they're all gone..."


	151. Surrounded By The Color Blue

_A/N: Warning for random asari flaunting their well entitled sense of superiority! :) That said, why the heck would you still be here, reading this story, if you didn't agree that the asari are the next best thing to Ben&Jerry's..._

_Also, for some reason, the next chapter will be posted on Friday. I need an extra day to prepare it, because it's going to be a slightly longer one. _

**Chapter 150 - Surrounded By The Color Blue**

_'That was beautiful... I must remember to thank Dr. Lorisia tomorrow for encouraging us to do this more often,'_ Morgan sends her thoughts to Liara through the shallow meld they continue to maintain, having come down from a very intense and yet somehow liberating, relaxing deep Joining.

_'I quite agree. It is wonderful not having to worry about keeping any barriers up... and it makes me regret having kept the truth to myself for so long,'_ Liara admits a little sorrowfully, as Morgan revels in both the soothing presence of her bondmate's mind, as well as her delightfully bare body pressed against Morgan's side, both of them preferring their deep melding to be done while holding each other naked, intensifying the intimacy of the act.

_'You know what is the most amazing thing about it? When we join as deeply, freely as this, I can... reach out and sense the child growing inside of you, I can feel her presence, sense her feelings... even send my feelings over across the bond. She... is so beautiful. Just like her mommy.' _

_'Yes. She is so very beautiful,' _she feels Liara's thoughts, before the bond becomes twisted and fragile from a sudden rush of fear and anxiety that grips her bondmate, making her shudder as the panic over the wellbeing of their child seizes her.

Morgan reaches out with her thoughts, despite similar fears, trying to project only feelings of safety and peace, wrapping her bondmate in a blanket of comforting emotions and thoughts._ 'Easy there, honey... everything will be alright, okay? We're doing all the right things to help the baby grow strong and smart like her mommy, and we have the best doctors looking after you both... you will be safe, I promise. Trust me when I say so... you do trust me, don't you?' _

_'Yes... with every fiber of my being... I trust you. We will be alright... I believe it too, when I hear you say it. When I feel you believing in it.' _

She continues to hold Liara more tightly, sending more and more feelings of comfort and peace until the asari becomes completely relaxed again. _'There, that is much better. All better now.' _They simply cling to each other for a while without speaking until Morgan thinks of something that has been making her a little curious for a while now. _'How come I didn't sense the baby when we joined without any barriers up back then, before Cronos Station?'_

_'You would have had to know what to look for, love. It would have been possible, I suppose, but... I did make sure you never had a moment to focus your thoughts properly...'_

_'Yes... you were excellent at distracting me, if I may add,' _Morgan grins inwardly, feeling a small surge of heat spreading through their bond, as if they had both blushed from the memories.

_'So... have you thought of a name yet, Morgan?' _Liara asks through the bond.

_'I have, but... I thought maybe you want to select an asari name for her, I would not be the person to ask for help with that.' _

_'I was thinking that since this baby will probably be delivered while we are still in the Sol System... perhaps it would be more fitting to give her a human name? If... if we ever have more children on Thessia, we could give them asari names...' _

_'That's a lovely idea, I like it!' _Morgan agrees enthusiastically.

_'So, are you going to tell me the name you've been thinking of? Or do I have to poke around your mind to dig it up?' _

_'You'll just have to wait patiently until after the birth, T'Soni,' _Morgan teases.

_'Oh, we'll see about that!' _Liara exclaims, sending them both into a more intense meld, making Shepard let out a satisfied moan, reaching out to begin kiss Liara deeply on the lips in the physical realm. _'Oh, Shepard...' _Liara sighs contently, beginning to respond to Morgan's kisses, the Joining quickly becoming more frantic with their rapidly growing arousal. The asari quickly guides her hand between Shepard's thighs, where Morgan's hips eagerly accept her bondmate's probing fingers, Liara this time not actively working to prolong the intensity of the mating meld, welcoming their rapid, easy and relaxed plunge towards the culmination of pleasure, so late in her pregnancy not having the stamina for drawn-out sessions of lovemaking.

"Whoa..." is all that Shepard can manage to say, leaning back on the pillow once they have finally slipped out of the meld, Liara resting her head on Morgan's shoulder.

"I quite agree with that sentiment," the asari chuckles, sounding utterly satisfied. "Also, I just wanted to say that I love the name that you have chosen for our child. I approve wholeheartedly."

"I'm glad you do, babe," Morgan sighs, putting her arms around her bondmate. "I'm so glad you do..."

* * *

"Councilor Tevos, we are so glad you could come and visit us," Liara says softly, the elder matron taking her hands before reaching out to kiss her on both cheeks, the same gesture then repeated with Shepard, the simple act indicative of their growing friendship and fondness for each other.

"It is my pleasure, Liara," Tevos smiles broadly, looking relaxed in private, as they take a stroll through the surprisingly vast gardens on the level which houses Liara and Shepard's quarters. Morgan is still amazed at the discovery that every deck of this glorious ship has some kind of recreational facility, some have gardens, yet others swimming pools or facilities for different indoor sports, large libraries and countless many other things of which she has only managed to explore very small amount in the five days they have spent aboard the Destiny Ascension. "It cannot be long now, can it?" Tevos asks, looking at Liara's bulging belly.

"The doctors estimate between two and three weeks, they want to give Liara as much time as possible to work on strengthening the bond with the child," Shepard explains.

"Of course," Tevos nods, smiling. "You are in good hands here, I have heard of Dr. Lorisia, she is exceptionally gifted." She gives a small and wistful sigh, throwing another glance at Liara's stomach. "It is strange for me to think that a young maiden like you is experiencing something so beautiful that my chosen career has denied me."

"Only thus far," Morgan winks at her, making Tevos blush lightly.

"Yes, well, let us not get ahead of ourselves," she chuckles softly. "Looking after Aria and the girls sometimes makes me feel like playing mother to three children... but don't let her catch me saying that."

"A shame that Aria could not accompany you," Shepard remarks, somehow finding herself missing the bravado and arrogance of the Pirate Queen. "Though I guess taking her with you to a meeting with Lidanya would have been... interesting, and probably unhelpful."

"Goddess, Shepard, I cannot even dare to contemplate the consequences. Lidanya is wise and kind, but she is very wary of Aria and would likely consider her the most inappropriate company imaginable for the asari councilor," Tevos replies.

"You will let Aria, Rila and Falere know that we miss them terribly, won't you, Councilor?" Liara says. "And pass our gratitude to the girls for their lovely gifts, of course."

"Yes, please tell Rila that the portrait she made for me has turned me into a complete narcissist," Shepard adds with a chuckle. "And we will listen to that recording immediately after we return to our quarters. I just hope that this time it really is a rec-" Morgan then cuts herself short, mentally slapping herself for the stupid gaffe, realizing that Tevos might still be unaware of Aria recording a session of their steamy lovemaking. The councilor is looking at her curiously, while Liara's eyes have gone wide as saucers with disbelief at Shepard's clumsy indiscretion. "Eh, forget that, a friend played a prank on us recently, it's a long story," she hastily adds, trying to cover her tracks.

Tevos merely smiles and her curiosity fades as she turns back towards Liara. "Of course, you realize that if Aria had heard you say that you are missing her, she would be insufferably smug for a week and possibly more than that," she says.

"Perhaps she has earned the right to be insufferably smug now and then," Liara smiles magnanimously in reply. "And I do miss her company, in a way."

"She will be pleased to know," Tevos says. "Recently, Aria has been talking about buying property on Thessia, once the homeworld has been rebuilt sufficiently. I believe she still intends to return to Omega, but to even hear her mentioning the possibility of returning to Thessia... it is a huge step."

"Where on Thessia was the mansion that your mother left to you, Liara?" Shepard asks.

"It was in a lovely, quiet suburb of Armali," Liara replies.

"Armali, yeah, tell Aria to buy a piece of land there, then we can be next door neighbors," Morgan chuckles.

"That has been her plan all the time, actually. She wanted me to discreetly pry about your plans on Thessia," Tevos smiles in return. "I believe Aria has grown quite attached to you both and does not like the idea of drifting apart."

"I believe that Morgan will appreciate more familiar faces on Thessia as she works to settle into the asari society," Liara says, nodding. "...not that Aria is a role-model on how to fit in amongst our people... or hasn't been one up until now."

"That is very true," Tevos agrees. "Speaking of fitting into an asari society, how have you found living on a ship with an all asari crew? This should give you a good idea of what to expect on Thessia, Shepard."

"It's been quite lovely, actually," Shepard replies enthusiastically. "Most of the crew are being friendly... some even exceedingly friendly, but those that maybe don't like me all that much still put in a lot of effort to appear outwardly polite. Haven't met with any sneers, insults or angry glares yet... okay, maybe one or two, but I just smiled at them and moved on. Still feels a lot better compared to what I get from my own people these days."

"The first few days were the most amusing. I sent Shepard out to mingle with the crew and told her not to return until she had spoken to at least a dozen of the asari stationed on the ship," Liara tells Tevos, broad grin plastered on her face. "As I suspected, there were a large number of overly enthusiastic maidens, eager to test Shepard's loyalty and devotion to me. Thankfully for Shepard, all of those maidens expressing interest in inviting her to their quarters remained disappointed."

Tevos lets out a lilting laugh. "Oh, I knew your appearance here would create quite the stir, Commander. It is very rare for a human to be seen aboard the Destiny Ascension, no doubt the ship is abuzz with rumors."

"Tell me about it," Shepard sighs, rolling her eyes. "Though I gathered that for some of them flirting with me was also a way to compliment Liara on choosing such a desirable mate and that they didn't seriously expect me to take things any further. Even if they probably would be up for it, if I did show some interest!"

"Oh, definitely. Both you and Liara will have to contend with a lot of attention and interest, merely because of your status, and because you both are young, attractive and covetable. And in your case, Shepard, also because you are a non-asari," Tevos explains. "While our kind have always been free to seek intimacy with each other, especially while serving on a ship like Destiny Ascension where assignments may last for decades with nobody but other asari around, the old prejudice against conceiving in an all-asari relationship still makes many crave to pursue a relationship with a non-asari."

"Perhaps now that a pureblood asari has been so instrumental in saving the galaxy, your people will begin to get over that prejudice, it just seems so ridiculous," Shepard says hopefully. "Especially when as I understand, there is actually no real research getting done on truly understanding the condition of the Ardat-Yakshi."

"We can only hope that things will change, but such shift in thinking will require time," Tevos says, smiling at Liara and then looking back at Morgan. "For now, rebuilding efforts come first, but as soon as the galaxy is back on its feet again... I will try to do what I can to bring the matter before our scientists and see about funding some serious investigation of the issue. It will not be easy, but... we still must do it, for Rila, Falere, and hundreds like them."

"I would like to help in any way I can, Councilor Tevos," Liara humbly offers. "It is not my field of research, but if there is anything that I can do..."

"Thank you for the support, Liara, you are most kind," Tevos smiles, briefly touching Liara's arm in a gesture of appreciation. "But it will still take a considerable amount of time, before I can even bring this topic to be discussed rationally, without the mass hysteria attached to it."

"And if you can't do it through official channels, just ask Aria to funnel some of her considerable wealth into recruiting some talented scientists unofficially," Morgan suggests. "I bet they wouldn't be able to refuse the amount of credits that Aria might be able to offer them."

"Very shrewd, Commander, I am impressed," Tevos nods approvingly. "Aria and I have discussed something like that, yes. It will remain an option, Aria wants to help the girls just as much as I do."

"It would be great if something could be done to help them, and let them be a part of this..." she spreads her arms wide, gesticulating at the ship surrounding them. "Wonderful community of slightly strange, crazy, but all in all awesome blue beauties. Heck... I often feel completely overwhelmed, trying to blend in and settle amongst them myself... but I think I'll manage."

"I know you will," Liara says confidently. "I'll just keep kicking you out of the quarters to spend more and more time with my people until you become fully comfortable around them. This, however, does not come with my permission for you to accept any offers at being pleasured by someone other than me."

"But I might miss out on important details about the asari culture if you restrict me so!" Morgan mock-complains, trying to keep her face straight, earning a playful glare from Liara.

"Yes, I think you both will be just fine. Shepard, you have shown yourself being... open-minded in the past, and that attitude will serve you well on Thessia," Tevos says, checking her chrono and looking a little startled when she realizes it is quite late already. "It seems I have already missed one appointment on the Citadel. Your company is so enjoyable I can hardly bear to part from you both, and yet it cannot be avoided," she adds regretfully.

"We'll see about sneaking in another Citadel visit, though with Liara's condition..." Shepard says, a little uncertainly, watching Liara shaking her head sadly.

"Understandable," Tevos nods. "Oh... before I leave, I assume that you have been brought up to speed about the relay situation?"

"We don't know overly much, just that a frigate of suicidal turians tried to jump through and seriously buggered something up worse than before," Morgan grinds out, trying not to appear too irritated.

"They were responsible for the attack on the quarian supply depot and sought to escape just punishment," the councilor explains. "While initially we feared that the damage will be substantial, my personal contact and old friend amongst the science team, Dr. Jelize, assures me that the structural damage will be repaired in less than ten days. In a way, we almost have to thank these turians, for their act of madness revealed some stability issues plaguing the relay that the scientists are now looking to resolve."

"Do they have an estimate for the repairs?" Liara asks, no doubt anxious to know whether the Destiny Ascension will be able to return to the asari space before she has to give birth.

"Between one to two months," Tevos replies. "Dr. Jelize was very evasive about committing to any deadlines, and no wonder, so far work has been very difficult. As soon as one problem is fixed, they encounter another unexpected issue."

"This isn't good news for our dextro friends, is it..." Shepard remarks, feeling gloomy and worried about her friends, fearing that the tensions between their people will slowly drive Tali and Garrus apart.

"We are trying to help as much as we can, offering our precious surplus food supplies to the turians. Some of them can tolerate a mix of dextro and levo food, which leads to more supplies for others of their kin," Tevos says. "In a much needed gesture of cooperation, many quarian volunteers are signing up to also test their tolerance towards mixed food. They are both resilient people, Shepard. They will survive and see their homeworlds again."

"Even after the defeat of the Reapers, there are still such hardships to endure," Liara shakes her head, looking saddened. "I hope that soon the galaxy will be able to truly rejoice and savor the results of everything we have achieved together."

"Nothing would please me more than to see that, Liara," Tevos bows her head. "And there are some good news about the relays, too. Our geth friends have extended an offer to help and test the safety of relay jumps. At first I was horrified, thinking that they would be willing to risk their... lives on our behalf, but this friend of yours, Legion, assures me that their programs would not be endangered, but would simply be transferred to another platform. They are being extremely helpful, I can now understand and almost agree with the quarians, creating and upgrading them despite the risk of invoking the Council's wrath."

"Nobody will again exploit them as their servants, however," Shepard exclaims passionately. "Due to their actions, they have earned the right to be treated as equals."

"It still comes as a slight shock to me, but yes, I do agree with that, Commander," Tevos nods. "It pleases me that our people on Thessia have decided to accept their aid in restoring the homeworld, the geth will be amazingly helpful." She then checks the chrono again. "Goddess, I allowed myself to be sidetracked yet again. Shepard, Liara," Tevos takes a hold of Morgan's hands, kissing her on the cheeks, repeating the same parting ritual with Liara. "I will keep you in my thoughts and close to my heart, you and your child."

"Thank you, Councilor, it was a pleasure to enjoy your company," Liara smiles warmly, Morgan nodding, standing next to her bondmate and taking Liara's hand as they both watch Tevos spinning around and quickly hurrying towards the docking bays, her commitments requesting her immediate return to the Citadel.

* * *

"Yeah, humans can be very strange. Did I tell you about this... male that my aunt almost bonded with?" says one of the engineers from Deck 27. Tinai is a reddish-purple skinned maiden approaching the first years of matronhood, currently sitting at the dining table in one of the many mess halls of the Destiny Ascension, together with Shepard and two other asari.

"Even if they know the tale, I do not and thus insist that you share it with me," Shepard smiles, inwardly marveling at how quickly these young asari accept her in their circles. Liara has been kicking her out to mingle some more with her fellow asari, and she has often come to have her meals in this particular mess hall, having met Tinai and her bondmate Coralie a few days ago, the two asari now already treating her as an old friend. _Not sure they're actually __**true**__ bondmates, though, but at least they're currently warming the same bunk, I guess. The word 'bondmate' seems to be used in a lot of different connotations, I mean, Liara and I call ourselves bondmates, and we think of each other as bondmates, even if we're not officially and legally bonded, the way I understand it needs to be done... _

"Well, this human male was apparently very sweet at first, but had some strange ideas, not unlike yours Shepard," Tinai explains. "When my aunt asked him for permission to seek pleasure and experience the Joining with an old friend she had not seen for two centuries, the male exploded in a righteous rage. He claimed that he would never seek companionship of another, even if my aunt was open to the possibility. He was extremely fervent and pompous about the whole thing. But here's the funny thing..."

"In the end he went and cheated with someone behind your aunt's back," Shepard ventures, breaking into laughter as she watches Tinai's eyes widening in surprise.

"Bah, someone told you the tale," she grumbles, poking Coralie in the ribs accusingly.

"No, she's not to be blamed, I just know how depressing humans can be," Morgan sighs deeply.

"Are you saying that you will inevitably do the same to your lover, Shepard?" the third asari in their company asks, a young nurse by the name of Fidea from the nearby medbay.

"Ugh, no... I can't imagine that, the mere idea of cheating on Liara feels revolting," Shepard says, feeling her stomach twisting at the thought.

"But why would he refuse the opportunity when it is freely given, but then try to attempt it in secret anyway?" Coralie wonders, looking puzzled. "And with a human female no less!"

"I imagine that he wanted to maintain the impression of fidelity that would allow him to keep the moral high ground," Shepard shrugs. "Don't ask me why, human motivations are usually very complicated and irrational. Our relationships are usually ruled by all kinds of different insecurities. That's why humans tend to act very possessive and jealous, constantly in fear that their partners might leave them for whatever reason."

"But it is so silly!" Tinai exclaims, looking exasperated. "Shepard, you are a hero of the galaxy, surely you would not suffer from such insecurities? We have heard some rumors about what Dr. T'Soni did for you... like bringing you back from the dead? I mean... you can't possibly believe that she would ever forsake you for someone else? And since you know our people, you would realize that even if she desired someone else as well, she would not feel that she would have to leave you in order to act upon this desire."

"Hmm, well... I don't think I would be very happy if Liara ever came to me with such a request, though. I know that it's probably not about that, but it's very hard not to treat such request as an implication that there is something lacking from your relationship, something that I can't give to Liara. And that's not a pleasant feeling," Morgan replies, having spent some time to ponder her answer. These young asari are very idealistic and optimistic about the way relationships work, but amongst all their sometimes naive conceptions, Morgan still manages to find things that make sense and appeal to her, feeling her own point of view gradually expanding as she consumes more and more insights from these maidens. "But you are right about one thing, I haven't really ever felt that Liara might leave me for someone else, and I think she has similar confidence in me. Heck, if she didn't, she wouldn't let me hang out with you girls."

"Well said, Shepard. I think you and Dr. T'Soni have a wonderful foundation for relationship based on complete trust with lots and lots of delightful things to explore and experiment with," Fidea states, dreamy and wistful expression on her face.

"Perhaps, though I don't think that awkward exploration and experimentation is something we're really looking for at this stage of our relationship," Shepard smiles at the young nurse. "Right now we desire only each other, and personally I would be very happy for things to stay that way for as long as I live. If it doesn't... well, Liara and I will deal with it together. And what about you two?" she looks at Tinai and Coralie. "You're together, but are you also seeing someone else, if that is not rude to ask?"

"I haven't been with anyone else but Tinai for five months," Coralie replies, smiling. "Sure, I understand what you're saying, Shepard, and yes, when deeply in love asari go through monogamous phases as well, sometimes they even last very long. Possibly for centuries."

"Six months for me," Tinai adds. "Yeah, I guess I agree. It's just that I have not forbidden Coralie anything, and I never would. Unlike you humans, we don't feel the need to pretend that we are somehow naturally inclined to be monogamous."

"Well, pretend is a rather strong word," Shepard argues.

"To be honest, the statistics of human bonding are rather depressive and do not support your argument, Shepard," Fidea states. "Only 32% that survive ten years or more, I don't see much evidence of inclination for monogamy there. When our people bond, the union is rarely broken, though of course in its nature it can be far less restrictive than human bonding."

"You mean marriage, I think," Morgan corrects the young nurse, chuckling as Fidea blushes a bit from her mistake. "But well... I kind of see your point."

"I think you humans would do much better if you allowed yourself more freedom in relationships the way asari do," Tinai nods sagely. "Your people wouldn't feel the need to break up their families the moment they see someone attractive winking at them invitingly!"

"There are a lot of humans experimenting with so called open relationships where you are allowed to have more than one partner, but... to be honest, they have an even worse track record," Shepard says. "I think it's probably because despite claiming that they will be more open about their needs and desires, they are still the same humans, with the same insecurities. And the whole lifestyle has been given bad reputation by sexual deviants who game and abuse it, seeing in it simply a way to sleep with as many men or women as possible."

"Goddess... you're right, humans are so depressing," Coralie sighs, shaking her head. "I hope you are different than the rest of your kind, Shepard. You seem very reasonable..."

"Well, thank you," Morgan grins. "I guess I must be somehow special, at least my track record seems to imply as much. Also, they kicked me off Earth, so I guess my own people don't like me too much."

"Just proves how stupid they are," Tinai chuckles. "I think Coralie is right, though, you're a good sort and I think you'll fit right in on Thessia."

"Thank you, girls," Morgan smiles, feeling a little moved from the unexpected compliment.

"I've been thinking a lot about this. I believe that our long lifespan is the reason why the asari are more communal creatures than the humans, and do not necessarily view monogamy as a virtue," Fidea says thoughtfully. "It also helps us deal with the loss of a loved one more easily. If we were more like humans, we would find it far more painful."

"I think you're right about that, Fi-Fi," Tinai chuckles, Fidea threateningly raising her fork, annoyed at the use of her nickname. "So you see, Shepard, even if you deny yourself any exploration and experiments, you might still want to encourage Liara or else she will find it difficult to move on after you eventually pass away."

"Tinai!" Coralie hisses, elbowing her girlfriend. "It is most rude, talking about Shepard as if she were dead already! Goddess, sometimes you embarrass me so much!"

Shepard finds herself laughing, comfortingly patting Tinai's hand as she blushes and hastily apologizes. "According to my doctors, I will enjoy a much longer lifespan than the average human, so... Liara and I won't have to worry about that issue for a long time," she smiles. _They kind of raise a good point, though... but that is a concern for very far in the future... gods... I can look at something very far in the future... what a mind-blowing change, thinking in terms of decades an centuries instead of worrying about making it through another day._ "Anyway, I thank you all for the as always enjoyable conversation, but now, I believe I will go spend time with my beloved and enjoy our happily monogamous phase," Morgan chuckles, getting up from the table.

"You're missing out on all the fun!" Tinai yells after Morgan as Coralie almost tackles her, trying to keep her lover from embarrassing herself even further. _Crazy, completely crazy, the lot of them, _Shepard thinks, smiling at herself as she walks away. _But... I can't help myself from getting to really like all these blue crazies..._


	152. The Light Of Their Lives

_A/N: Well, all that is left after this is the epilogue to wrap things up. It will be posted on Monday. :) _

**Chapter 151 - The Light Of Their Lives**

"Damn it, Singh almost did not take the bait," Kasumi complains, walking back and forth across the floor of what had once been a cozy antique shop in downtown Leeds. "Following the death of that other admiral, I guess he's become very paranoid?"

"Yes, you could say that," Miranda replies, sitting on the sole surviving chair behind the counter, reading through the messages on her omni-tool and several datapads scattered in front of her. "He doesn't even stay alone with me, and I'm still one of his most trusted agents..."

"I'm surprised he swallowed it in the end," Spectre Jondum Bau remarks, leaning against the wall near the doors and discreetly observing the quiet and empty street outside, just in case. "The request of a personal meeting with no witnesses should trigger plenty of alarm bells."

"Well, it was the best I could come up with on such short notice," Kasumi says, a little defensively. "It's a very tantalizing bait, though. Video footage of what truly happened to his friend Mayorov, laced with a promise that it would reveal that his fellow admiral was murdered and that it wasn't a simple air traffic accident as the official sources stated."

"He certainly seemed very excited about the little clip that you sent him as a teaser along with the message," Miranda nods. "I can't think of anything else that would have made him dispatch four other agents just to verify that the story and the man behind it were legit, before he dared to set up the meeting. By the way, great job working those agents, Mr. Bau. The guise of a hapless, starving salarian mechanic, willing to trade the footage for two crates of MRE's and 250.000 galactic credits was very convincing. And you do the paranoia very well, too, I think those agents really bought your reasons for demanding that you will deal only with the admiral himself."

"It was quite easy to fool them, they seemed like rank amateurs compared to you, miss Lawson," the salarian Spectre replies casually. "So I'm relieved you're not actually here to verify my story."

"I think that as soon as I deliver a positive report back to Admiral Singh, he will want to move ahead with the plan," Miranda muses. "I already have chosen a place for the meeting, which I hope he will agree upon. It offers excellent advantages in positioning to take his bodyguards out quickly, as well as providing me with several escape routes in case Singh smells foul play and decides to bring in the army instead."

"And you don't want us there with you?" Kasumi asks, a little worried. "I'd be much happier if we could help, I mean, this isn't one of my plans that I'm super confident about."

"You've already done more than I could ever ask of you, both of you," Miranda Lawson smiles. "I want you to get back to the Citadel and stay there in safety while this whole thing blows over. I started this, it's up for me to finish it," she adds, playing the footage of the bait over and over, watching her own easily recognizable shape diving from Mayorov's shuttle right before it explodes, her lips curling into a twisted grin. "I wonder if I could tease him even more, claiming that the vid is supposed to reveal the identity of the resistance leader."

"Oooh, I like that," Kasumi giggles, clapping her hands excitedly. "There's something utterly sinister by luring your enemy into a trap by using truth instead of lies."

"Anything that would provide further motivation for Admiral Singh and make him become irrational and reckless should be considered helpful," Bau nods.

"Very well, it is decided then. But, I think we should conclude out meeting, Mr. Down-In-His-Luck salarian mechanic, " Miranda says, smiling approvingly at Bau, before turning to Kasumi. "And you too, completely random bystander," she adds, sighing theatrically when the younger woman slowly walks over to briefly hug her. "Oh, this is too much!" Miranda exclaims, batting the laughing Kasumi away from her.

"You like it, admit it, everyone likes hugs," the petite thief chuckles.

"The street is completely clear, if you wish to make a discreet exit, miss Lawson," Bau speaks up. "It would appear that the admiral is not quite as paranoid as to tag his own agents."

"And I intend to make sure he doesn't live long enough for his paranoia to worsen to such extent..." Miranda states, brushing past the salarian and leaving the antique shop, heading back towards her skycar.

* * *

"Gods... this is insufferable..." Shepard moans, pulling her legs up unto the sofa and curling into a small, pathetic ball of angst and nerves. Occasionally, a nurse or a doctor walk by through the small waiting room but otherwise it is just her and Matriarch Lidanya, their gracious host on the Destiny Ascension keeping her company and trying to give what comfort she can. "It must be coming up to three hours... should it really be taking this long?"

"Commander, I understood from Dr. Lorisia that the procedure routinely takes up to three hours, yes," Lidanya replies, keeping her voice soft and soothing.

"Yes, but she said **up** to three hours, not **over**... gods, I just know something has gone horribly wrong, something always goes terribly wrong, it would just be fitting, knowing my luck..." Shepard groans, burying her face in her hands, sensing a sharp, painful tearing somewhere deep in her stomach, her insides feeling like a twisted cord. She is sweating profusely, first feeling blazing heat from all the agonizing worries, then starting to freeze cold as her subconscious feeds her with mental images of something horrible happening to Liara or the baby. "We saved the galaxy, and in return it always finds some way to laugh back in my face in the most cruel of ways," she grinds out bitterly.

"Goddess, Shepard... you're more tense than a coil of spring," Lidanya speaks, having put a comforting hand on Morgan's shoulder, feeling the tightness of pulled muscle underneath. "I'll ask one of the nurses to give you something to calm you down. Or perhaps..." she then says, hearing Morgan's frantic protests and refusal to be sedated. "Give me your hand, Shepard," Lidanya orders and Morgan quietly obeys, reaching out her sweaty palm, a little embarrassed as the matriarch takes it, feeling the pleasant, soothing coolness of her touch.

Shortly after that, Morgan begins to feel something, a soft presence pushing around the edges of her consciousness, recognizing it instantly and drawing back in shock and surprise. "What are you-" she is about to demand, but Lidanya hushes her and motions her to remain quiet.

"Nothing invasive, Commander, I assure you. I merely want to share something with you... some of my memories, I think they will help you relax," she says quietly. "Please, allow me to do this for you... trust me, Shepard."

Morgan tries to tell herself to relax, and while she is completely unsuccessful with these efforts, she no longer fights Lidanya when feeling the matriarch's consciousness slowly beginning to slide forth to join with hers. True to her word, the matriarch's presence does not feel in any way invasive or probing, and Shepard allows her mind to overflow with images that Lidanya sends towards her. She sees beautiful landscapes of lush, softly glowing thick forests in a myriad of colors raging from pale yellow to bright violet, cities rising amidst the beauty of nature, built in such harmony with their surroundings that their glorious, meandering bridges and skyscraper spires seem like natural extension of the majestic forest and snow-capped mountain peaks, surrounded on all sides by the deep green lakes and oceans.

_Gods, such beauty... and with their lifestyle, it almost feels as if the asari are some kind of mythical space elves, _Morgan smiles inwardly, feeling a little more relaxed as Lidanya continues to show her more and more views of Thessia, each new one more beautiful and breath-taking than the previous. _Of course, it's not looking quite as lovely after the Reapers have stomped all over the planet, but it can be rebuilt and grow beautiful again, I'm sure of it. We must make it happen._

_'This is beautiful,'_ she whispers through the weak mental link, amazed at the pictures of one of the larger cities, sitting at the feet of a forest covered mountain range, the nature wild and with a hint of danger, but calling to something within her soul, begging to be explored. The city is surrounded by lush looking plains, farmlands surrounded by a disturbingly pale orange glowing lake in the vague shape of a horseshoe.

_'That was Armali,'_ Lidanya replies softly through the link, then ending the stream of pictures when she senses that Morgan is no longer as tense and upset as before. "I'm afraid it is not quite the same now, but given time and effort, it can be beautiful again."

"That's... where we're going to live," Shepard breathes out, finding herself quivering with anticipation.

"I know," Matriarch Lidanya smiles. "I have friends and family in Armali as well. Those who survived are there now, helping to rebuild."

"Matriarch?" Shepard asks, a little hesitantly. "You've had children yourself, of course?"

"Most certainly, Shepard. Four of them. One with a salarian, then another one with a different salarian two centuries later, and lastly two with a turian. But they were all natural childbirths, so I would not know what to advise in these circumstances. There was pain and hardship involved with every relationship and every pregnancy, but... as I look upon my children now, I know it was all worth it."

"Hope we'll have the chance to feel the same way," Shepard sighs, lowering her head and giving a half-hearted glare at the waiting room doors. "But if it takes much longer... I might just pretend there's a Reaper hiding behind those doors and charge them down..."

"Take heart, Commander, everything will be fine, I am sure of it," Lidanya says, and at that very moment the doors to the waiting room open. "Ah, I thought so, there's Lorisia."

Shepard jumps up from the sofa with such enthusiasm that she knocks over the table in front of her along with everything placed upon it. Dr. Lorisia looks extremely exhausted, beads of perspiration still covering her brow, but above everything, Shepard only sees the broad smile on her lips, and it tells her everything she needs to know.

"You can stop worrying now, Shepard," Lorisia tells her, watching Lidanya pulling the table back up, quickly fixing the mess. "While not without complications, the surgery was successful... Liara and the baby are out of danger by now."

"Gods..." Morgan whispers weakly, feeling her knees turning into jelly as she collapses on the sofa, finding herself too exhausted and near-paralyzed, unable to move. "I can scarcely believe it myself..." she mutters, mostly to herself. "But for once it seems as if the galactic gods have decided to take pity on us..."

* * *

There are plenty of warning signs about the encounter with this salarian who has somehow come across this most valuable footage, and Admiral Singh knows the risks only too well. However, he feels as if he has done everything possible to check whether the deal is legitimate or not. Five of his most trusted undercover agents have verified the salarian's story independently, and while he might have scoffed at the first four reports, once Agent Lawson confirmed the story as legit, he had put his doubts aside.

In the beginning, he had been more than suspicious of Lawson, considering her Cerberus ties, but the woman had more than proven herself. Her intel had painted them more resistance and Terminus merc targets to strike than the leads of all the other agents put together. Now, he could no longer imagine planning his operations without Lawson's viable input, having grown to almost trust her, as much as a man in his position could afford to dispense a valuable commodity such as trust.

The meeting with the salarian is scheduled to take place in an abandoned apartment building in Bromley, the exact coordinates having been sent to his shuttle while they were circling around London, waiting for the overly cautious salarian to make contact. It made sense for the frog to be jumpy, Singh admitted as much. Apparently the resistance had learned that he possessed this footage which would reveal the identity of their leader, wanting to silence the salarian before he had a chance to pass the intel on. Under these circumstances, Admiral Nitesh Singh easily understood why the salarian did not trust to finalize the deal through intermediates, it had been a considerable challenge to even get him to reveal himself to Singh's agents.

Admiral Singh watches his men taking out the two large crates of food supplies from the shuttle and bringing them inside a previously designed apartment, noticing the surveillance cameras mounted on the wall, the salarian no doubt overseeing their actions. He reaches out and raises the credit chit in his hand to display it to the camera and the observing salarian. "Thank you for your cooperation, Admiral. Please proceed upstairs to apartment 31-B. Alone, as agreed," a metallic, robotic-sounding disguised voice addresses him through the intercom.

"Are you certain of this, Admiral?" one of his personal guards asks, understandably disliking the situation.

"Don't worry about it, he didn't ask me to relinquish my weapon," Singh says, trying to sound more confident than he feels, patting the Predator pistol at his belt. I _don't think that salarian will try anything, we checked him, he's legit,_ Singh tells himself, starting to walk up the stairs towards the third floor apartments. _Besides, I must learn the identity of the one who has been a thorn in my side for so long, who plotted the demise of my friends, my fellow admirals. The relays will be fixed shortly, the Terminus mercs will withdraw, and we will be able to deal with the resistance. Once we know the identity of their leader, we can eliminate them and watch their whole power structure collapse... and Earth will be mine to rebuild as I decide._

Admiral Nitesh Singh nudges the doors of the apartment 31-B open with the tip of his Predator pistol, revealing a complete state of disrepair in the room, nobody having lived there in over a year. He is a little surprised to find the room empty, after careful looking around he finally decides to step inside, having noticed a small OSD placed on the corner of a table in the middle of the room. As he starts towards it, he notices movement in the doors leading to the adjacent room, turning around swiftly and pointing his pistol at the figure appearing in the doorway, almost releasing the shot.

"Agent Lawson?" he asks, surprised, lowering the Predator. "Damn it, I nearly shot you. You should have warned me. What are you even doing here?"

"Let's just say that this was one tricky mission where I wasn't completely certain about my own intel," Miranda smiles, stepping inside the room with Singh. "I couldn't stand the thought of any oversights leading to your demise, Admiral, so I decided to tag along and make sure that everything proceeded smoothly. I hope you won't object."

"Did you tail us? None of us noticed anybody following," Singh remarks, feeling impressed as he returns the pistol to its holster.

"Please, Admiral, there's a reason why I'm your top agent," Miranda grins confidently.

"But where is the salarian?" Singh then remembers, scrunching his brow, looking a bit more suspicious again.

"He's gone," Miranda replies meaningfully, smiling inwardly as she thinks of the voice modulator safely in her pocket, used to fool Singh just scant minutes earlier. "I hate loose ends. Besides, he was a security risk. Imagine if the resistance had eventually captured him and learned that we have received this intel. They would have gone underground and we would be left without an opportunity to act upon this information," she says, pointing at the OSD which Singh now greedily grabs in his hands.

"So you silenced him?" he asks, Miranda nodding coolly. "Well... a little ruthless, but I will defer to your judgment in this, Agent Lawson. Your service have been most efficient thus far." He looks at the OSD again, uploading the contents to his omni-tool. "And the intel, did you verify it? Does it really reveal the identity of the resistance leader?"

"It does," Miranda replies, Singh missing the wicked shadow of her grin, his attention by now focused solely on the recording.

"Let's see... that's Alexei's shuttle," he speaks, watching the footage from the Citadel 'accident'. "And there... oh god, it just... crashed into the wall! And someone jumped out of it right before the impact, was that the killer?"

"Had to be, yes. Just scroll back and enlarge," Miranda advises, her hand unbeknownst to Singh beginning to slip towards her heavily modded Phalanx pistol.

Singh quickly does as he is told. "Looks to be a woman... a biotic, too," he says, watching the enlarged fragment. "Can't see much more than that, let me enlarge it even more... what the... but... this has to be some kind of a trick? Agent Lawson!" Singh cuts around and freezes, staring down the barrel of the Phalanx.

"No tricks, Admiral Singh," Miranda smiles smugly. "You have been played for a fool. The salarian was never even here. I simply used a voice enhancer and you fell for it."

"You bitch! Why? Why do this?" Singh shouts, his hands trembling, itching to go for his weapon even if he knows that Lawson will shoot him before he has managed to draw his pistol.

"You have not earned any answers, Admiral. Only ignoble death and fading into obscurity," Miranda replies coldly, squeezing the trigger, denying herself the temptation of gloating over her victim. Singh falls to the floor, half of his face blown off from the shot at point blank range, as Miranda walks over to the twitching corpse, bending down to remove the admiral's omni-tool with the OSD. "Nearly there, Miranda," she tells to herself, heading for the emergency exit at the end of the corridor, her skycar discreetly parked two buildings away. "Just one more thing to take care of... and then I can leave Earth and let them rebuild in peace..."

* * *

The image of her bondmate propped high up in the pillows in the medbay bed, looking down at a tiny bundle of wrapped cloth with tired but loving expression in her eyes, is something that Morgan Shepard knows that she will cherish until the end of her days. She quietly approaches the two most important people in her life, unwilling to break the magical image of Liara quietly cooing at their daughter, her eyes shining with indescribable relief. Morgan feels herself tearing up as well as she finally stands next to Liara's bed, looking down to see her child for the very first time. The scrunched up face, the hair-tentacles barely developed and looking so fragile, makes Morgan almost afraid of touching something so tender looking and at first she settles for gently poking the baby's hand with her finger, feeling the little asari's hand instinctively grabbing her finger, pulling on it, making her chuckle.

"So beautiful," Morgan sniffles, unable to keep the tears from rolling down her cheeks. "Just like her mommy," she adds, kissing Liara on the brow, noticing how weak and exhausted Liara appears from the draining surgery, feelings of worry surging through her.

"Thank you, Morgan..." Liara whispers, then yawning and Morgan places her hands over Liara's, helping her hold the baby, her bondmate looking as if even as little effort as that is drawing on all her reserves of strength. "I was just... thinking how much she... reminds me of you..."

"Well, this beautiful light shade of blue is definitely from you, not from me," Morgan winks at her bondmate, then carefully brushing her thumb across the baby's cheek, her child letting out a happy sounding gurgle at that. "How are you, sweetheart? You look really worn out, is everything alright?" she turns to Liara, asking with concern.

"Liara will be fine, do not worry, Shepard," Dr. Lorisia replies for Liara, the asari doctor smiling as she approaches the couple cooing over their newborn. "There were some unforeseen complications during the surgery that we could not have predicted. I will not lie to you, we came frighteningly close to losing Liara. She has lost a large amount of blood and should conserve her strength as much as possible. Don't speak unless absolutely necessary, Liara, do you understand?" Liara only nods weakly at that.

"She will be fine though, doctor? Gah, you said they were out of danger!"

"They are, do not panic, Commander," Lorisia gently chides her. "Your child will sense your distress and become upset as well. Liara's recovery will be very swift if she listens to everything I tell her and acts responsibly. We will have her back on her feet in three to five days, Shepard."

"Thank the gods," Shepard breathes out another sigh of relief. "And the baby, you were worried about her not being... well, fully developed? She looks like a perfectly healthy, lovely child, but..." she says, looking at the little asari's eyes watching her with wide-eyed curiosity.

"I have good news about that, Shepard," Lorisia looks very happy to inform them. "The brain scans we have made reveal no anomalies, reaction to various stimuli seems normal as well. Liara has done very well in these last few weeks. As a very young maiden it is understandable that she does not have as much control at maintaining mental bonds, they are more frantic and intense and less gradual... something that I'm sure is only welcome in certain circumstances..."

Morgan blushes at that, Liara also sporting a tired smile. "Aw, gee, thanks for embarrassing us, Dr. Lorisia," she chuckles.

"It is a part of my duty as a doctor," Lorisia replies, not missing a beat. "But we will continue running various tests on the little one, just to be sure. By the way... have you chosen a name yet? I could sort out the formalities for you, if you just let me know."

"We have decided, yes," Shepard smiles, about to speak the name to Lorisia, when Liara interrupts her.

"Take her," she says quietly, looking down at the baby.

Morgan gives her a questioning glance, then encouraged by Liara's smile she bends down and carefully scoops the little bundle of joy in her arms. "Come to... heh, yeah, come to... daddy, I guess," she speaks, finding her own words a little odd, but the way they make her feel is beyond delightful, and the sensation of holding the littlest asari gently against her chest is indescribable. "Come to daddy... Lita Ashley Shepard-T'Soni..."

* * *

"...you make a very interesting proposition, miss Lawson," Fleet Admiral Steven Hackett speaks, sitting behind his magnificent mahogany desk in the fully renovated Alliance HQ in Vancouver. "As you are well aware, Alliance and the resistance have a good track record at working together in the North American theater. With the sudden disappearance of Admiral Singh and the newly promoted Rear Admiral McIllis assuming control over First and Third Fleets, there is no longer any reason for us to continue our operations against the resistance."

"My people will be relieved to hear that," Miranda speaks, sitting in the chair opposite to Hackett, arms placed neatly in her lap, wearing a stylish black leather jacket, this time choosing not to put her curves on prominent display. "I assume that you have also liberated information about secret Alliance depots that will relieve the dire situation with food supplies. I learned about them while working as Singh's double agent," she quickly adds, seeing Hackett's curious stare.

"Ah, I see. You are a woman of many talents, miss Lawson," he nods approvingly. "Yes, we have identified the locations. Teams have been sent there to take the inventory and ensure proper distribution all across the globe. We have also finally lifted the curfew and in the coming days we will make an announcement to double the weekly allotment of food supplies, if the reserves in those depots are truly as vast as the intel claims."

"Good start," Miranda agrees politely. "The Terminus mercs are flocking back to their fleets, ready for their turn to navigate the relay as soon as it is once again declared safe for travel. I believe the official announcement is expected later today."

"You are... remarkably well informed, miss Lawson," Hackett notes, looking just a tiny bit uncomfortable. "Which makes me wonder what you expect to gain from all of this. I don't imagine you are doing this out of the goodness of your heart. Perhaps like Singh you seek to be nominated as humanity's councilor?"

"Please, Admiral..." Miranda raises her hands defensively. "I suppose it would be difficult to imagine that someone once associated with Cerberus could be doing something guided by noble motivations. Oh wait, but what about Commander Shepard?" she adds sarcastically, chuckling as Hackett gives her a stern look. "But to answer your question, no, I do not expect anything in return for myself. In fact, as soon as the relays become operational, I will be leaving the Sol System. Do not expect me to return."

"Most... surprising," Hackett says, looking slightly astonished.

"Besides, we both know who will be nominated as the next councilor to represent humanity," Miranda Lawson smiles.

"It would be both honor and great challenge to receive this nomination," Admiral Hackett nods. "What of the people who will take over the resistance once you leave? Can I trust them to behave? I have never been comfortable with the 'Terra Firma' label they occasionally use."

"When I started to organize the fight to oppose Singh and his companions, I used my network of ex-Cerberus people who had broken ties with the organization. I needed something easily identifiable to get them onboard, but they are not the Terra Firma that you knew from before," Miranda replies. "They care about Earth and the fate of our people, but they do so without the hatred for aliens. Besides... if you keep your promises, _Councilor_ Hackett, I believe that the resistance will simply dissolve in a few weeks... there will be nothing to resist anymore, just common goals to work on together and hopefully build a brighter future for our people."

"Well said, miss Lawson," Hackett agrees, satisfied with Miranda's answer. "Even if I take issues with your involvement in... certain acts against my fellow officers of the Alliance, in light of your decision to leave the Sol System, I feel that I can do nothing else but to thank you for your contribution in securing peace for Earth and wish you all the best in your endeavors wherever your path takes you."

"Thank you, Admiral," Miranda says, rising from the chair as Hackett circles around the desk to shake her hand. "But remember... if news of our people chafing under your leadership reach my ears in the Traverse," she says, as Hackett escorts her to the door. "I might be back to stir some trouble for you..."

"Point taken, miss Lawson," Hackett smiles. "You are a very valuable ally to have... but I most certainly would not want you as my enemy..."

* * *

With feelings of slight trepidation, Commander Morgan Shepard sits in a soft leather chair in the small hallway outside Fleet Admiral Hackett's office in the Vancouver HQ. The secretary, furiously typing on the console nearby, has informed her that the admiral is currently in a meeting and will be able to see her immediately afterwards. All that is left for Shepard is to sit and stare at the heavy footlocker at her feet, thinking again and again on what she is about to do. _Not that there really are any other options for me. In a few days, we'll be on our way to Thessia... to a new life, something that I am looking forward to more than I could ever describe. Gods, this feels so weird... looking to the future and seeing only good things, a promise for happiness... for so many years such feelings have been denied to me._

Finally, after what feels like an hour of waiting, the heavy doors to Hackett's office open and Morgan blinks, seeing the admiral escorting out none other than her old XO Miranda Lawson. "Admiral Hackett... miss Lawson," she manages the greeting, bolting to her feet.

"Ah, Commander. Come right in," Hackett tells her, stepping back inside his office.

"Just a moment, Admiral, let me exchange a few words with Miranda," Shepard calls out after him, turning to the raven-haired biotic, smirking at Morgan with an amused expression on her face. "Hey, Miri, fancy running into you here. Planning your next move or something?"

"No, with Singh dead, my job here is complete, Shepard," Miranda shakes her head. "And what about you? Must be something important for you to tear yourself away from Liara and the little tyke. And thanks for the baby pictures, Commander, Lita is certainly a very lovely child."

"Glad you think so, Miri," Shepard grins broadly, then bending down and with a heavy grunt picking up the footlocker. "Got some unresolved business with the Alliance before we depart Sol."

"I think I understand," Miranda nods. "Shepard? You'll keep in touch, won't you? After everything we've gone through together... it would be a shame to just drift apart, wouldn't you agree?"

"I would agree wholeheartedly, Miranda. Expect more baby pictures, invitations to visit us on Thessia, and so forth. We have long and exciting lives to look forward to, my friend. And god knows, we have earned this opportunity."

"You... you are right, Commander. So many things to look forward..." for a moment, Miranda Lawson almost looks overwhelmed with sudden emotion, but then she snaps out of it, opening the doors to Hackett's office, letting Shepard squeeze through, carrying the heavy footlocker. "Best of luck, Shepard," Miranda adds, closing the doors behind Morgan's back.

Hackett regards her with some curiosity when she places the footlocker down on the floor in one of the free corners of his office. "What's going on, Shepard?" he demands an explanation.

"Well, sir... I'm afraid that time has come," Morgan says, straightening out her back and saluting proudly. "Please consider this to be my official resignation from the ranks of the Systems Alliance military." _I'm sorry, mom and dad... but looks like I'll be the first Shepard in many generations who won't be Alliance for life... but I hope you are still proud of me and what I have achieved..._

"At ease, Shepard... sit down," Hackett sighs, pointing to the chair at his desk. "I was worried this would happen, yes. You know that just because you and Liara are moving to Thessia, you didn't need to immediately cut ties with us. We could have worked something out, perhaps think of some way for you to keep working for the Alliance to further the goals of humanity on Thessia, ensuring our cooperation with our asari friends and allies."

"It's not just about living on Thessia, I want to be more involved in the life of my child," Shepard explains. "Though... I'd be lying if I said that was the only reason. There are... too many wounds that have not healed."

"You mean the media treatment from Singh's people," Hackett shakes his head, looking irritated. "The way they vilified you was outrageous."

"But effective. I have become a very controversial figure to my own people, Steven. I cannot help the Alliance if I divide people and opinions, instead of uniting them. Believe me... this is for the best. Please... accept my resignation."

"Very well... I grant you your request," Hackett accedes after a brief pause. "When you walk out through these doors, you will no longer be _Commander_ Shepard."

"Thanks. All the stuff is in the footlocker... if any items are missing, let me know and I will try to find them or compensate in credits-"

"Oh, stop with the BS, Shepard," Hackett cuts her off angrily. "You know I don't care about some trinkets. I would have let you keep all the stuff."

"Well, I'm not carrying that locker back to the shuttle, it's heavy," Shepard grins. "Besides, sir, it seems as if I'm not getting rid of you that easily, if there is anything to the rumors swirling around regarding the new human councilor."

"Yes, I have heard some backroom chat about that," Hackett shrugs noncommittally. "Does that mean you're staying on as a Spectre? Hmm, too busy to work for the Alliance, but not as a Spectre, Shepard?"

"Well... I don't want to drop off completely from the galactic scene. And Spectre job offers far more flexibility than working with the Alliance," Morgan replies defensively. "Besides, I'm taking the coming year off entirely, there's apparently still plenty to do to rebuild Thessia, and Liara and the baby will need me to be there for them."

"Of course, Shepard," Hackett smiles, now simply looking happy for her. "How are you finding parenthood?"

"Strange? A little scary? Overwhelming? All of that, I guess... it hasn't really sunk in completely, I don't think," Morgan admits. "I think we'll be okay, though. Everyone on the Destiny Ascension are really helpful, looking out for us, because god knows both Liara and I need a lot of help with this parenting thing."

"Yes, I think you will do just fine, Shepard. It would be too embarrassing if two of the galaxy's most famous heroes who annihilated the Reapers were defeated by a baby," Hackett adds, looking amused. "By the way, after my talk with miss Lawson, I've been meaning to ask... were you aware that she was the true leader of the resistance?"

"The leader? Uh... no," Shepard admits, blinking rapidly. "I knew she was up there close to the top, but... well, that's Miranda for you, she's always been so very secretive. Oh, and if you wanted to act all affronted about why I didn't inform you, well... I just couldn't do something that might have exposed my friend as a double agent, there were spies everywhere."

"Yes, you are probably correct about that, Shepard."

"Uh... sir, if I may make one last request... or well, suggestion. Not as an officer of the Alliance, but as a concerned friend," Shepard asks, a little nervously.

"Anything within my powers, Shepard," Hackett nods with certainty.

"It's about Joker. He is... wasting away in Bradford, succumbing to alcoholism and depression," Morgan says quietly. "I know he made a mistake by speaking to that reporter behind my back, and I'm not sure whether or when I will be able to forgive him, but... I can't leave Sol knowing that he is miserable, loathing himself."

"Are you certain, Shepard? I would have thought you'd want to see him dishonorably discharged," Hackett appears very surprised.

"I'm certain. I know that I should be incredibly angry with him, but... he'll succumb to his depression unless we do something, and I can't have it on my hands, knowing that we could have done something but chose not to."

"What do you want me to do?"

"The Normandy is currently docked on the Citadel, with no assignments and only a skeleton crew to keep up maintenance. If you could assign him back to the Normandy in whatever capacity, I think it might be good for him," Shepard says.

"I think I can manage that," Hackett nods.

"Oh, and please, don't mention that I was in any way involved with this decision," Morgan adds. "If he knew that, he might just deny this transfer out of some kind of misguided spite."

"Very well, Shepard, I will grant this request," Admiral Hackett promises. "Now, if there are no more outstanding issues, I should probably get back to my numerous duties... mostly involving paperwork."

"I shouldn't delay you from something so important," Shepard smiles, watching Hackett rise from his chair and walk around the desk to escort her to the door.

"Well, this is where our ways part, Shepard... for now, at least. I have no doubt that we will see each other soon again, though," Hackett says, opening the doors and leading her out, slapping her on the shoulder. "Good luck in your new life, my friend."

"Thank you, Admiral Hackett," Morgan speaks, taking her first few steps outside Hackett's office, remembering the words he had said. _These steps are no longer made by Commander Shepard... and yes... somehow they do feel lighter, as if a huge load has been lifted from my shoulders._


	153. Leaving Terra

_A/N: Well, here we are. __There was a small sentimental reason for me changing the posting schedule over the past week. I noticed that I had started posting the story on the 6th of May last year. (Even if sometimes it displays 7th, it's like FFN can't make up its own damn mind about when I published it. :P) Anyway, finishing the story exactly one year later just felt like the appropriate closure. _  


_When I started out posting this story, I certainly did not expect the way it would grow, and the sort of response it would receive. Certainly, in the beginning it also did not have the kind of quality to merit much support, but I feel like I've grown and learned a lot as a writer over the course of the story, and it seems to be reflecting in the response of the readers. So, I wanted to thank everyone who has been reading this story, thank even more those who have chosen to follow or add it to their favorites list, but in particular I feel grateful to all those who have been reviewing my humble offerings. You guys are the ones who push me towards further improvement and make me want to do better and better. In short, you're awesome._

_After this, I've decided to take a couple of weeks off from writing, but despair not. If you're interested in reading more about the adventures of Morgan Shepard, Liara T'Soni, their baby daughter and the rest of the peanut gallery, tune in again on Monday, 20th of May. I think I might have something new for you. :) _

**Epilogue - Leaving Terra**

"They're leaving," Garrus says quietly, staring out of the windows of a hall near the Council Chambers on the Citadel. The quarian ships are slowly moving towards the Charon Relay, about to make the jump back to their home system, the first ones allowed to make the journey, following successful testing sessions sending through geth ships, carrying FTL comm buoys to help and restore galactic wide communications.

"Yes," Councilor Sparatus nods, standing next to him and looking outside. "Our people will follow, as soon as we get everyone back onboard. The humans insist that we bring the krogan back with us, and it seems as if Urdnot Wrex is having a hard time organizing his troops."

"Figures," Garrus mutters, not really listening, his thoughts completely elsewhere. _She's on one of those ships now, heading for the relay and then back to Rannoch. In a few hours, I'll be on my way back to Palaven... so, I guess... this is it. The growing pile of corpses of our starving people built a wall between us that was simply too high..._

"You should probably get ready for the journey too, Vakarian. I understand that you have a spot on the 'Valiance' with Primarch Victus," Sparatus says, Garrus nodding barely perceptibly, starting to feel rather depressed, even despite the knowledge that soon he will be reunited with his family. "Damn it, Garrus, you should look a bit happier about getting out of this mess in one piece, as a hero of our people," the councilor adds, shaking his head, then throwing a quick glance behind them. "Well now... looks like there's someone to see you. Maybe they will be able to take this gloominess away."

Garrus spins around so swiftly that he nearly knocks the councilor down, heart almost leaping out of his mouth as he hastily apologizes, unable to take his eyes off the figure standing on the other side of the hall, the familiar shape of a certain quarian, hands crossed behind her back, standing there proudly before beginning to slowly walk towards him. "I think I'll just leave you two alone," Sparatus quickly adds, looking amused as he withdraws.

As Tali approaches closer, Garrus also begins to walk towards her, meeting in the middle of the hall, nary a foot between them as they look at each other, the turian finding himself still too overcome from surprise to speak coherently. "You... why aren't you with the flotilla..." he manages, swallowing heavily.

"I... am not completely sure, myself," Tali confesses shyly. "I just... found myself unable to leave, not yet, not this way. Garrus, all I ever wanted was to see my people safe and returning to Rannoch. But while I would love to go back there one day, I don't have anyone waiting on me there now. So... Auntie Raan offered me to stay on the Citadel as her advisor as she waits for the official invitation to join the Council. I... I think I will accept the honor... unless better offers come along..."

"Damn it," Garrus grinds out, his body tensing from how much he simply wants to reach out and pull her close, to hold her again. "Now I want to stay on the Citadel myself, but my family... spirits, Tali... come with me to Palaven. Please," he speaks, no longer caring whether he sounds desperate or needy. "I need you in my life, little Chiktikka... it's a living nightmare trying to fool myself of the opposite."

"That... was the better offer I was hoping to hear, my sweet Garrus," Tali says softly, taking his hands in hers. "I have been looking forward to meeting your family, after all. Though, one day, I will want to go back to Rannoch and build a house for myself."

"For ourselves, you mean," Garrus corrects her, feeling exhilarated from the way Tali slips into his embrace from those words. "Some seasons on Palaven are completely unbearable, dry and hot, I would love nothing else than to escape to Rannoch during those months."

"Two residences, one on Rannoch, one on Palaven?" Tali asks, thoughtful but excited at the prospect. "How wonderfully decadent."

"We have gone through so much... we have earned that and so much more," he replies, continuing to hold her tightly.

"When do you have to report to your ship, Garrus?" she asks, feeling giddy from the way his hands move over her back, the pent up desire and suppressed needs of many months starting to stoke a hungry flame within her.

"Victus wants me on the 'Valiance' in six hours," Garrus replies. "Why, what were you thinking of?"

"Oh... just that for the next six hours... we are both as free as the dust on solar wind..."

"You read my mind, my sweet Shalei..."

"Garrus... you're still paying for that Citadel apartment we used to share?"

"Yeah... out of habit... and hope, I guess."

"Take me there. Keelah, I want you so much, I feel like I'm burning up from the need," she whispers, feeling Garrus bending down slightly and suddenly scooping her up in his arms.

"I will not simply take you there, my little Admiral, I will carry you all the way in my arms, before attending to your every need," Garrus promises with completely straight face, as Tali wraps her arms around his neck, burying her face in his shoulder, beginning to cry from joy.

* * *

"Oh... oh, Kal... Keelah," with a soft moan, the lithe shape of the female quarian collapses on the chest of her lover, feeling his strong, warm hands embracing her quaking and quivering form. "...what have I done to be so lucky and know such happiness..." she mumbles into his chest, slowly recovering from the intense spike of pleasure, turning her body into a boneless jelly.

"I don't think you're the only one here who should call themselves lucky," Kal'Reegar pulls her wonderfully yielding frame a little higher up, finding him face to face with his beloved, chuckling at the tired expression on her face before he leans in to kiss her on the lips, running his hands up and down her damp back. "I'm certainly feeling very lucky for finding you, Lia. One more thing we both have Tali'Zorah to thank for."

"For that, and for saving the galaxy together with Commander Shepard," Lia'Vael giggles. "And for giving us back our homeworld. I wonder what we will find back on Rannoch a whole year after leaving."

"The geth are remarkably industrious as we have seen. We will probably find beautiful cities, cultivated farmlands, thriving industry and economy..."

"You make it sound so wonderful... and you truly want to share this future with me? Little insignificant me? I sometimes think that this is all a dream and that one day I will wake up from it."

"It is no dream," he kisses her again, deeper and more longingly this time. "As soon as we return on Rannoch, I will begin to work on building a home for us. Where we could live until the end of our days... together. Lia'Vael nar Ulnay... I want you to be the mother of my children."

Lia'Vael gasps. "Oh... oh my! You really mean it, my Admiral, don't you?" The tired expression in her eyes is immediately replaced by burning desire and raw hunger. "In that case... while we can't work on that house until we get to Rannoch... we surely can start working on that other thing..."

"Keelah!" Kal'Reegar lets out a sharp gasp as he feels Lia's hand slowly travelling down the plains of his stomach to begin her tender ministrations. "...I just hope you don't kill me with this before we even get to Rannoch..."

* * *

"Bah, is this all that you could scare up?" Wrex bellows, glaring at Urdnot Grunt and the asari commando Kurin, standing in front of the crowd of a little over two hundred krogan. "This is barely one third of what we brought here! Where are all the others?"

"I don't think they're coming back, Wrex," Grunt replies with a disturbing little chuckle. "They said that Earth, even as ruined as it is now, is still way better than Tuchanka, so they disappeared as soon as they heard that you planned to round them up and throw them into shuttles. Also... what's that thing you're wearing, old man?"

"This?" Wrex asks, grabbing the hem of his red and green kilt and lifting it slightly, rubbing the texture of the thick cloth. "Some kind of cultural thing. Great, isn't it? I got it from those strange red-bearded humans up north after we fended off their distillery from a pack of vorcha. It came along with this cap... though they insist on calling it a 'bonnet', hilarious," he points at the hat he is wearing, making him look like a krogan with a cherry on top.

"And what about that... thing? The sounds it makes are horrible," Kurin asks, wincing as Wrex squeezes the bagpipes one more time to illustrate her point, making it sound as if he was strangling twenty cats all at once.

"I just think it's fun, so I took it from them," Wrex shrugs. "I admit, it sounded much better when I was completely smashed. Damn, they had some great booze way up north. No wonder some of our idiots decided to jump ship."

"Do you want us to hunt them down and drag them back in chains?" Grunt asks, probably secretly hoping for some action.

"Nah, too much effort," Wrex sighs, then chuckling evilly. "They'll be the problem of these humans now, heh-heh. If anyone asks, we don't know anything about any missing krogan, is that clear?" he bellows. "They're part of the Blood Pack! Or something!"

"What missing krogan?" the crowd yells back at him in unison. "We don't know about any missing krogan!"

"Perfect, keep it up!" Wrex flashes a broad and toothy grin. "Alright, let's get to the shuttles and back to the turian ships! We have a whole fleet of those stuck-up avians to annoy and irritate on the journey back to Palaven!"

* * *

"Councilor Tevos," the geth standing before the asari councilor bows its flashlight head. "We are pleased to inform you that the geth engineering teams stand ready to accompany the asari fleet back to Thessia. We have received information from the leader of your science team, Dr. Jelize, regarding the state of the mass relay of the asari home system. We estimate that the known work will require us roughly 79 standard galactic days."

"Roughly, you say?" Tevos can't stop herself from smiling. Each conversation with this geth representative, Legion, leaves her marveling about their ingenuity or chuckling about the quirkiness of the AI's. "But I thank you, Legion, you have been most helpful. I agree that we should concentrate on fixing the relay first, before your people will begin helping us rebuild Thessia."

"Then we will continue to work according to this plan, unless it comes into conflict with The Shepard Prerogative."

"The Shepard Prerogative? What is that?" Tevos asks curiously, the first time she has heard something like that mentioned.

"Shepard-Commander saved the geth consensus from extinction, which would have occurred if the geth consensus continued to pursue their plans for Reaper upgrades. In light of that, the geth consensus has decided to grant Shepard-Commander these rights and this privilege to override any decision of the consensus that Shepard-Commander feels unacceptable on moral or pragmatic basis."

"I... see. Interesting," the asari councilor muses thoughtfully. "But I believe that Shepard-Commander would agree to the plans we have for Thessia, after all, she plans to spend the rest of her life amongst our people."

"That is our understanding as well," Legion again nods politely.

"You are sending geth teams with all the other fleets as well, to make repairs on the relays of their home systems, as agreed?" Tevos asks.

"Affirmative, with the exception of Rannoch. There is a sufficient amount of geth programs in the system to conduct a swift restoration of the mass relay." Legion pauses a bit before continuing. "To this date, aside the Creators, the Asari Republics remain our only allies who have invited us to help rebuild their homeworld. The geth consensus considers this regrettable and wishes to reinforce our desire to assist in any capacity."

"I would not worry too much, Legion," Tevos smiles encouragingly. "Once the others see how efficient the geth are in rebuilding Thessia, the invitations will follow one after another, and with it will come recognition and gratitude, cementing your place amongst the galactic society. This is a great opportunity for your people."

"The geth consensus remains... hopeful," Legion says. "This platform will stay on the Citadel for the time being, to facilitate communications between our people and the Galactic Council. We remain as ever at your disposal, Councilor Tevos," the geth adds, bowing again.

"Thank you, Legion. We are most grateful for your assistance," she smiles, then after a brief deliberation, reaching out with her hand, wondering if the geth will reciprocate to the gesture. After a small pause, Legion takes her hand and gingerly squeezes it, as if worried not to cause her pain, then turning around and leaving her office.

"Creepy little buggers," Aria T'Loak says, stepping out from one of the adjacent rooms where she has been staying, listening in on the conversation. "I know, I know, they're supposedly on our side now. Just another one of those crazy things Shepard achieved."

"Yes, and speaking of Shepard," Tevos turns, looking outside at the ships flocking by the Citadel, all fleets surging with anticipation of returning to their homeworlds. "They will be on their way soon." She lets out a deep sigh. "I will miss them, and the baby."

"Eh... we'll make sure to visit. But I'm not too bothered right now, they'll be too focused on their child for the next few years, a predicament I find exceedingly boring," Aria states with a mock-yawn.

"Well, little Lita is a beautiful baby," Tevos adds teasingly. "You saw the pictures too, didn't you? Wasn't she just the most adorable little thing?"

"Ugh, don't even start to get any ideas, you know better than that..." Aria protests, glaring at her lover.

"But Aria... can't we even discuss it?" Tevos tries again, strolling up to the Pirate Queen, swaying her hips seductively.

"Talk all you want, the answer is still no," Aria replies sternly, as Tevos reaches her and gracefully spins around, pushing her back against Aria's chest and bumping her soft curves into the Pirate Queen's lap, wriggling seductively, grinning knowingly as Aria's hands instinctively wrap around her tightly, her lover cursing quietly as she cannot fight the reaction of her touch.

"Are you absolutely certain that we can't even discuss it?" Tevos breathes huskily, feeling Aria's hands hungrily roaming over her body.

"Well... the answer would still be no... for now..." Aria manages, also beginning to breathe a little harder, one of her hands coming to rest against the swell of the councilor's breast, while the other slips between her legs, feeling Tevos' heat radiating through the robes. "But... you are right... there is certainly no harm in talking about it... no harm at all..."

* * *

"Jack! Jack, will you stop playing that silly game!" Samantha Traynor glares, hands on her hips, irritated at the way her girlfriend appears to be ignoring her.

"Hey... cut that out, you introduced me to it, so stop complaining," Jack mutters, waving Traynor off, glued to the computer screen and not even sparing a glance at Samantha.

"Yes, a fact I deeply regret now," Traynor mutters.

"Alright, alright, just a moment, Sammy, just let me help these kids out and then I'll stop, some idiots keep ganking them the whole time. Grrr, I hate gankers," Jack growls, giving a loud cheer when her character manages to sneak up to one of the gankers, kick them in the crotch and then stuff a grenade under their armor, jumping to safety as the explosion goes off. "Ha! Enjoy your repair bills, you stupid assholes!" she exclaims happily, finally pulling away from the computer, looking at Sam, the young comm specialist anxiously tapping her foot against the floor.

"Are you quite done?" Traynor asks, managing a slightly exasperated smile.

"Uh... yeah?" Jack shrugs. "So, what's up?"

"I've been thinking... about the future, really," Samantha says, wringing her hands nervously. "I... just don't really know what to do here on Earth. I mean, I'm sure someone will eventually think of some assignments for us both... probably on the opposite ends of the planet or maybe even the galaxy, but... I don't know, suddenly working with the Alliance just... doesn't feel the same. Ever since leaving Shepard and the Normandy, ever since EDI died... I've felt completely out of place."

"You want out?" Jack asks.

"To put it simply? Yeah," Samantha replies. "I thought about hitching a flight back to Horizon. I grew up on the colony there, and I've always thought about coming back. Now seems like a good time to go ahead with that, there would be a lot to do, helping them rebuild."

"Want me to go with you?"

"Well, I'd love to, but... I don't want to pressure you into doing something you don't want to," Traynor says nervously.

Jack lets out a loud guffaw. "You apparently don't know me well at all if you think you can pressure me into doing something I don't feel like doing," she laughs. "C'mon, babe, don't be so bloody dumb. I haven't really felt like sticking with the Alliance losers after they got all my kids killed. If you wanna ditch them, sure, I'll go with you. Maybe there are some biotic kids on Horizon I could hang out with, give some tips to, right?"

"That sounds like a wonderful idea, Jack," Samantha smiles broadly, then gasping as Jack tackles her like a spinning tornado, knocking her down on the nearby bed.

"Besides... sex is still fucking goddamn fun..." Jack grins, slipping her hands under Samantha's top. "Why the hell would I give up on this..."

* * *

"This is delightful, Karin. Serrice Ice Brandy, I believe?" Dr. Chloe Michel says, sitting in one of the living room chairs of Karin Chakwas' apartment on the Citadel, enjoying an idle chat at the end of another busy working day at the Shalta Wards hospital.

"Yes, a little passion of mine," Chakwas smiles. "This bottle was secured by Commander Shepard herself. I promised her that we would share it after the end of the war, but somehow we both completely forgot about it, and now... now they are about to leave for Thessia. So, I decided to share it with you, my dear friend."

"Oh, Karin, I am touched at the gesture," Chloe says, deeply moved. "You have good taste, this is delicious."

"I am glad you are enjoying it," Karin speaks, as both women fall into a thoughtful silence, pleasantly tired at the end of another satisfying day of saving lives. "I... had an interesting conversation earlier this morning. Joker... the old pilot of the Normandy, called to speak with me."

"Ah, the young man with the brittle bone disease who spoke so poorly of the Commander? I am familiar with his file... a difficult condition to live with."

"Yes, he has been suffering from alcoholism and depression in the wake of everything that has happened," Chakwas sighs. "But when we spoke today, he actually appeared to be doing a little better, still badly in need of proper shave, but much improved. He has been assigned back to the Normandy, and he wasn't sure why, even if he was very happy about it, suspecting that the Commander was behind it."

"Was she?"

"I don't know, Chloe... but I imagine so," Karin Chakwas nods. "It seemed like something she would want to do before leaving. Ah, Shepard... I will miss you, child, you and Liara both."

"So will I," Chloe sighs. "But they will visit, I am sure of it. I do not imagine the Commander or Liara will be able to stay put for too long, even with the baby."

"I imagine not," Karin Chakwas chuckles quietly.

"So, Karin... I have been thinking a bit about the future," Chloe Michel starts to speak. "Working at the Shalta hospital is satisfying, yes, but... I have been hatching some plans. I mean, I have good contacts amongst the suppliers, amongst our fellow doctors, I have solid reputation, so much so that patients always flock to the hospitals I happen to work at the time... and I think you can boost the same if not more impressive credentials, my friend."

"Are you hinting at opening a private clinic, Chloe? It's a lot of work, as I'm sure you know," Karin adds, a little warningly.

"I have experience from managing a small clinic in the wards almost single handedly a few years ago," Chloe replies. "But, well... I thought, maybe this time I wouldn't have to do everything myself. I was thinking about taking a partner aboard... someone who I know and work well together with."

"Hmm... an interesting offer, Dr. Michel..." Chakwas muses. "I should warn you, Chloe, no matter how many times I have tried to settle down to work in a hospital, the pull of the space travel has always proved impossible to resist. But... well, I am tempted..."

"I do not expect an immediate answer, Karin," Dr. Michel smiles at her colleague. "What I do expect... is more of this delicious ice brandy..."

* * *

"Ah... Mr. and Mrs. Donnelly, glad you could make it," Steve Cortez turns around in his chair at the bar, a small but cozy place in the Kithoi Ward, watching the now married couple approaching. Gabriella is wearing an unexpectedly short skirt and high heels, making quite a few patrons of the bar turn their heads in her direction, a reaction that always makes Steve react with a pained sigh.

"Hey, Steve, how's it going?" Kenneth claps him on the shoulder, Gabby taking his hand and shaking it firmly.

"Good, good," Cortez smiles. "I was worried that working with the Alliance will become boring after the Reapers, but the last few trips have been interesting. First, bringing Joker back up to the Normandy."

"Damn that scoundrel, he had no right to speak like that about the Commander," Kenneth curses, then turning to the elcor barkeeper to order drinks for himself and Gabby.

"Yeah, but I feel sorry for him, getting injured like that and missing the big showdown... then EDI dying," Gabby sighs, her pretty face marred by sadness. "I hope that one day he will make up with the Commander."

"The Commander who's no longer a Commander," Cortez adds, making the young couple stare at him wide-eyed. "I made my second trip just a few hours ago, bringing Admiral Hackett to the Citadel to meet with the Council, and I was brave enough to ask him whether there was anything to the rumors. He confirmed it, Shepard is no longer with the Alliance."

"I didn't even know there were rumors!" Ken complains. "Damn, we're terribly out of the loop. And Hackett meeting the Council? What's that about?"

"Oh... I'm pretty sure later today he will be introduced as Councilor Hackett," Steve chuckles, watching Kenneth choke on the first gulp of his drink, Gabby having to whack him on the back a few times to stop his coughing fit.

"Well, at least someone decent will be in charge, right?" she says, smiling.

"I think so. The future suddenly looks bright again, and I think I'll stay on with the Alliance, even if it seems not many from the old crew will. But I can understand them... there has been so much fighting, we cannot begrudge anyone who wishes to stop, take it easy and rest up a bit. Anyway," Cortez smiles, looking at the pair, the two now and then exchanging loving stares. "How's that volus treating you? I hear those scrooges tend to make you work long hours with no extra pay."

"He's not that bad, really," Gabriella replies. "Sure, there are long hours, but we do get paid for overtime. Besides, we both love fixing ships, so it's not like we mind working a bit longer now and then."

"And probably sneaking into the cargo hold of those retrofitted ships to make out now and then?" Cortez asks innocently.

"Well, it's just one more perk of the job," Ken grins confidently, watching Gabby blush in a delightful shade of red.

"Oh... look at that," she then exclaims, pointing at a nearby news terminal screen, also as a way to divert attention from her embarrassment. "The asari fleets are about to make the relay jump... that means Shepard will be gone, too..."

"Yes, she's leaving," Cortez nods. "Perhaps we should raise a toast for her," he says, rising his glass, Kenneth and Gabriella following his example. People sitting at the surrounding tables also overhear Steve and they too raise their glasses with supportive nods and smiles. "To Shepard, Liara and their baby... may fates keep them strong and safe!"

* * *

"And there they go... damn, that Destiny Ascension is one hell of a ship!" Kasumi cheers, watching the flagship of the asari fleets slowly move past the Citadel. "And it's all full with asari, huh? Shepard must be having the time of her life!"

"I don't think she sees anyone save for Liara and little Lita, if the amount of baby pictures is anything to go by," Miranda laughs, standing next to Kasumi and Bau in one of the Citadel docking bays, watching the ships circling and swarming outside, on their way towards the mass relay.

"I'll miss them," Kasumi sniffs. "Bah, but it's not the last we hear of them, I bet."

"Yes, I got Shepard to promise to stay in touch," Miranda nods. "Speaking of which, I also expect you to do the same."

"Of course, but why... oh... aww, you're leaving too?" Kasumi's face falls. "Ah, but of course... you need to check in on your sister."

"Yes, I'm heading to Horizon tomorrow," Miranda says, gently patting Kasumi on the shoulder. "Finally Oriana and I will have the opportunity to spend some time together."

"You do not seem like the type of person to settle down and live your days idly, miss Lawson," Spectre Bau says.

"Perhaps not, but I think I have at the least earned a lengthy vacation," Miranda smiles at the salarian. "And what about you two? Remember to send me an invitation if you decide to exchange rings or sign a breeding contract..."

"Miri!" Kasumi exclaims, poking her friend in the ribs. "Behave!"

"Spectre work will likely keep me around the Citadel, so we both will remain here for the time being," Bau replies, ignoring Miranda's teasing. "Knowing Councilor Valern, he will come up with another idiotic and baffling assignment very soon."

"Will it involve wanton destruction?" Kasumi asks eagerly.

"We can only hope," Bau deadpans.

"Yes, I think we will be alright," Miranda smiles, looking at her two friends. "It's a new, exciting galaxy out there, now... perfect for young and creative people such as ourselves..."

* * *

As the Destiny Ascension slowly moves through the Sol System towards the Charon Relay, Spectre Morgan Shepard, former Commander of the Systems Alliance, stands at one of the many observation decks of the super-dreadnaught, watching the view before her eyes. Earth can be still be seen there, in the distance, grey, cold and surrounded by clouds of dust, an unappealing picture, as are her memories from the time spent there. _I'm sorry if anyone feels that I'm giving up on my people too quickly. I saved the galaxy, I gave them the opportunity to build their own future, why should I have been expected to deliver everything to them on a silver platter? And they certainly gave up on me fast enough, and not just once... I'm sorry mom and dad... sorry, David, but I hope you can find it in your hearts to understand why I need to leave... for once in my life, I want to place my own happiness above that of our people. And I feel that I deserve it. _

_And it's not like I'm leaving because I'm selfish or a coward, I am not doing this only for myself. I'm doing it for them,_ she thinks, tightening her embrace on Liara, holding her bondmate against her chest, helping her support Lita, also staring outside at the dark skies, eyes wide open in curious wonder. _If not for them, I can't imagine what my life would be like. Not worth imagining. Not worth living. _

The look in Liara's eyes, feelings of the purest of loves etched on her face as she smiles at their child, to see it fills Morgan with the kind of intense feelings that she did not even know she could possess, love and devotion so strong that it causes spikes of bittersweet pain surging through her, often bringing her to tears, but she refuses to be embarrassed about it anymore. _I don't think I have ever loved her as strongly as I do right now,_ Morgan thinks to herself, swallowing the lump in her throat, bending down to softly kiss Liara on her brow.

Her bondmate looks up at her, those mesmerizing, deep blue pools of her eyes that Morgan instantly becomes lost in, also like her unable to stop herself from crying. Still a little weak and exhausted from the surgery, she clings to Shepard, struggling with her emotions, and for once Morgan relishes the opportunity to be the strong protector. _Daddy_, she tells herself, still having to smile from the idea of her new role.

"Ready to go home, sweetheart?" Morgan asks softly, moving to kiss Liara's brow again.

"I... I can't truly believe it is happening... that this is happening to me, to us," Liara whispers back, sniffling and trying not to cry. "I'm going home... to my father... and I'm bringing the two most important people in the galaxy with me... you have made me the luckiest asari in the whole galaxy, and I still can't believe it."

"Believe me, the feeling is mutual," Morgan drops her head a little lower and Liara reaches a little upwards as their lips meet in a tender kiss that they are both reluctant to break.

"It is finally over... maybe when we settle in on Thessia, it will finally sink in for real..." Liara whispers.

"I think it will sink in... and then we will be free to create a beautiful future for our child, and for ourselves... together," Morgan says, finding Liara showering her with kisses following her words, smiling as she enjoys her bondmate's amorous affections.

"Yes, together... always together," Liara breathes out between the kisses, forced to stop when Lita lets out an annoyed gurgle, demanding some attention herself, and Liara immediately begins to coo at the baby, Morgan's heart nearly bursting as she watches the young mother fussing over her child.

"Looks like we're coming up to the relay in a few minutes," Morgan remarks, looking outside. "Goodbye, Earth." _Goodbye, my friends. You are now scattering all over the galaxy, just like us heading home to rebuild... it will take years, and I will miss you all, but I won't allow us to drift apart. Once the galaxy has recovered... I will make sure to seek you out. You will become a part of that beautiful tomorrow we are working to build. _

"You will not miss it at all, Morgan? You could return one day if you wanted," Liara looks up at her, a little upset, but the feeling fades when she quickly realizes that Shepard is fully determined and at ease with her decision.

"No, Liara... I will not miss it. I now see that my path lies elsewhere," Morgan smiles, reaching down and stealing one more kiss as the soft blue glow of the Charon Relay appears in the distance. "I feel as if it's not just you returning home to Thessia, Liara... I feel like I'm coming home, too..."

**THE END**


End file.
